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Stretching and doing self-massage are both such important tools for keeping your stress level low, your muscles happy, and your exercise regimen progressing, and it’s great to see how excited people are these days for things like yoga, self-massage, and stretching. People of all walks of life, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, are stretching and massaging their sore muscles as a part of their daily routine. (“Bed yoga”? Yes, please! And who hasn’t massaged their own feet after a long day at work?)
There are times though, when you need a little help stretching or targeting a sore muscle specifically, which is where for a lot of people, foam rollers come in. If you’re not familiar, foam rollers are basic foam cylinders (usually 12” long and 6 to 8” in diameter), that are used by everyone from athletes at events, to rehabilitation patients in physical therapy clinics, to stimulate and stretch larger muscle groups and find the sore spots (we bodyworkers call these “trigger points”) to better target and release areas like the hamstrings and quads, back, calves, and hips.
Here at Portland International Airport this summer, we have seen a huge amount of clients, from families traveling for vacation, to athletes coming through for events like the MLS All-Star Game, and we’ve noticed one thing most everyone has in common… their body is hurting! Maybe that’s why they come to us for a massage-solution to their pain-in-the-neck 😉
Unfortunately, foam rollers are too big to carry-on, and often even the self-massage-savvy travelers are sore with trigger points in their muscles that need addressing. But we found a solution for that problem, too, and it’s one that you can take with you on your travels (and no, it’s not buying your Massage Therapist a ticket to sit behind you on the plane and massage your shoulders!)… It’s the EVA foam roller BALL by Spri. The EVA foam ball is lightweight and compact, easily fits in a backpack, carry-on bag, or gym bag, and can be used in all the same ways as you would use a foam roller. Also, it does double-duty, as its small size and superior maneuverability make it more suited for getting into upper back and shoulder muscles, so it’s overall a more diverse and usable product than a basic foam roller.
I honestly cannot speak highly enough about these little 6” foam balls… Next time you’re travelling, stop by the spa, located inside Portland International Airport across from gate C11, and ask our LMTs about how you can incorporate the EVA foam ball by Spri into your self-massage tool-kit. Or, if you’ve never used a foam roller, or are totally new to the concept of self-massage, I highly recommend you start here!
