Theracane
This Thera Cane is a very handy, portable trigger point massager. Which allows you to easily apply deep pressure to those tender and painful spots with in lay terms people call 'knots' and in our language what we call trigger points.
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Which can often be causing you:
- Active pain
- Latent / Dormant - no pain actively but has been known in the literate to cause you dysfunctional movement
- Satellite- where one sets off the other and you end up with multiple trigger points
I have found this useful for myself and for my clients/ patients. It allows you to reach areas which would usefully be very difficult if you are trying to trigger point yourself. For instance tender points in certain muscles such as the gluteus as you can see in this picture can mimic back pain and leg pain which often is mistaken for sciatica when in fact all a person has is active trigger points in this area.
The original developer of the Thera Cane is Daniel J. Hennessy and was developed by a chronic pain patient to try and help relive his own discomfort due to his neck surgery and his herniated disc from his back. He found by using this along with a spine mobility programme he had he found longer lasting relief from his pain and most importantly this allowed him to self care/ manage his symptoms.
What I would say is this, Trigger point therapy or the therapy cane is not a cure. It is a useful tool to use to support you with your training. It will never out do sleeping, and eating well or physically activity. It is important to get moving because any forms of physical activity has a myriad of benefits, especially ones you enjoy doing. In addiction to this we now know from pain science that what we are in essence doing but using the thera cane and doing trigger point therapy is, neuro-modulating pain/ pain gating and in fact what we are not doing is breaking down scar tissue.
If you actually want to know more about the pain science a good place to start reading Trigger Points & Myso-fascial Pain Syndrome - A guide to the unfinished science of muscle pain, with reviews of every theory and self management therapy option written by Paul Ingraham and Time Taylor
This is the link: https://www.painscience.com/tutorials/trigger-points.php and remember quick everything you read and learn to take everything with a pinch of salt. As you will find this topic is controversial and many would disagree with this piece of kit, in my clinical practice, for myself, with what I understand about the body it can be a very useful piece of tool in your kit for the right person.
Back when I purchases this it only costed me £25 pounds, some would argue a walking stick for £1.00 pound would be enough, however it is not nowhere near as useful as the Thera Cane's versatility in my opinion.
What I would say is this, Trigger point therapy or the therapy cane is not a cure. It is a useful tool to use to support you with your training. It will never out do sleeping, and eating well or physically activity. It is important to get moving because any forms of physical activity has a myriad of benefits, especially ones you enjoy doing. In addiction to this we now know from pain science that what we are in essence doing but using the thera cane and doing trigger point therapy is, neuro-modulating pain/ pain gating and in fact what we are not doing is breaking down scar tissue.
If you actually want to know more about the pain science a good place to start reading Trigger Points & Myso-fascial Pain Syndrome - A guide to the unfinished science of muscle pain, with reviews of every theory and self management therapy option written by Paul Ingraham and Time Taylor
This is the link: https://www.painscience.com/tutorials/trigger-points.php and remember quick everything you read and learn to take everything with a pinch of salt. As you will find this topic is controversial and many would disagree with this piece of kit, in my clinical practice, for myself, with what I understand about the body it can be a very useful piece of tool in your kit for the right person.
Back when I purchases this it only costed me £25 pounds, some would argue a walking stick for £1.00 pound would be enough, however it is not nowhere near as useful as the Thera Cane's versatility in my opinion.
Original Norsk Mobilization Wedge
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The Gird Foam Roller by The Trigger Point Company
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Peanut by Protone
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Beastie Balls by Rumble Roller
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Mini Loop Bands by Perform Better
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Product description
MINI BANDSMini bands which stretch up to twice their length – ideal for on the pitch, in the gym or at home. Four varying resistance levels from Light to Extra Heavy. Yellow, Green, Blue and Black. Light = Yellow Medium = Green Heavy = Blue Extra Heavy = Black Product Review |
Strength Bands 41 inches (104cm) by Perform Better
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Product description
The Strength Bands – 41″ are available in four levels of resistance, allowing for progression in both rehabilitation and athletic training. Can be used for a variety of applications including deadlifts, assisted chins/dips in the Gym plus resistance work out on the pitch. 100% pure latex rubber therefore highly durable. Product Review |
Hard wood Gilders
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I brought this product for £20 pounds, the plan originally was to use this for my own workouts. However they proved to be a very useful tool for my personal training and rehab sessions with my client. They have stood the rest of time I have had my gliders for the last 4-5 years and they are still in good working condition.
If you are looking to increase your intensity in your workouts and incorporate friction training I would definitely recommend these hardwood gliders (their are carpet versions). If you cannot afford the gliders and you would like to incorporate friction training into your regime. The alternative is using socks or a towel on wooden floors this should give you enough slide and glide. |
Polar H7 Bluetooth smart heart rate sensor
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I have been using polar for as long as I can remember! I made this purchase in 2015 and I haven’t looked back since, it’s an easy fit accurate and it’s Bluetooth so it will connect to your apps/ phones.
I use this Polar H7 strap with an app called 60 Beat Heart Rate Monitor which is a simple and free app to download off your App Store. The heart rate monitor along with the app allows me to track my workouts so I have an idea of what training zones I stay in the most and how long it takes to get back down to my resting heart rate.
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Omron M10-IT Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor with Dual User Facility and Dual Size Cuff
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