Tennis Ball Exercises And The Benefits

Whoever thought that, the round green tennis ball by itself would make waves around the world.

And it is, for its effectiveness in stretching and strengthening body muscles, helping get rid fat accumulation, as a muscle soother, to improve hand, eye coordination, and help with relieving tension from the sciatic nerves, amongst other things.  Let us look at this in a little more detail:

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Hand Squeezes

Hand squeeze exercises are recommended to reduce stress, strengthen hand muscles, relieve hand pain, increase grip capacity, lower blood pressure and hypertension. Here are some exercises to help with:

  • Strengthening grip – place a tennis ball in your hand squeeze the ball using your fingers and thumb. Hold the squeeze position for 30 seconds. Each time your squeeze counts as a set. Do at least 3 sets per arm. This also works to relieve stress and pain in the hand muscles.
  • Lower blood pressure – hold a tennis ball in the palm of your hand, wrapping your fingers loosely around it. Squeeze the ball hard but yet comfortably for five seconds. Release your grip around it for 2 seconds and continue to repeat squeezing 10 times per hand. You can increase the reps to 20 times per hand, with a break of five seconds after 10 squeezes.

Juggling for Hand-Eye Coordination

Hand-eye coordination is not only important for athletes but also in day-to-day life. It can help you drive better, when playing with your children, or when multi-tasking in the kitchen. One effective way of improving your hand-eye coordination is by juggling balls. It isn’t as simple as professional jugglers make it to look.

To start juggling you will need 2 to 4 tennis balls. You can initially start juggling with 2 balls, and add balls to increase difficulty. The key aspect is to start by tossing one ball from hand to another, the ball should come to eye height when it is being passed from one hand to another. Keep the elbows steady at the hips, and don’t allow your hands to move much. Once you have practiced this, take another ball. Name one ball A and the other B. Toss ball A to eye level, and when it reaches the top of the arc, toss ball B.

Foot Massage

Our feet go through stress every day, and easily get tired and experience pain. To relieve sore feet, you will need to keep a tennis ball under the arch of one foot, and gently roll it back and forth from heel to toe for 5 minutes, then roll it again but this time from toe to heel for another 5 minutes. Continue the same on the other foot.

Sciatica pain

Sciatic pain is experienced when there is damage or pressure to the sciatic nerve. The pain is experienced mostly in the muscles running along the back of the legs.

Tennis balls exercises can help relieve the pain.

For this, you will need to lie on your back, facing up with the knees bent slightly. Place the tennis ball underneath on buttock cheek, where the back pocket of your jeans would be placed. Start by gently rolling or moving the ball about till you hit a tender spot, then relax into the ball for 15 to 20 seconds. Repeat this with the other buttock cheek. You can do this exercise four to five times every day.

Piriformis

Piriformis syndrome occurs when the pain in the buttock radiates to the leg, because of impingement to the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle. In order to be relieved of this pain, stretching of piriformis muscles is recommended.

To conduct the exercise with a tennis ball, you need to place the ball under the piriformis muscle and lie on it. Lying on the ball for 30 seconds can help pinpoint the knotted area in the muscle. After 30 seconds of lying on the ball, relax for a second and repeat this process four to five times.

Neck and shoulder pain

The neck and shoulders can be very vulnerable to tension and stress, a result of which is pain. In such situations the use of two tennis balls and socks can be very beneficial. Place the balls in sock and tie a tight knot over the top ball. Lie down on a smooth surface, and gently place the tennis ball sock at the base of your skull. Stay in that position long enough to take 3 deep breaths. You can alternatively also place the sock under the shoulder blades get relief from shoulder pain. You can continue this treatment for five or 10 minutes. Another option can also be to roll your neck or shoulders on the ball gently.

Plantar fasciitis pain

Plantar fasciitis is the inflammation of the long bone that connects your toe to your heel at the bottom of your feet. Overuse, being overweight or overstretching of the foot can result in small tears resulting in pain. To gain relief from this condition, you will need to follow the same exercise recommended for sore feet with the help of a tennis ball. For this, you will need to place the ball underneath the arch of your foot. Using your foot, roll the ball from toe to heel, applying as much pressure making sure you feel no pain. Do this for 30 seconds, then roll the ball from heel to toe for another 30 seconds. Switch the ball to continue the same exercise on the other foot.

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