Spot pressure, 30 to 90 seconds
In a trial of 119 people with tender spots in the neck and shoulders, gentle pressure for 90 seconds, or firmer pressure for 30 seconds, eased tenderness best.
Source 1
Fascia guide
Massage balls: how to use one on your back, glutes, feet, chest and forearms, safely
A massage ball presses one spot, the way a thumb does, where a foam roller spreads your weight. Hold gentle pressure on a tender spot for up to 90 seconds and it usually eases for a while; follow it with a stretch and move on.
There's little research on balls themselves, and nothing shows they break up knots or release fascia. Because a ball concentrates pressure, where you put it matters: single case reports describe nerve and artery injuries after ball pressure on the neck, the buttock and the upper arm.
This guide shows how to use a ball on each area with 3D demos, how long and how hard to press, which ball to choose, how a ball compares with a roller or a massage gun, the places to avoid, and a 15-minute routine.
13 moves13 with 3D demosShort versionHow to use oneEach areaWhich ball?Where not to use itThe routine
The short version
Thin evidence, similar to rollers
Most self-massage research uses rollers. Where balls, rollers and sticks were compared, they gave similar short-term results.
Start soft
In one small study, a soft ball let the muscles relax and compressed the tissue more than a hard ball, with almost no discomfort.
Source 4
Keep it off the neck, the middle of the buttock and the upper arm
Single case reports describe a neck artery tear after massage balls on the neck, a sciatic nerve injury after ball self-massage of the buttock, and a radial nerve injury after lacrosse ball pressure on the upper arm. They show a harm can happen, not how often.
Not a cure for heel pain or sciatica
Rolling a ball under your foot is reasonable for comfort, but stretching and strengthening carry the evidence for heel pain, and we found no trials of ball massage for sciatica.
What a ball does
It concentrates pressure
Pressure is force spread over an area, so under the same weight a ball presses one small spot harder than a roller does (our explanation). A lab study of rollers showed the same thing: a rigid roller with a raised surface touched less skin than a foam roller and pressed harder. That's why a ball suits small or hard-to-reach muscles, and why it can reach nerves.
Source 10
It doesn't release fascia
Hands, balls and rollers can't reshape dense fascia. The change is in how the area feels and how much pressure and stretch you tolerate.
The types
Our descriptions: massage balls are usually firm rubber. A lacrosse ball is solid and hard, a tennis ball softer and hollow, a spiky ball has a knobbled surface, and a peanut ball is two balls joined so your spine sits in the gap. There are also soft inflatable balls, vibrating balls and, for the soles, golf balls.
How to use a massage ball: start with your feet
The steps come from the move's own page, the hold times from a trial of sustained pressure (Hou 2002), and pressure followed by a stretch from a home programme (Hanten 2000). Don't stand on the ball with your full weight, and with numb feet or diabetes, press gently and check your skin afterwards.
- Sit on a chair with your shoes off and put a massage ball, tennis ball or small foot roller under the arch of one foot.
- Press down firmly but comfortably, at a pressure you can breathe through, and roll the foot slowly from the heel end of the arch to the ball of the foot and back.
- When you find a tender spot, stop and hold: gentle pressure, where it first turns uncomfortable, for up to 90 seconds, or a little firmer for about 30 seconds.
- Spend 1 to 2 minutes on each foot: the move page's dose, which it labels our editorial starting point.
- Then stretch the sole with the seated plantar fascia stretch: 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds per foot, within the 10 to 30 second holds used in trials.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Foot roll (ball or roller)
Area by area
Feet
Seated, roll from the heel to the ball of the foot and pause on tender spots: 1 to 2 minutes per foot, the move page's dose. Our suggestion: a golf ball is small and very hard, so use one only on the soles, gently.
Forearms
Rest the forearm on a ball on a table, put the other hand on top, and roll slowly from near the elbow to near the wrist, palm down and then palm up: 45 to 60 seconds per side, the move page's dose. Keep off the bony wrist and the inner elbow, and stop if your fingers tingle or go numb.
Chest
Stand facing a wall or door frame with the ball on the chest muscle below the collarbone, lean in, and make small circles or take a few slow breaths: 45 to 60 seconds per side, the move page's dose. Keep it out of the armpit, and skip it over breast implants, a pacemaker or port, or after recent chest surgery or a rib injury.
Between the shoulder blades
There's no ball demo for this yet, so these are our suggested steps: stand with your back to a wall and the ball between your shoulder blade and spine, bend your knees a little to move it, and hold a tender spot for 30 to 90 seconds. A peanut ball keeps the pressure off the spine. Ask first if you have osteoporosis, because fragile bones break more easily.
Glutes
Our suggested steps: sit on the floor or a firm chair with the ball under the outer part of your buttock, lean in, pause, then move on. Don't park it deep in the middle of the buttock, where the sciatic nerve runs, and stop for tingling or pain down the leg. In a single case report, a woman's sciatic nerve was injured after she massaged her buttock with a ball; it shows a harm can happen, not how often.
Source 6
Lats and calves
A US trainers' guide suggests a ball against a wall for the lats, the muscles down the side of your back below the armpit; keep out of the armpit itself. For the calf, our suggestion is to sit with the ball under it and the other leg crossed on top. Never press on a calf that is swollen, red or throbbing.
Front of the hip and the neck: don't
Don't press a ball into your groin or belly: the main blood vessels and nerve to the leg run through the groin crease, and our psoas guide explains the risks of deep belly pressure. Don't use a ball on your neck either: in single case reports, neck artery tears followed massage-ball use on the neck and neck self-massage.
Ball moves
Hold or roll slowly at a pressure you can breathe through; each move page gives its own starting dose.
For the back and glutes, a roller for now
There's no ball version of these on the 3D figure yet, so use a roller, or follow the ball notes above and never park the ball deep in the middle of the buttock.
Then stretch
Pressure followed by a sustained stretch is the pattern from a home trial, so finish each area with its stretch.
3D demoPlantar fascia stretch (seated)Beginner · A bench or box
3D demoWrist flexor stretchBeginner · A wall
3D demoDoorway chest openerBeginner · A wall
3D demoUpper trap releaseBeginner · No equipment
3D demoReclined figure four (eye of the needle, Sucirandhrasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoSide-lying open bookBeginner · No equipmentHow long and how hard
One tender spot
Gentle pressure, where it first turns uncomfortable, for up to 90 seconds, or a little firmer for about 30 seconds: the two doses that eased tenderness best in a trial of 119 people.
Source 1
Spots per area
1 to 3 spots, then move on: our editorial starting point.
Rolling a small area
Slow passes of about 3 seconds each way, as the forearm move page suggests. For rollers, a clinical commentary gives 2 to 4 seconds a pass.
Source 17
How hard
Use a pressure you can breathe through. With rollers, harder pressure added no range, and in one small study a soft ball let muscles relax where a hard one made them tense.
After pressing
Stretch or move the same area. In a 5-day home trial, pressure followed by a sustained stretch eased tender spots more than range-of-motion exercise.
Source 19
How often, and how long in all
Daily is fine for comfort: our editorial view, as the home trial ran for 5 days. A whole routine needs 10 to 15 minutes, which is our editorial starting point.
Source 19
What the evidence says
Balls do about what rollers doEmerging evidence
An umbrella review of 7 reviews found foam rollers, roller massagers and balls all improve short-term flexibility and recovery, with similar results across tools. In 15 students, a lacrosse ball under the foot, hamstring rolling or both gave the same sit-and-reach gain.
Sustained pressure eases a tender spot, for a whileEmerging evidence
In 119 people with tender spots in the neck and shoulders, pressure at the point where it first hurt for 90 seconds, or firmer pressure for 30 seconds, eased pain and tenderness straight away. In 40 adults, a 5-day home programme of pressure then sustained stretching did better than range-of-motion exercise.
Softer can press deeperEmerging evidence
In a crossover study of 30 older adults with neck pain, a soft inflatable ball compressed the soft tissue more than a hard massage ball, with less muscle activity and almost no discomfort (0.2 against 5.2 out of 10). The study placed the ball under the back of the head, which we don't advise at home; we use it only as evidence about hardness.
Source 4
Back, neck and shoulder pain: small, weak studiesMixed evidence
Tennis ball techniques eased pain in 30 people with upper back muscle pain, with no untreated group to compare, in 36 nurses, with no comparison group at all, and in older adults with low back pain, in a low-quality study. After a stroke, adding tennis ball release to physiotherapy reduced arm stiffness more than physiotherapy alone in a trial of 22 people.
Heel pain: small trials onlyEmerging evidence
In one small trial of 50 people with plantar fasciitis, one session of foam rolling the calf and sole eased heel pain about as much as stretching. In that trial's own results, the calf's sensitivity to pressure fell more with rolling, as pressure-pain thresholds rose by about 45% against 30% to 32% with stretching; the 2023 heel pain guideline's summary describes this result differently, as favouring stretching.
In a small, poorly reported trial of 30 people, adding frozen tennis ball rolling to stretching for 2 months eased pain more than stretching alone. A supervised programme of strengthening, stretching and self-massage with a stick helped chronic heel pain more than a leaflet in 64 people, though the massage's own share is unknown. The guideline gives its top grade to plantar fascia and calf stretching.
Feet and hamstringsEmerging evidence
Rolling a tennis ball under both feet improved a sit-and-reach test straight away in 24 adults, and rolling any part of the back of the body helped hamstring flexibility for a while. But 7 weeks of rolling and stretching the soles changed neither shoulder range nor the calf muscles, beyond tolerating more stretch.
Strength and speedEmerging evidence
In 14 trained adults, a foam roller, a massage ball and a vibrating massage ball all slightly slowed squats straight after use; the plain ball slowed them least.
Source 31
Which ball?
Start soft or medium
A tennis ball or soft rubber ball is a good first ball: in one small study, a soft ball let the muscles relax and pressed deeper than a hard one.
Source 4
Lacrosse and hard massage balls
A firm ball concentrates more pressure on a smaller area. Our suggestion: keep it for thick muscles and short holds.
Source 10
Spiky balls
On rollers, knobbly surfaces raised pain thresholds a little more than smooth ones, which tells you how the pressure feels, not that it does more good.
Source 32
Peanut balls
Two balls joined together, so your spine sits in the gap and the pressure stays on the muscles beside it (our description).
Golf balls
Small and very hard. Our suggestion: use one only under the soles, gently.
Vibrating balls
In the one trial we found, a vibrating ball didn't beat a plain one.
Source 31
Ball, roller or gun?
Ball or roller
Where they've been compared, they did about the same. A ball presses one spot harder, so it suits small or hard-to-reach muscles such as the feet, chest, forearms and between the shoulder blades; a roller suits big muscles.
Ball or massage gun
Pooled trials haven't shown that massage guns ease soreness, and a gun costs more. A gun suits people who can't lean into a wall or get down to the floor.
Source 33
Routines
Start with the 15-minute massage ball routine: feet, forearms and chest, each followed by its stretch, with nothing on the floor.
Massage ball routine: feet, forearms and chest
A 15-minute massage ball routine for desk-tired feet, forearms and chest: slow pressure on each, then the stretch that goes with it. No floor needed.
15 minBeginner8 movesA massage ball, A bench or box
Plantar fascia routine
Plantar fascia and calf stretches, a gentle foot roll and the towel heel raise: the exercises the 2023 heel pain guideline supports.
8 minBeginner7 movesA bench or box, A massage ball
Neck and shoulder knots routine: press, stretch, strengthen
Knotted neck and shoulders: a minute of self-pressure, two gentle stretches, then the shoulder-blade strength work that eased neck pain in trials.
15 minBeginner8 movesA foam roller, A band
Wrist and forearm routine
Wrist mobility and forearm strength for desk work, climbing, push-ups and handstands.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A dumbbell
5-minute desk stretches
A quick stretch break you can do beside your desk: neck, back, chest, wrists, hips and quads.
5 minBeginner7 movesA wallWhere never to press
Keep the ball away from
These come from single case reports and our cautions. The reports show what can happen, not how often it does.
- your neck: in single case reports, a man had a neck artery tear after a week of using massage balls on his neck, and another after massaging his own neck with his fingers;
- deep in the middle of your buttock: a woman's sciatic nerve was injured after she massaged her buttock with a ball, though she had back and buttock pain beforehand, so the case can't prove the ball caused it;
- the back and outer side of your upper arm: a woman needed surgery for a radial nerve injury after self-massage with a lacrosse ball;
- the bony wrist, the inner elbow and the armpit, where nerves run close to the surface; a man's median nerve was damaged in the lower forearm after two sessions of massage therapy;
- your groin, your belly and the back of your knee;
- the bony middle of your spine: use a peanut ball or keep the ball to one side;
- bruises, varicose veins and broken skin.
Who should skip it, and when to get help
Who should skip it, or ask first
The rolling rules apply. Experts agree you shouldn't press over open wounds or broken bones, and should take care over inflamed tissue or a possible clot. Ask a doctor first if you take blood thinners, have osteoporosis or have a nerve condition, and with numb feet or diabetes, press gently and check your skin afterwards.
Stop at once
Stop for tingling, numbness, burning pain or weakness during or after pressing, such as a weak wrist or fingers, or pain and numbness down the leg. If it hasn't settled within a day or two, see a GP: our advice, from single case reports of nerve injury.
Call 999
A drooping face, a weak arm, slurred speech or a sudden severe headache, especially after any pressure on the neck: these can be signs of a stroke.
Source 39
See a GP
- Neck pain or stiffness that hasn't gone after a few weeks, or comes with pins and needles or a cold arm.
- Heel pain that is severe, getting worse, or not better after 2 weeks of self-care, or comes with tingling or loss of feeling, and any foot pain if you have diabetes.
- A swollen, throbbing or discoloured calf: ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111, and call 999 if you're also short of breath or have chest pain.
Myths
"A ball breaks up knots and trigger points"Emerging evidence
Sustained pressure eases a tender spot for a while, but it doesn't change dense tissue. What a knot is remains disputed; our trigger points guide explains.
"Harder and spikier is better"Emerging evidence
In one small study, a soft ball pressed deeper than a hard one, with relaxed muscles and almost no discomfort, and harder rolling gave no more range. Knobbly surfaces change how pressure feels, not the results.
"Rolling your foot on a ball releases the plantar fascia and cures plantar fasciitis"Emerging evidence
Squeezing the plantar fascia by even 1% needs forces far beyond body weight. In one small trial, a session of rolling eased heel pain about as much as stretching, and the heel pain guideline gives its top grade to stretching.
"Rolling your feet loosens your hamstrings and back"Emerging evidence
Briefly, yes. After 7 weeks of rolling and stretching the soles, nothing changed elsewhere beyond tolerating more stretch.
"A ball on your neck releases tension"Emerging evidence
In single case reports, neck artery tears followed massage-ball use on the neck and self-massage of the neck. Use neck stretches and strength work instead.
"A massage ball in your buttock fixes sciatica"Emerging evidence
We found no trial. In a single case report, a sciatic nerve injury followed ball self-massage of the buttock, and the NHS advice for sciatica is to keep active and do exercises.
"Hold it until the knot releases, however long that takes"Emerging evidence
The best-supported holds are 30 to 90 seconds. Single case reports describe nerve injuries after ball pressure, so move on rather than digging in.
Read next
Questions people ask
How do you use a massage ball?
Put it between the muscle and the floor, a wall or a chair, lean in until the pressure is firm but easy to breathe through, and roll slowly or hold still on a tender spot. Then stretch or move the same area, as in a home trial of pressure then stretching.
How long should you hold a massage ball on a knot?
Gentle pressure, where it first turns uncomfortable, for up to 90 seconds, or a little firmer for about 30 seconds: the two doses that eased tenderness best in a trial. Do 1 to 3 spots, then move on.
Massage ball or foam roller?
Where they've been compared, they did about the same. A ball presses one spot harder, so it suits small or hard-to-reach muscles such as the feet, chest, forearms and between the shoulder blades; a roller suits big muscles.
Which ball should I buy: lacrosse, tennis, spiky or peanut?
Start soft: in one small study, a soft ball let the muscles relax and pressed deeper than a hard one. A lacrosse ball is firm and best for short holds on thick muscles, a peanut ball keeps pressure off the spine, and spikes change the feel, not the results.
How do I use a massage ball on my back?
Stand with your back to a wall with the ball between your shoulder blade and spine, bend your knees to move it, and hold a tender spot for 30 to 90 seconds. Keep it off the spine itself and the neck, and ask first if you have osteoporosis.
How do I use a massage ball on my glutes, and does it help sciatica?
Sit on it under the outer part of your buttock and keep it moving, and don't park it deep in the middle of the buttock, where the sciatic nerve runs. In a single case report, a nerve injury followed ball self-massage there. We found no trials for sciatica, so keep active and follow the NHS sciatica advice.
Does rolling a ball under your foot help plantar fasciitis?
It's reasonable for comfort. In one small trial, a session of rolling the calf and sole eased heel pain about as much as stretching, and in another small, low-quality trial a frozen ball added to stretching helped more than stretching alone. Stretching and strengthening remain the core, and heel pain that isn't better after 2 weeks needs a GP.
Can I use a massage ball on my neck?
We don't recommend it. In single case reports, neck artery tears followed massage-ball use on the neck and neck self-massage. Use neck stretches and strength work instead.
Massage ball or massage gun?
Neither has beaten the other. Pooled trials haven't shown that massage guns ease soreness, and balls and rollers give similar short-term results. A ball is cheaper and quieter; a gun suits people who can't lean into a wall or get down to the floor.
Is a massage ball safe? Who shouldn't use one?
Follow the rolling rules: not over wounds, broken bones, bruises or varicose veins, and never on a swollen, painful calf. Ask first if you take blood thinners or have osteoporosis, and with numb feet or diabetes, press gently and check your skin.
Does a massage ball break up knots?
No. Pressing a knot eases its tenderness for a while, but hands, balls and rollers can't change the shape of dense tissue. What a knot is remains disputed; our trigger points guide explains.
Sources
- Hou 2002 · Sustained pressure and other treatments for neck trigger points (randomised trial of 119 adults, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)
- Ferreira 2022 · Self-myofascial release tools, performance and recovery (umbrella review, International Journal of Exercise Science)
- Williams & Selkow 2020 · A lacrosse ball under the foot, hamstring rolling, or both (randomised trial of 15 students, Journal of Sport Rehabilitation)
- Kim 2019 · A soft massage tool against a hard ball for compressing deep tissue (crossover study of 30 older adults, Complementary Therapies in Medicine)
- Liu 1993 · Neck artery tear after neck massage with massage balls (case report, Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences)
- Cho 2019 · Sciatic nerve injury after self-massage of the buttock with a massage ball (case report, Medicine)
- Schafer 2026 · Radial nerve palsy after self-myofascial release (case report and literature review, Annals of Plastic Surgery)
- Koc 2023 · Heel pain and plantar fasciitis: revision 2023 (clinical practice guideline, Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy)
- NHS · Sciatica
- Curran 2008 · The pressure two kinds of roller put on soft tissue (laboratory study, Journal of Sport Rehabilitation)
- Chaudhry 2008 · A 3D model of how fascia deforms in manual therapy (modelling study, Journal of the American Osteopathic Association)
- Behm & Wilke 2019 · Do self-myofascial release devices release myofascia? (narrative review, Sports Medicine)
- NHS · Osteoporosis
- National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) · Foam rolling and self-myofascial release: the trainer's application guide
- NHS · DVT (deep vein thrombosis)
- Shibata 2023 · Neck artery tear and a tongue nerve palsy after neck self-massage (case report, Cureus)
- Behm 2020 · Foam rolling prescription (clinical commentary, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research)
- Grabow 2018 · Harder roller massage did not add range of motion (crossover trial of 16 adults, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research)
- Hanten 2000 · A home programme of pressure then stretching for trigger points (randomised trial of 40 adults, Physical Therapy)
- Amjad & Khalid 2023 · Bowen therapy against a tennis ball technique for upper back muscle pain (trial of 30 patients, Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research)
- Hung & Chen 2023 · Tennis ball massage for nurses' muscle and joint pain (single-group study of 36 nurses, The Journal of Nursing)
- Salvi & Londhe 2025 · Tennis ball self-massage for low back pain in older adults (comparison study, Cureus)
- Parikh 2022 · Tennis ball myofascial release for arm stiffness after a stroke (randomised trial of 22 people, Medicine)
- Ranbhor 2021 · One session of foam rolling against stretching for plantar fasciitis (randomised trial of 50 people, Hong Kong Physiotherapy Journal)
- Shinde & Patil 2026 · A frozen tennis ball added to stretching for plantar fasciitis (trial of 30 people, Cureus)
- Buttagat 2025 · A supervised self-care programme for chronic plantar fasciitis (randomised trial of 64 people, Chiropractic and Manual Therapies)
- Grieve 2015 · Rolling a ball under the feet and hamstring and back flexibility (pilot randomised trial of 24 adults, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies)
- Fauris 2021 · Rolling one area and hamstring flexibility (randomised trial of 94 adults, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)
- Konrad 2023 · Seven weeks of foot sole stretching and rolling, and shoulder range (randomised trial, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living)
- Konrad 2023 · Seven weeks of foot sole stretching and rolling, and the calf muscles (randomised trial, European Journal of Applied Physiology)
- Aragão-Santos 2025 · Foam roller and massage balls, with and without vibration, and squat speed (crossover trial of 14 trained adults, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine)
- Cheatham & Stull 2019 · Smooth, grid and multilevel roller surfaces compared (randomised trial of 36 adults, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies)
- Zhu 2026 · Percussive therapy doses and recovery after hard exercise (meta-analysis, Chiropractic and Manual Therapies)
- Suh 2022 · Median nerve injury in the forearm after massage therapy (case report, Frontiers in Neurology)
- NHS · Varicose veins
- Bartsch 2021 · Expert consensus on when not to foam roll (international Delphi study of 37 experts, Journal of Clinical Medicine)
- NHS · Anticoagulant medicines: side effects
- NHS · Peripheral neuropathy
- NHS · Symptoms of a stroke
- NHS · Neck pain and stiff neck
- NHS · Plantar fasciitis
Movement education, not medical advice. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, numbness or tingling, and get individual advice if you are pregnant, after an injury or surgery, or managing a health condition. Health disclaimer.