My mind and my body don’t always agree with each other. While my mind is always game for adventures like monster trail runs in the mountains, hopping into a Masters swim session, or trying for a dyno at the climbing gym, my body regularly puts the brakes on. I’m always straining something; I’m regularly in pain.
I don’t chalk it all up to the fact that I’m not 20-something any more. Since my teens, I’ve needed to listen to my body and do a lot of maintenance in the form of strength training, physical therapy treatments, and mobility exercises. So much physical therapy. So many exercises.
Roughly 10 years ago, I was told I have a connective tissue disorder. My lax ligaments and tendons mean I slip out of alignment easily, which causes all sorts of issues. Instead of doing less, however, I learned I needed to do more. I need to constantly strength train, keep my activities varied, and do a lot of self-care. My body needs maintenance.
To keep from constantly booking appointments and spending money on things like deep tissue massage and dry needling, I’ve found tools that let me treat issues on my own time, my own dime, and in my own space at home. While I still need to visit experts for bigger issues, I can often address small pains and strains before they become problematic.
Here are the self-care tools I rely on to keep me healthy and moving.
The post My Body Is High Maintenance. I Rely On These Five Self-Massage Tools to Keep It Healthy. appeared first on Outside Online.
