I decided to put an Amazon gift certificate to use by ordering a TheraCane (link goes to Amazon where there’s a picture if you’re curious). In case you haven’t heard of them before, Theracanes are nobby sticks with U-shaped hooks that allow you to massage the muscles in your back. I know I have trouble with trigger points in my left upper back (thanks to reading The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook, which is one of the two books I recommend all the time for people with RSI, tension headaches, or any other kind of computer/stress-induced aches and pains), but it’s a hard place to massage yourself, as you can imagine.
The TPTW recommends using a tennis ball against a wall, but that always felt awkward to me, so I’m going to see if I can hit the spot with the thera cane. Most of the time, when I feel tension in my neck and shoulders, I can really feel that spot in my back (kind of in the middle of the trapezius), so I suspect it’s causing some of the tension in the other muscles.
The Theracane should be here in a couple days, so I’ll report back on how it works. I’m not sure if it comes with an instruction manual, but I think I know enough from reading the TPTW to hit the spot just right. We’ll see!