{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2509;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa200\sl276\slmult1\qj\lang9\f0\fs28 Hi, I'm Paula Moore The Chiropractor and I

am here to talk to you today about how to use a tennis ball for your lower back trouble.

Now I probably didn't invent this but I feel as if I have because my patients absolutely

love it and they tell me it's the best thing they have ever learned.\par

I don't know how long it has been around, but I found it one day after I had injured

my back and I haven't looked back since. It is one of the most popular exercises I give

my clients. I use it to get rid of knots in the low back. It can be used all over the

body but it is particularly great for the low back, in those hard to reach places.\par

I'm going to show you where you are going to be using this. This is you facing the spine, looking from

behind. The tennis ball is to be used in your low back, between the crest of your pelvic

bone and the lower margin of the ribs, either side of the lumbar spine. Those are the areas

you are going to be looking for your muscular knots.\par

When you are lying on your back you are going to be placing it along the lumbar margins.

In particular, there is a sweet spot where you get on a muscle called your quadratus

lumborum (the QL). On most people I can find a trigger point (a muscular knot) on the QL.

Certainly found on people with lower back pain.\par

This is so effective, because you can travel with a tennis ball so you are never stuck

in pain, not knowing what to do. So this is great for muscle spasms and knotted muscles.

A knot in a muscle you can think of as a build up of lactic acid where a muscle has been

over working. So athletes get these and people with back trouble get these, where the lactic

acid has formed a knot. \par Pressure can either be applied with my thumb,

as a chiropractor, or my elbow when I'm feeling particularly mean or a tennis ball. So you

can apply pressure to your own trigger points and help melt them away. So take a look at

me lying on my back now.\par So just before you lie back, you've got your

tennis ball in the same hand as the side you'll apply it to. You're going to lie on your back

and roll your knees to the side. Have a feel with your own fingers for the tender points,

the areas that feel knotted. Move the tennis ball around until you find a particularly

tender point. Remember the spots between the crest of the pelvis and where the ribs end

and close to the bony spine but not on the bone. \par

So you put the ball in and you roll your knees back. Move the ball around until you find

a tender point. For some people this is enough weight to get the tension onto the ball and

feeling the tenderness. If you can't find a tender point, you can increase the weight

on the tennis ball. I do this by taking my foot onto my opposite knee and tipping. Sometimes

I use my hands, cupping them over my knee and tipping right onto the ball, putting a

little more weight onto the point. \par The key with these tender points is that you

need to stay on the point until the discomfort completely fades. If you come off the ball

before they have faded you can actually switch the points on and cause aggravation. If you

feel the tenderness travel down your leg, that's ok, just remember that that is a more

chronic point that has been there longer. Stay on it until it completely fades. On average

that will take from 20 seconds to two or three minutes for the more chronic points. \par

When the pain has completely gone, slowly roll off the tennis ball and move the tennis

ball to another tender point. Find two or three tender points each side and remember to stay on them until they fade

completely.\par To come off the ball, roll your knees away

and come up onto all fours, don't just sit straight up. This can be done every single

day. This exercise is best to be done once you have been up a couple of hours. My preference

is to do it after a hot bath or after a little exercise or at the end of the day when you

will get a lot more out of it. You may be a little sore after the exercise.\par

Be careful not to push down too hard on the tennis ball as you can bruise your muscle.

If you do bruise the muscle, arnica lotion is great and the bruising won't last long

anyway. It can be sore the next day. Remember if there is anything you are really concerned

about, see your chiropractor or GP. \par \pard\sa200\sl276\slmult1\par

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