Joint Care

Be Your Own Masseuse

The purpose of using tissue releasing tools like a massage ball is to separate and realign fascia that has become tangled and bunched up, as well as pressing on trigger points that form in muscles. In both these situations, the tissues that are tight end up stealing mechanical efficiency from the body by not being as elastic as they were intended. Every time we try to stretch a tendon that is shortened and inelastic, the tissues around it have to stretch further than they normally would, causing them to work harder and exist under unnecessary stress. There are a number of health care professionals who specialize in releasing this tension. They range from masseuses and yoga instructors to physical therapists and trainers. When under the care of a well trained fascia professional, they will often be able to identify the source of the patient's problems, taking the guesswork out of this manual therapy. However, these professionals come at a cost, and we are often tight or aching more often then we'd like to schedule a session with a masseuse. The good news is that using simple tools and our body weight, it is often possible to achieve an even more effective release of tension than visiting a masseuse. This is because you are in control of the location, pressure and time spent on each individual point. The process of massaging trigger points and tight fascia usually hurts to some degree. We recommend placing enough pressure that the process feels 90% pleasant and 10% painful. If more pressure than that is applied, the muscles could actually contract and resist the massage tool, not allowing it to sink into the tissue and work its magic. We highly recommend doing these messages slowly, taking relaxed, even breaths throughout. This will help the tissues relax and help us achieve our goal.

InjuryMap, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Tools For Tissue Release

Massage Ball - The massage ball's purpose is to offer a targeted massage to particularly problematic areas with a muscle or section of fascia. Here we will recommend sweet spots that can often be a focal point of a lot of tightness, but it is recommended to experiment by moving the massage ball in small increments along the muscle until tender spots are found.

Calve Muscles

Anatomy The muscles we are trying to release here are called the gastrocnemius and soleus, commonly known as the calve muscles. These muscles are attached to the thickest tendon in the body: the Achilles tendon. This tendon offers massive amounts of elastic, recyclable energy. During running, jumping or any motion that requires dorsiflexion, the Achilles tendon is often stretched to a greater extent than the calve muscles themselves. This stretch acts as a significant and powerful slingshot, helping raise the leg quickly and rapidly off the ground. You can easily see and feel these muscles as you point your foot or push up onto the balls of your feet.

InjuryMap, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations from Shoes The calve muscles are responsible for pointing the foot into the movement called plantarflexion. When put into a shoe with a drop, the muscle is stuck partway into this motion. This keeps the calves and largest tendon in our body, the achilles tendon, in a shortened position as long as we wear the shoe.Over time this can cause us to lose a degree of dorsiflexion, meaning that when bending over, going down the stairs or running and jumping, the ankle is less mobile, forcing the knees, hips and back to work in a much larger range of motion. Oftentimes when performing athletic feets, a shoe drop can shift the range of motion of the tibia, allowing the knees and hips to reach a greater angle than without the shoe drop. But this comes at the expense of moving our center of gravity forward, loading our lower back and hips more than they should be while performing the motion. When transitioning to barefoot shoes, this is often the most problematic muscle group to lengthen and realign. Because of this, we at Allways Barefoot offer a dorsiflexion platform to accelerate the process of lengthening this extremely important muscle group.

Massage ball We will start with the connection of the Achilles to the gastrocnemius. The ball will be placed directly at the point of connection, and all you will need to do is apply pressure. Once pressure has been applied, simply find a degree of pressure that feels 90% pleasant and 10% painful and wait. Continue to apply pressure until satisfied, although we recommend at the very least to count to 20 before releasing. The next points are on the bellies of the muscles themselves. Starting with the lateral head, find the midpoint of the muscle and apply pressure. Slowly roll the massage ball back and forth within the centre of the muscle. Pause at any point that you feel pleasant or effective pressure. Continue at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. Repeat the same process on the medial head.

Dorsiflexors

Anatomy The muscles on the front of the shin right next to the tibia are a dense group of small muscles whose purpose is to lift the foot and toes upwards. During walking and running, as the the comes forward, the dorsiflexors instinctively begin to raise the foot into the air to put the foot into it’s “closed packed position”, or the strongest position a joint can be in. To locate these muscles, feel anywhere along the lateral (outer) side of your tibia. All of the muscle and tissue felt there are the dorsiflexor group.

Limitations from shoes There are three immediately problematic factors that conventional shoes place upon our dorsiflexors:

Because of the toe springs found in most shoes, some of the muscle groups in the dorsiflexor group called the extensor digitorum longus and the extensor hallucis longus are slightly shortened as long as the shoe is being worn.

While walking, the dorsiflexors are responsible for locking our ankle into a safe position before impact. Because of the drop found in most shoes, the dorsiflexors must pull the ankle through a much larger range of motion in order to reach this locking position. Since the time they are given to perform this motion between each stride is limited, the velocity at which the muscles flex is usually very fast. Since there is a greater range the muscle must go through at each step, this velocity ends up putting the foot into a greater degree of dorsiflexion than necessary, thus adding increased stress to the dorsiflexors every step taken in improper footwear.

When walking with improper footwear, their inflexibility generally causes the hip to increase its range of motion to make up for what is lacking within the foot. This means that our strides are usually longer when wearing conventional shoes. Moreover, since most conventional shoes are very soft, we end up landing harder on our heels than we would if we were barefoot or in shoes with minimal padding. At the moment of impact, the dorsiflexor's job is to resist the acceleration of the ball of the foot and the toes into the ground. Since the strides we take in improper footwear are larger, they therefore create greater forces that the dorsiflexors have to resist with every step.

By releasing tension in the dorsiflexors, we can free up some range of motion in the ankle joint that is limiting our bodies natural ability to absorb shock. Moreover, the discomfort of chronic or acute symptoms that come from compartment syndrome or shin splints can be addressed through these methods.

Massage Ball First, position yourself on your knees in front of a chair or ledge that you can lean your weight upon. Place the massage ball high up on your shin, just under the lateral condyle of the tibia. Slowly move your way down the side of your tibia, keeping the ball as close to the connection point to your tibia as possible. If you feel too much weight on the bone, you should distance the ball from it slightly. Make your way down to just above the ankle, then repeat the journey back up. Wherever it feels tender or pleasant, we recommend to find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied.

Quadriceps and the Patellar Tendon

Anatomy The quadriceps are named such because of their 4 different heads. Three of these heads all attach directly to the thigh bone, while the one closest to the surface, called the rectus femoris, starts in the hip bone. However, all four of them combine above the knee into the patellar tendon. The patella is encased within this tendon, which continues its path down to the top of the tibia. These muscles are very easily seen and felt by straightening the knee and lifting the leg forward slightly off the ground.

colorized by Michael Gasperl, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations from shoes When walking in shoes with a heel drop, the tibia is automatically tilted forward. Since the quadriceps main point of action is on the tibia, as soon as the tibia is shifted out of place, the quadriceps activate in an attempt to resist this motion, stiffening the muscle. Since the rectus femoris also acts on the hip, it can slightly pull the hips downwards into anterior pelvic tilt. This tightening, partnered often with the tendency of the lower back to tighten as well to resist the forward shifting angle that a shoe drop creates, can lead to a stiff lower back and weaker gluteal muscles over time. Another problem the quadriceps experience are the need to stabilize the knee more than they were intended as soon as the foot is immobilized by improper footwear. Countless reaction forces that want to throw the body off balance are supposed to be absorbed and managed by the foot, and as soon as we put on a shoe with a heel drop, toe springs, arch support and a thick sole, the foot can no longer perform this action. This allows these reaction forces to skip the foot entirely and travel up through the leg, increasing the amount and intensity of destabilizing forces the knee experiences. By releasing the tissues of the quadriceps, we can potentially reduce stress experienced in the knee as well as the lower back.

Massage ball We will recommend 5 different points to place the massage ball, but remember to experiment. The 5 points we will focus on are the top of the rectus femoris, the middle of each of the three vastus muscles and the connecting point of the patellar tendon. Lay down on your stomach. Leave one leg straight while the second one curls up to your side. Place your palms down on the floor near your shoulders. To find the first point near the top of the rectus femoris, place your fingers slightly below the ASIS and push your knee into the floor. You will feel the tendon and muscle pop out a bit. Place the massage ball at about one finger length distance down from the ASIS. Find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breath evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. For the next critical spot, locate the middle of the quadriceps. To find the middle of the quads, push your knee into the floor or lift your leg straight out in front of you and use your hand to check the width of the quads. The middle should be at the level at which the muscle feels the widest. Once this middle spot is found, place the massage ball at that point under your straight leg. Find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breath evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. The next two critical spots will lie more or less about 2 centimeters or one inch to the left and right of the same mid point you previously located. Rotate your leg about that distance to the left or right, and repeat the process of applying pressure for at least 20 seconds. Once finished, rotate back the other direction and again apply pressure. The final point should be about 2 to 3 centimeters above the patella.

Tensor Fascia Lata & Fascia Lata

Anatomy The fascia lata is an immense tendon that runs from the top of the hip to the lateral side of the knee. Attached up at the hip bone is a small muscle called the tensor fascia lata. When the tensor fascia lata and the gluteus maximus are active, they tighten the fascia lata, causing it to pull on the side of the tibia, stabilizing the knee. This is an important action for resisting knee valgus, where the knees buckle inwards during weight bearing or shock absorbing activities. Both the tendon and the muscle’s location can be felt easily when internally rotating the hip and lifting it in front of you at a 45 degree angle.

colorized by Michael Gasperl, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations from shoes Because of the heel drop in many modern shoes, the angle of the tibia is shifted forward, causing a reflex from all the muscles attached to it to resist this change in position. Since the fascia lata connects directly to the fibula, this means it and the tensor fascia lata are affected by this change. Because modern shoes often have some sort of arch support built in, or if an individual wears orthotics, this will resist the motion of pronation, which is essential for loading the foot and creating elastic recoil. Since chain reaction of elastic recoil does not occur, the tensor fascia and glutes end up firing at a shorter range of motion and the tensor fascia does not utilize its elasticity to absorb some of the shock from ground reaction forces. By releasing the tensor fascia lata and fascia lata, we can relieve some tension they may be applying to the knee, hip or lower back, as well as return some of their elasticity for resisting forces trying to force us into knee varus.

Massage ball We will place the massage ball in 3 different locations along the tensor fascia and fascia lata. The first point is on the tensor facia lata itself. Lay down on your side with your bottom arm's forearm flat on the floor and upper arm with the palm flat on the floor. Position the foot of your top leg flat on the floor. Place the massage ball in the middle of the tensor fascia lata, about 2 - 3 inches down from the lip of the hip bone. Find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. The next point is about one finger length downward from the neck of the femur. Place the massage ball at this point, but do a little manuevering to make sure you found the most effective spot. Find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breath evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. The last point is right above the lateral condyle of the femur. If you place your finger above the condyle and push down into the floor, you will feel your fascia lata pop out. Place the ball about one finger length above the lateral condyle on the fascia lata. Find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breath evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied.

Hamstrings

Anatomy The hamstrings are special muscles that allow us to bend over and straighten back up, as well as bend the knee during activities like walking, squatting, going up stairs and running. There are 4 different hamstring heads, three of which are attached to the hip right next to the groin, then reaching down to the shin bones. The last one is shorter, starting from the femur and ending on the head of the fibula.

Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations from shoes When wearing shoes with a heel drop, the hamstrings can either be shortened or lengthened, depending on the compensation they experience in their posture. If a heel drop causes them to tuck their hips underneath them more than before, the hamstring will experience chronic shortening. If the hips are tilted forward by the heel drop, they will experience a chronic lengthening as long as the shoes are worn.

Massage Ball There are 2 general locations we would recommend to place the massage ball to release tension. The first is right underneath the ischial tuberosity. Sit down on a chair, bench or any surface that allows you to place your legs at a 90 degree angle. Place your hands next to your hips or on any supports nearby in order to control your body weight and the amount of pressure on the ball. Find the bony protuberance right underneath the buttox and place the massage ball directly in front of it. Find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. The next spot is right in the middle of the back of the leg. It must be noted, this is a very general location, as the hamstrings could easily be located on either side of this spot. Once the ball is located in the middle of the back of the leg, slowly shift your body weight around on the ball, searching for tender or pleasant places to apply pressure. Once these spots are found, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied.

Adductors

Anatomy The abductors are a large group of muscles beginning either from the hip bone adjacent to the groin and ending either on the inner part of the femur or the tibia. Their job is to bring the leg inwards towards the body. The muscles can be felt popping out when crossing one leg sideways in front of the other while standing or trying to lift the bottom leg while lying on your side.

colorized by Michael Gasperl, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations in Shoes The adductors have a direct effect on long our stride length can be. When striding forward, we need to slightly externally rotate at the hip and supinate the foot. If the adductors are tight, this motion will be limited and a lot of pressure will be put on the medial part of the knee when the leg contacts the ground. When pushing off, the opposite is true: the hip needs to be able to internally rotate. Again, with tight adductors, we wont be able to push our leg back to the proper degree, and we will end up compensating around the hip joint. While walking in standard shoes, a shoe drop will change the length of the adductors to a certain degree. This can either lengthen or shorten the adductors, depending on the postural stance the individual adopts. In addition, since standard shoes are relatively stiff, this often promotes over stride and an early toe off from the ground, meaning the motion of internal rotation at the hip is lessened with every step the individual takes.

Massage ball Sit on a chair and support your body weight with your hands on either side of you. Let one leg sink off the side of the chair with the knee bent, while the leg being massaged remains at a 90 degree angle but tilted 30 - 45 degrees inwards. Place the massage ball directly between the transition point where your hip becomes your leg. From here, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. The next spot to focus on is in the middle of the thigh. Place the ball under the center of the thigh and begin moving it in small increments until a tender or pleasant spot is found. Once found, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. The last spot to press is located right above and behind the medial condyle of the femur. Place the ball in this area and shift it around in small increments until a tender or pleasant spot is found. Once found, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied.

Glutes

Anatomy The gluteal muscles are an absolute power house. They are some of the main muscles that allow us to stand up straight and bend over to pick objects up off the ground. There are a few separate muscles belonging to this group: the gluteus minimus, medius and maximus. The medius and minimus are located on the side of the hip, and will lift the leg up sideways when working alone. The gluteus maximus muscles are what we commonly refer to as our butt. They create huge amounts of thrust and power when pushing the leg down and backwards. These muscles can easily be felt popping out on the side of the hip when lifting the leg to the side or backwards while standing.

Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations in Shoes If an individual has an exaggurated postural lordosis, then when wearing shoes with a heel drop they are likely to exasperate the compensation. When the hips are pushed further into Anterior Pelvic Tilt, then the lower back and the hip flexors become shortened and dominant. Since the glutes perform the opposite motions than the lower back and hip flexors, the glutes often find themselves in their outer range and unable to fire properly. If the person compensates by tilting the hips posteriorly, then the glutes will be stuck close to their inner range, also weakening them.

Massage Ball - Beginning with the gluteus medius and minimus, lay down on your side with your bottom forearm flat on the floor and top leg bent with the foot flat on the floor. Place the massage ball underneath your hip right at the edge of the iliac crest; the lip of the hip bone. Shift the massage ball along the iliac crest, pausing at all the points that you find a tender or pleasant spot to apply pressure. Once found, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. The next spot will be in the middle of both the gluteus minimus and medius muscle. Place the massage ball about 2 centimeters or one inch above the neck of the femur. Shift your weight slightly back and forth until you find a tender or pleasant spot to apply pressure. When found, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. For the gluteus maximus, begin by sitting on the massage ball with your hands on the floor behind you to support your weight. Place the massage ball along the edge of your sacrum, and slowly shift the ball up and down the edge of the sacrum until you find a tender or pleasant spot to apply pressure. When found, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. For the next spot, place the massage ball directly in the middle of the gluteal muscle. Shift your weight slightly back and forth until you find a tender or pleasant spot to apply pressure. When found, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied. The final location we will apply pressure is right behind the neck of the femur. Shift your weight slightly back and forth until you find a tender or pleasant spot to apply pressure. When found, find a comfortable amount of pressure and pause, taking a few even breaths to adjust to the position. If possible, slowly and comfortably increase the pressure as you continue to breathe evenly. Hold for at least 20 seconds or until satisfied.

Lower Spine

Anatomy The lower back is made up of long, thin muscles that keep the spine straight while standing and walking but also allow us to crane over to manipulate things on the ground in front of us as well as hoist them up. Every step we take, there are dozens of muscles in the lower back that flex and activate in order to stabilize the spinal cord. The muscles we will be addressing can easily be felt when simply standing up straight, but can be accentuated by keeping the back straight and bending over a few degrees from the hip.

Henry Vandyke Carter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations from Shoes The two most detrimental features for the lower back in modern shoes are the heel drop and the padded sole. The heel drop forces our posture into a position that commonly exaggerates the lumbar curve, shortening the muscles and limiting their ability to contract. Next, the padded soles change our stride patterns. Primarily, we end up overstriding or landing harder on our leg than we would if we were barefoot because of the padding built into the shoe. This means that during each step there are increased ground reaction forces entering the body, increasing the need for the lower back to contract to absorb the shock. However, because the heel drop of the shoe likely put the lower back into a shortened position, the muscles are less able to contract in an effective way, so the shock is able to travel further on into the body or just ends up overworking the muscles of the lower back.

Massage Ball - Lay on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Place the massage ball right at the corner of your sacrum and iliac crest. From here, slowly walk the massage ball above the edge of your iliac crest, pausing at any points that feel tender or pleasant. Next, replace the massage ball adjacent to your spine, right above the iliac crest. Begin to walk the ball up your spine until you reach the level of your first rib, pausing along the way when you reach a tender or pleasant spot. Finally, rotate sideways and place the ball on the outer part of your erector spinae. These are the muscles adjacent to your spine. Place the massage ball right above the iliac crest, and make sure the pressure of the ball is pressing on the side of the erector spinae and begin to walk the ball up to the first rib, pausing wherever it feels good or necessary. When finished, repeat on the other side.

Upper Spine

Anatomy The upper spine is affected by multiple muscles that operate upon the spine itself, the scapula and neck. When positioned right, the upper spine allows for the expansion of the rib cage during breathing, and pull from the bottom of our head at the back of the neck to resist forces that want us to bend over. The muscles that generally are involved in this area are the trapezius, rhomboids and erector spinae. By releasing tension on many of the muscles in the upper back, pain relief from poor posture as well as an improvement in our respiratory function can be experienced.

Henry Vandyke Carter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations from Shoes More often than not, the problems we experience in the muscles of the upper back are often from being overly stretched as opposed to over tightened. This is due to us looking down at phones for many hours a day and sitting in front of desktop computers, and often aggravated by poor posture caused by heel drops in improper footwear. Usually those with an overly kyphotic upper back will have an exaggeration of this posture while wearing heel drop.

Massage ball Lay down on your back and place the massage ball at the level of your lowest rib. On the same side of the back that is being massaged, cross the arm over the chest in order to move the scapula out of the path of the ball. Walk the massage ball up the spine, remaining adjacent to the spine all the way up to the top of the back of the neck. Pause wherever a tender or pleasant massage is achieved. Once at least one up and back journey has been completed, switch sides. Next, locate the spine of the scapula. You can feel the spine of the scapula by reaching over your shoulder and drawing your hands over the shoulder at large. The long, continuous line of bone that you feel is where we will now operate. Place the ball directly on the scapula, right underneath the spine of the scapula. Roll the massage ball along the line, just adjacent to the spine of the scapula. Once finished, move the ball down 2 centimeters or one 1 inch, and roll the ball from one side of the scapula to the other. Continue all the way down to the base of the scapula, then switch sides. Next, place the massage ball right above the spine of the scapula on the corner closest to your spinal column. Walk the massage ball down all the way to the opposite end of the spine of the scapula, and then back again. We recommend going all the way back and forth at least twice or until satisfied. Once finished, switch and repeat on the opposite side.

Latissimus Dorsi

Anatomy The latissimus dorsi is the broadest muscle in the body. One side of it spans from the base of our back all the way up to the spine middle of our rib cage, and its connecting side sticks to one little position on our upper arm. Its sole responsibilities are to pull the arm in close to our body and assist to extend the back. It can be easily felt by placing the hand around the rib cage, extending the shoulder out in front of the body, grabbing a hold of something and trying to pull the arm back towards the body.

User:Mikael Häggström, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations from Shoes The latissimus dorsi is a complicated muscle, as when it contracts or shortens it can cause the lower back to extend and arch as well as the arms to be pulled down and backward. This means that when it is short, the latissimus can either cause our lumbar spine to shorten even further, or it can drag our arms down and inwards, causing the thoracic spine to lengthen. This may cause interruptions in normal breathing patterns, and will limit the degree to which one can lift their arms above their head. In either scenario, wearing shoes with heel drop will exaggerate these postural changes, shortening the latissimus over time with use.

Massage ball Lay on your side with your lower arm raised. Starting from your mid spine, roll the massage ball in a line all the way up to just behind your armpit. Once you've reached the back of the armpit, relocate the ball back near your spine, about 2 centimetres above the original starting point. Again trace a straight line to the back of your armpit. Once finished, repeat on the other side.

Pectoralis Muscles

Anatomy The pectoralis muscles consist of the pectoralis major and minor. The pectoralis minor lies below the pectoralis major, the large and visible muscle across the front of our chest. The pectoralis minor is attached to our scapula and rib cage, and when flexed, pulls the scapula over the rib cage, down towards the chest. The pectoralis major works directly on the upper arm, helping pull the arm in close to the chest while spinning it inwards. The pectoralis minor cannot be felt, but the pectoralis major is hard to miss. Just bring your arm across your chest and you will feel it bulge up.

Arcadian:derivative work: Lies Van Rompaey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Limitations from Shoes In most scenarios, the effect of a heel drop will put our upper spine in position where the shoulders will roll inwards. As this remains the case over time, the pectoralis muscles become shortened. This can effect how high the arms can be raised above our heads and can interrupt proper breathing patterns. Once heel drop is taken away, proper lengthening can be performed and preserved.

Massage ball Lay on your stomach with one arm raised at a 45 degree angle, the second arm bent and placed palm down next to the foam roller, and the leg on the same side as the supporting arm bent and flat on the ground. Place your massage ball underneath your chest at the point where your sternum and clavicle meet. Let your head rest on the floor, and from here, walk the massage ball outwards adjacent to the scapula until you reach the deltoid muscle. Make the journey back to the starting point, keeping adjacent to the clavicle. It's recommended to complete this line two times. Next, walk the massage ball along the edge of the clavicle. Once at the bottom, make your way back up. Once finished, find a midway point up the clavicle, and begin to roll the massage ball in a straight line towards your armpit. Once you reach your armpit, journey back to the starting point at the middle of the clavicle. From here, explore different lines starting above or below the original point you traced from the middle of the chest. Continue until satisfied, then switch sides.