Focussing on sports

The infinite possibilities of physical activities, doing different kinds of sports and enjoying nature with all its elements triggers a feeling of liberty inside me that plays a central role in my life.

Due to my urge to move I started to passionately indulge in sports already in my early childhood. I was particularly drawn to all kinds of gliding sports. Snowboarding, skiing, kite surfing and surfing still belong to my favourite pastimes.

As a result of several sport injuries I was suffering from chronic pain. A blunt pain that was continuously phasing in and out had become a constant part of my life. My main problem areas include the hip joints, the lumbar spine and the thoracic spine including the surrounding muscular areas. At the age of 33 my quality of life was severely affected by these issues, my capacity reduced and my mood gloomy.

Did I have to resign to this state? Would the pain disappear, as quickly as it had appeared? Would the condition get worse, or was there maybe a simple solution for my problems?

My body was communicating unmistakably that something had to change.

Crisis, breakthrough and fresh territory

My symptoms were fluctuating. At times I would be better, sometimes worse. One day, when my hip was hurting again, I decided to treat myself with a high dose of therapy sessions.

My intuition was right. Thanks to the three or four weekly therapy sessions of osteopathy and medical massage, to which I responded well, my condition improved significantly.

Simultaneously I developed thoughts and feelings of dependency on these therapy sessions.

The desire to treat myself became stronger and stronger and increased my already stark interest in methods of self treatment.

I asked every therapist I visited how I could work on myself. They strongly suggested the topic of self massage in the context of fascia and triggerpoints, which could be the reason for the muscle pain.

What are fascia? And triggerpoints?

Becoming your own specialist

I therefore began to concentrate on self massage techniques and bought the first therapeutic aids, a fascia role and a massage ball.

The better I became at self treatment, the bigger and more impressive my success rate became. This motivated me to keep going.

With a lot of practise I became my own personal specialist, got to know my body better and better and discovered the locations of the most sensitive points.

My personal solution

My solution lay in the treatment of triggerpoints, also called myofascial triggerpoints or muscle points, that are massaged – Self Myofascial Release.

In order to self treat and resolve myofascial triggerpoints you need special aids to reach inaccessible areas. This is of special importance when dealing with back pain.

With Backrelease I created my own massage device. It is a high-grade natural product made of high-density wood, treated with natural oils and therefore fully biocompatible.

The combinations of application opportunities and its portability never cease to astound me.

The self treatment of fascia and triggerpoints was the ultimate component leading to my success. Among the self treatment methods I have tried I discovered several that lead to significant improvement of my quality of life and that I included into my daily routine. These include stretching, yoga, functional training, healthy diet and breathing exercises (abdominal breathing).

How the process could work for you

Note: Pain is a symptom with a variety of individual causes. Medicine – like any other science – is constantly evolving, especially with regards to treatment and therapy.