The 6 Best Things in My Massage-Tool Library
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As the chairperson of the Strategistachy-person caucus, I have accumulated a lot of tools to ease pain. I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disease that makes my body a bundle of aches from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep. Massage helps, and since the pain is everywhere, small muscles to big — from my jaw to my traps, IT bands to my feet — I’ve haven’t found a one-size-fits-all device I can use everywhere. Instead, I’ve amassed a small library of massage tools, each with its own range of functions: a palm-size eyebrow massager for small muscles, a pointy hunk of plastic for my shoulder blades, and a percussive massager for large muscle groups and stubborn stiffness. Here are my six favorites.
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I bought theBody Back DaVinci Toolwhen I was suffering from daily tension headaches. When it arrived, I laid on it for a painful yet blissful two hours (the brand recommends switching its position every two minutes). It has three sides; my favorite is a sharp edge I call “the guillotine.” I jam it into areas of tension around the base of my skull or the edge of my scapula, relax my weight into it, and let it do its work.
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My left foot always wakes up in a bad mood, so I bought the Neuro Ball to soothe it. It’s covered in spikes — they’re made of silicone, not plastic, so they have enough give to not be painful — and it opens to reveal a smaller, less spiky ball inside, like a Matryoshka doll. (When you roll the smaller ball on your face, the texture feels similar to coarse sand.) I roll it along the ball of my foot, and I’ve also found it useful for waking up areas of numbness on my face and hands.
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I originally bought this tawashi brush because it is beautiful, but it has since become one of my favorite tools for waking up my body and stimulating blood flow. I use it in the shower and spend extra time on areas that feel stiff.
The most prized weapon in my arsenal is a slug-shaped spike from the Wax Apple, a Taiwanese home-goods store that carries a large variety of massage tools made from natural materials like jade, horn, and wood. (My exact model is sold out, but three similar models are below.) This is the one I keep on my bedside table — I mostly use it to relieve facial tension by sweeping it along cheekbones, nose, and jaw —and it also makesa great gift.
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Every physical therapist will tell you to get a lacrosse ball to massage out trigger points, and they’re right — there’s something about the density. I like the Neuro Ball for waking up an area that feels stiff, but for really digging into a trigger point, I use a lacrosse ball. (I picked these for the color.)
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This was a gift, and it is literally and figuratively “the big guns” — a powerful percussive massage for larger muscle groups or especially tight areas. I use it on my hips, shoulders, and lower back.
More pain-management tools I use
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