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Massage, Recovery, and Massage Sticks

October 21, 2009 by Jimson Lee

If you can’t afford a daily massage, then I recommend at least a weekly massage as a bare minimum.  A good therapist will cost anywhere above $70 USD per hour.  I find 1 hour insufficient for the lower body, so my sessions are usually 75 or 90 minutes long.

$70 bucks may be pretty steep for some athletes, but if you want to succeed, then consider cutting back on a few non-essentials.  Give up your weekday Starbucks Cappuccino and that alone will save you enough for a massage.  Maybe downgrade your Cable TV package with all those premium channels.

Or maybe barter and trade services? 

The bottom line is if you really want something, then you will find the funds to pay for it, unless your partner is a massage therapist.

I personally use a variety of self massage techniques.

I talked about foam rollers in previous articles:

They are even useful to use the rollers to strengthen a pulled hamstring.

The Massage Stick

Another hidden secret is the stick.  400 meter Hurdler Laurent Birade introduced this device to me back in 1992.  You can also go cheap and buy a wooden rolling pin at a dollar store.  (HINT – keep the plastic wrapper intact in case you want to use for cooking down the road)

They are smaller than a foam roller, but I found 2 limitations:

  1. They Original Body Sticks aren’t stiff enough.  Most sprinters are pretty muscular and they bend a bit too much.
  2. Most models are 24” long which can be a bit too big for carry-on luggage standard of 9” x 14” x 22”.  You could check it in, but you never know with airlines (** cough cough Heathrow Airport cough cough **)   Plus, having it onboard means you can use it on long flights!

It must be Christmas because I found two solutions.

They now make a Stick Sprinter Stick version of the stick., and a shorter Stick 17.5" Self Massage Tool travel size one.

If you suffer from Achilles Tendonitis, you know one of the causes is tight calves.  This device works wonders.

Massage Sticks Available from Amazon

 

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Written by Jimson Lee · Filed Under Featured Story, Health & Wellness, Injury Prevention, Recovery 

Comments

5 Responses to “Massage, Recovery, and Massage Sticks”

  1. B-man on October 21st, 2009 6:17 pm

    Would you use self massage daily in the evenings?

  2. Ken Zelez on October 22nd, 2009 6:57 pm

    Great article. Self-massage is an excellent way to predict and prevent injuries on your own schedule.

    To answer the question from B-man…. you can self-massage as a warm-up, cool-down or recovery. Evenings are fine too when you are relaxing.

    The Stick is an amazing tool. There is a model for anyone! If anybody is in Alberta, Canada… please visit our website. We distribute The Stick!!

  3. Jim Hiserman on October 24th, 2009 6:30 am

    You might also want to check out the Trigger Point quadroller. It is the next best thing to massage. I have used all the various types of foam rollers and the stick and there is no comarision.

  4. Jimson Lee on October 27th, 2009 3:00 pm

    @Jim - yes, I am researching TPT (Trigger Point Therapy) for an upcoming article.

  5. Jimson Lee on October 27th, 2009 3:02 pm

    @B man - yes, daily use is great. I love these sticks on long flights, especially if you can’t walk around.

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