The Stick Can Ease Muscle Aches & Pains

This little piece of equipment may not eliminate the need for professional massage, but it can help manage muscle pain.

MONEY WELL SPENT | If you workout routinely and experience soft tissue aches or muscle knots as a result, The Stick, a self-massaging tool used by gym rats and sports physios alike, could be your ticket to relief.

The Stick is a flexible bar with a stack of short plastic spindles threaded loosely onto it like beads on a necklace. When these wobbly bits are rolled over tight or inflamed muscles, tendons and ligaments, and extra pressure is applied directly on the hottest spots, the tenderness will diminish—once the pain you have inflicted upon yourself has subsided that is: you cannot work out muscle knots without applying pressure, and pressure will cause discomfort.

According to info that comes with The Stick, this product not only helps reduce muscle soreness through self-massage that speeds circulating to blood to injured areas, but it also helps in the identification and rehabilitation of soft tissue injuries. I’ve also found it to be a great all-round warm-up and cool-down device before and after strenuous physical activity.

While it is possible to use The Stick to calm sore shoulders, back and lats, I’ve found these places too hard to get to under my own steam, though working on glutes, thighs and calves has proved to be an aah-inspiring self-massage no brainer. —C. Rule

CLICK HERE to fine out more about The Stick. In Metro Vancouver, we found The Stick at Fitness Town, fitnesstown.ca