I got some good advice here about using a lacrosse ball to massage the SI joint area. It has worked excellently. Now I have a related question. When I wear loose fitting pants, the material usually gets all bunched up and tangled with the ball during the rolling. Being an old fogey, I wasn’t about to buy and don spandex tights in order to be able to do the lacrosse ball massage.
Neither did I want to do that in my undies. So it seems that spandex is the only way to go. Maybe spandex shorts or something – I know nothing about spandex, and I figure that shorts exist and they’d be quicker to don and remove (I will not be wearing spandex for any other purpose).
Is this consistent with how most people do the massage, or is there something I haven’t yet thought of? I tried long johns, since I had a pair kicking around that I never use, but it’s hard to get on after a workout when I’m sweaty. Unless I get a looser fitting pair, which invites the bunching up problem above.
I’m a chick, but I swear by spandex / lycra / compression fabrics. Mostly because you simply don’t have to worry about them bunching up etc, as you say. With the soft tissue work, you can lift yourself up and place yourself down on the implement and do little micro-adjustments (an inch or so) rather than actually rolling around on it. I don’t think you will regret the $35, though. Even if you end up deciding to wear looser shorts over the top…
Well, thanks for the re-assurance. Been doing marathons (figuratively) at work, so I haven’t had a chance to give it a go yet. But everything you describe seems to hit on the points I would consider important.
Please for god sakes don’t roll around on that lacrosse ball in spandex in a public place… The looks I get when I roll in the gym are weird enough, I think the cops would be called if I was wearing spandex.
I agree with bulkNcut. I’m the only person at my gym that massages with a lacrosse ball after a workout and I get weird looks all of the time. What I do to keep my shirt or shorts from bunching up is I will take one hand and hold the end of the short or shirt semi tight so it doesn’t bunch up.
Hmm… I am used to men in lycra because of Olympic Weightlifting. Thinking back… It did in fact take me some time to get used to that… The people at regular globo-gym might not be so sympathetic. Maybe wear shorts over the top. I don’t think you will regret how they feel when you are training. The mild compression. I always wear 2 layers anyway because I’ve heard a lot of stories about people busting out of their pants squatting. I would never live that down.
I would agree with the bird on this one. I find that shorts don’t normally interfere with rolling. Thing that usually bothers me is my shirt, which I tuck into my shorts during rolling. You may just be over thinking it though, I mean do the best with what you’ve got.