do it yourself physical therapy
No coverage? No access? Do it yourself.
Stretching, walking, hot and cold therapies, topicals (putting on the skin), TENS machines, self-massage and acupressure can all be done at home!
Stretching should be slow, steady and last at least 30 seconds to have a real effect. Avoid bouncing or jerking with any stretching.
Hot and cold therapy is just that - some times body parts will feel better with an ice pack (cover your skin first with a tea towel and then place your ice pack over top, wrap in place and leave on 20 minutes after your painful area goes numb) and some times will feel wonderful with a hot shower, a paraffin wax dip (for the hands or feet), or putting on a heating pad (don't leave on for longer than 20 minutes even if it feels good).
TENS machines (example here) work by distracting your spinal cord from sending pain signals up to your brain. The machines that are sold in most pharmacies or department stores are also EMS machines (electrical muscle stimulation device). These are similar, but instead of producing high frequency pulses like a TENS, they produce low frequency signals that produce motor contraction (muscle twitch). There is not great evidence about these, but if they work for you, then you have another weapon in your fight against pain. ***NOTE: always follow the directions on these machines***
Self-massage and acupressure can be done with your hands or with special balls, rollers, and other strange looking instruments (see the theracane video below). By massaging out trigger points or providing sustained pressure on a trigger point, you can relieve pain in the area. See some of the videos below for how to do this. These can be picked up at most sporting goods stores, yoga studios, and online.
