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Posted 6/16/2009 2:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everybody.  Hope everyone's summer is going well.  I've been away for a couple of weeks enjoying time with my daughter. :-)

 

I am wondering if anyone has tried "Body Rolling."  You use these different balls (they look like playground balls to me) to roll over different parts of your body.  Some people do it to help break up scar adhesions from surgery (I'm having problems with scar pain, and I came across the website while researching for that), but the site also mentioned that it is good for fibro. 

 

This is the link to the website

http://www.yamunabodyrolling.com/

 

Just wondering what you alll think about it or if anyone has tried it.  I'm always game for trying non-invasive non-chemical stuff.

 

Thanks.

 

Hugs - Austen

Posted 6/16/2009 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
Yes Austen,  I use these balls.  I bought them at Costco a few years ago.  I think they help a little.  I usually just use one and roll on it while it is between my shoulder blades .  I also keep them near my bed at night.  Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night I place the one I have with a little less air in it under my neck.  I can fall back to sleep like this.  A book of instructions came with them, but of course I don't know where I put it. tongue

 

Puppylover

Posted 6/16/2009 5:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Austen. I don't use the balls that you are talking about but I have tried something very similar using foam rollers(kind of like swimming noodles). My massage therapist suggested it. I actually found it difficult to do. Maybe I'm just not co-ordinated enough or gave up on it too soon. Also I found that laying on that firm roll in one spot threw the alignment in the rest of my body off causing more pain elsewhere. Maybe the balls are softer so that may not be a problem for you. There is another method out there called the Miracle Ball Method which uses soft small balls that you lay on to relax the muscles but no rolling involved from what I remember. That didn't really do much for me either but maybe I should give it another try as it is easy to do and potentially helpful. Lisa
Posted 6/16/2009 6:16 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I don't have ant exercise balls, but I do do mt own "routine" of stretches each night before being able to sleep.
I mainly have to concentrate my stretches on my neck, shoulders & upper back.
I have found that if I use one of the "rounded" corners in my house & "roll" my upper back & neck over it, I can get more relief sometimes.
Posted 6/16/2009 9:20 PM (GMT 0)

Hey Austen...I started to laugh when I pulled up your post because awhile back a man got on a wrote that he was interested to know if 'foam rollers' would hurt his girlfriend with fibro and continued to say he used them all the time.  A whole bunch of us old broads 'out of the loop' responded thinking he meant rollers for her hair and told him where he could buy them...and they shouldn't hurt her head as they were soft, yet wondered why he set HIS hair in rollers.  We never heard from him again...I laughed so hard I peed my pants a little!

I have to say I haven't tried the Body rolling balls or the foam rollers.  Sounds like it feels good though!

Huggies

Donna

Posted 6/16/2009 10:11 PM (GMT 0)
Ya HAD to bring that up, huh Donna!  mad

Sherrine

Posted 6/16/2009 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
Sherrine...would you like me to bring up the 'nursing while on medication' again...LOL! smhair

huggies

Doona

Posted 6/17/2009 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
Oh my gosh, too funny.  Now that you mention it, I actually remember that foam roller thread. 

 

This is often a great place to come to for a good laugh. Fibro fog (and confusion) abounds!   devil

 

Also, thanks for all of the feedback on the body rolling.  I think I may try it.

 

Hugs - Austen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted 6/17/2009 1:15 AM (GMT 0)

Hi, this is my first time to post although I have been reading this message board since I was diagnosed with fibro about 18 months ago.  I really didn't trust that diagnosis because my doctor in this little one-horse town said he was diagnosing me with fibro so he could prescribe Lyrica.  He didn't even check for trigger points or anything else.  I soon found out that medicine was NOT for me.

I started doing the body rolling this past November.  I use the Yamuna balls, the yellow one for everything but the chest and shoulder area--I use the smaller green ball for that.  I love BR, it helps me so much.  So relaxing!  I was using the foam roller, but found it makes my lower spine sore so have quit that.  I also use the small Miracle Balls, the Pilates Circle, and a Pilates ball.  Still, the pain was relentless this winter.

I am now taking Tramadol for pain as needed which helps me a lot when I hurt so bad I would have to leave work if I didn't take it.  I have to be careful with any kind of pain med because of chronic constipation. 

After taking medical leave for 10 weeks and going to Houston to see specialists who diagnosed me with fibro, myofascitis, ANA-positive, IBS/C, pelvic prolapses, etc.  The good news is that I am a very healthy 64-year-old woman.  All my issues are functional, and cause various types of chronic pain, but those specialists and the physical therapists I saw taught me so many ways to help myself feel so much better.  They all approved of the body rolling.  I have started doing stretches, and working out on the treadmill everyday.  I have been shown by them and have books that teach me how to massage the belly in specific places and ways that help the colon and muscles on my left side come out of spasm.  I am no longer terrified anymore than I am going to drop dead with a heart attack when one of these left-side spasms come on.  I was convinced I was dying before I went to Baylor.  I had been living in fear for almost five years. 

Anyway, I do love the body rolling.  I do it every night before bedtime.  It's wonderful!

turn  

Posted 6/17/2009 11:27 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks ScampieLou, and welcome to the forum.  I've tried meds too, but also found that I couldn't tolerate them, so I'm always looking for alternative methods of pain relief.

 

I'm glad you've had some success with the Yamuna balls; those are the ones I was looking at online.  It sounded kind of crazy to me that rolling around on a ball could help, so I was a little skeptical at first.  Thanks so much for sharing your experiences.  I am definitely going to try it.

 

Hugs - Austen

Posted 6/17/2009 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hi ScampieLou and welcome. Glad you finally decided to join in. Rolling on soft balls sounds good to my back and shoulders.

 

Sherrine, I may not remember much but I will never forget the nursing and foam rollers and I won't let you forget either. devil

luv and hugs

Marlee

Posted 6/17/2009 3:54 PM (GMT 0)

Hello Austen and Sherrine and thank you for welcoming me aboard!

A friend gave me Yamuna's book, the DVD that explains body rolling, and the yellow ball.  I think she bought her stuff from The Academy.  I bought my green ball online and it was much cheaper than what Yamuna charges for it.  I got the link when I was looking for one on Amazon.  Of course I cannot remember the name of the company I purchaced it from.  I also bought the red ball and discovered it was too tough for me and I gave it to my friend.  She is 22 years younger than me and it was just what she needed to take when she travels. I watched the DVD the first few times as I was doing the BR.  As you keep doing it, you will find out what feels good to your body specifically and make adjustments.  Everything will soon be in your muscle memory and you won't need the DVD. 

I try to do as much as I can even when the fibro is really bad, but sometimes everything is just too much.  This is usually when the fatigue and dizziness have kicked in to the point I am afraid of falling and my concentration is just gone.  Otherwise, I do some exercise even on painful days and it makes me feel better. 

If you decide to get the balls and start rolling, I hope they help you as much as they have helped me.  One of my favorite things to do at work is stand against the wall with the ball pressing into one side of my back and rolling up and down the wall.  It feels like you are getting a massage!!

Cheers!

S-L

Posted 6/17/2009 5:01 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds painful.
Posted 6/17/2009 5:12 PM (GMT 0)

vestabula said...
Sherrine...would you like me to bring up the 'nursing while on medication' again...LOL!

huggies

Doona

I remember the foam rollers thread! Hahah..oh dear.

Also, and I never before confessed this, Donna you had a thread awhile back about not understanding people who don't feel love and connection towards their pets and you mentioned an ill boy who's last wish via the Make a Wish foundation was to shoot a moose and hang its head up on the wall. Welllll...I read this in a fibro fog and went over it several times before I realized you had NOT said that this boy wanted to shoot a mouse and hang its head on the wall. Seriously, it took me like 10 minutes to read it correctly. I kept going over it and over thinking first of all-who on earth would want to shoot a mouse?? and second of all-if you DID shoot a mouse, how on earth could there be any head left, let alone enough to hang on the wall!? shocked

Anyway...sorry to interrupt the thread, but I figured I'd get that long held embarrassing misconception out of the way..

As for the balls/rollers, I've never tried them but they do sound intriguing. Where do you get them? Do you need a special kind or can you just use the store bought swimming noodles?
Posted 6/17/2009 8:49 PM (GMT 0)

Oh Danielle, I am laughing my head off!  I am picturing this kid with a huge rifle shooting the crap out of a mouse and hanging the remains on the wall!  Don't feel bad...look at how I signed my name to the post you brought up...Doona.  Can't even spell my own name!

Huggies

Nooda

Posted 6/17/2009 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
Oh Sleepybug, how funny.  I laughed so hard I'm crying.  We have lots of rats out here that eat the fruit from the citrus trees.  I'm picturing sitting on my patio, whacking one, and then mounting it's head over our fireplace. yeah

 

Puppylover

Posted 6/18/2009 12:28 AM (GMT 0)

Danielle, You can buy them online, I don't know whether any kind of store stocks them.  You can go here: www.AllaboutBodyRolling.com/Yamuna or go to Amazon.com and type in "Yamuna yellow ball kit".  I like Amazon because of the free shipping.  Also read the comments from buyers if you go to Amazon. 

J-L

Posted 5/24/2016 12:26 PM (GMT 0)
I was recommended using foam rollers and started them last night, now I feel bruised and even more achy then normal. Do you think the balls are easier on the knots? The foam rollers HURT.
Posted 5/25/2016 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
The foam rollers were too hard for me and caused pain...

So i got pool noodles and use in a similar way..

Also the trigger point handbook..suggests using a tennis ball...which was way too hard..so i treat the trigger points with a stress ball..

These softer versions often help me in a major way..

I will study the body rolling..sounds good


Lj
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