Picture from MyFiveFingers.com

We have more reviews of The Stick on our website.

I was not surprised that the video looked as good as it was when I found out that the person who made it – Tim Hacker is a photojournalist.

The Stick is a self-massage tool the company claims to be ‘a toothbrush for your muscles’. This clever marketing is a high claim since most of us view a ‘tootbrush’ as an essential everyday (even twice a day) personal item. It was with this claim in mind that I reviewed and evaluated The Stick for its benefits for me as a runner.

I reviewed two versions of The Stick – The Original Stick and The Sprinter Stick. The Original Stick is 24″ (61 cm) long (retail – $46.75) while the Sprinter Stick is shorter at 19″ (48 cm) (retail – $38.45). The Original Stick has significantly more flex to it than the Sprinter Stick. The company’s website states the Sprinter Stick is best for heavy muscles with the Original Stick best for average muscles.

The products arrived two days after I had completed the Lost Soul Ultra 50k. My muscles were still quite sore and sensitive and my busy schedule didn’t have a lot of time for a massage appointment. So this was the perfect opportunity to test out a product claiming many benefits similar to those from massage therapy. I first tried the Original Stick on my sore and tight calf muscles followed by my almost still seizing hamstrings. The Original Stick has good flexibility and wrapped nicely around my calves, giving muscle stiffness relief that was similar to massage therapy treatment. The hard plastic cylinders that roll around the inner shaft allow you to work the muscles as hard or as soft as you wish.

The hamstrings were a bit more difficult as you must be sitting so that your hamstring muscles are relaxed for the Stick to be effective. The hamstring is generally most relaxed when you are lying on your back or stomach; thereby making self-massage with The Stick a bit more tricky. I found sitting on a couch with adequate height worked well or alternatively sitting on the ground with your legs straight out and the Stick underneath your legs. Yet, with both positions the muscle wasn’t as completely relaxed as it would be if a massage therapist was working on you. Once I found a good position the Original Stick worked well to ease some of my hamstring tightness from the race.

The next day I then tried the same thing, but with the Sprinter Stick rather than the Original Stick. The shorter and more rigid Sprinter was not as effective as the Original Stick on these muscle groups. My relatively small frame 5′6″, 130 lbs perhaps doesn’t lend itself to the stiffer Sprinter Stick, because I could only work small portions of the muscle due to the lack of flexibility.  I then tried the Sprinter Stick on my quads with more success. This large and easy-to-access muscle group seemed to be more effectively worked with the rigid Sprinter stick, since direct pressure could be applied to a larger muscle region.

So, does the Stick live up to its lofty claim of being a ‘tootbrush for your muscles’? I’d say yes it did and now I use it almost everyday – a true test of a product’s value.  It has noticeable benefits when used daily and if you go a few days without your muscles will let you know. Nonetheless it’s not possible to work every muscle with the Stick and I see it being used in conjunction with regular massage treatment for full recovery.

For the majority of runners, especially leaner trail and ultra runners I’d recommend the Original Stick. It is highly effective at providing relief for sore aching muscles and promoting a quicker post-race recovery time. It performs as well, or better, than a foam roller on most muscle groups, including the IT band, and is easier to take with you to a destination race. If you have larger, especially tight, muscles then the Sprinter Stick might be a more effective alternative for you and its smaller size is slightly more convenient for storage and traveling.

There are now a host of post-run home physio products on the market, including various types of rollers, stretching bands, and even at-home ultrasound. From my experience the Stick is one product that will result in genuine improved recovery and which you will feel better after you use. Regardless of how many academic research studies are behind a product (and the Stick has dozens just check the website), the user will decide if they feel better and recover faster after its use. Gladly, I can say that the Stick passed this test and I now use it daily.

Products were supplied by Zealous Vitality – www.thestick.ca

~JS

To see the article at Trail Runner click here.

I had an order come in the other day for a Travel Stick to be shipped to Quebec.  Like any other order, I replied with shipping and payment options.  It looked something like this:

Hello….

Thank you for ordering a Travel Stick.

I have inserted some shipping quotes for you below:

-          3 Business Day (Xpresspost) = $19.00

-          7 Business Days (Expedited parcel) = $14.82

You are probably thinking ” Why not just automate the process”.  Well the answer is….I like the personal touch.  Our order form is a purchase order form where you place an order and you get a real person (me) sending an email back with shipping and payment options.  I know some people love the process because I often have a phone conversation with them about The Stick and health in general.  I also know some people just want to hammer in their credit card information and be done with it.

Anyway, I was a little surprised to learn that the person who wanted a Travel Stick thought that the shipping was too expensive for a $30 item.  The buyer also did not like that the shipping cost did not happen right away.  I explained in my email back that each Stick(s) ship differently in size and weight.  Instead of estimating or guessing what shipping might be I pump in the postal code and dimensions of every order into Canada Post’s online shipping website.  I therefore get a 100% accurate quote.  Some companies make money on shipping costs…. we do not.  I also have shipped to Quebec before.

I was not hurt or upset, but it got me thinking.  The buyer was correct.  The price for shipping (BTW Canada Post is the most cost efficient) was half the price of the Travel Stick.  That does seem expensive.  However, the VALUE of the Travel Stick is what gets me excited.  The Stick has been around for 19 years and is proven to be an effective tool.  Yes, the shipping was a little expensive, but I could not hand deliver the Travel Stick to Quebec from Alberta, for that price.  That is what I love about all The Sticks.  They are very affordable for the job they do over and over and over again.

To be honest, distributing The Stick is not like distributing something like batteries or toilet paper or some other consumable product.  The Stick is a one time purchase in most cases.  Consumable products like batteries and toilet paper need to be purchased over and over again.  The Stick is simply a fantastic tool with loads of value.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

The "Newest Stick"

Yes my friends….. a NEW STICK!!!

One of the most common questions I get from Stick users is “What is new with The Stick?”  My immediate answer is “Nothing….The Stick has been basically the same for 19 years.  The manufacturers of The Stick just don’t change what is not broken.  The Stick has lasted the test of time”.

Now don’t get me wrong, The TriggerWheel, FootWheel and PostureCurve are relatively new.  New models of  Sticks have come out and handles have been changed and improved but this time RPI of Atlanta has really outdone themselves.  The HYBRID STICK is awesome!

The wheel in the middle of the Stick allows for pinpoint accuracy that zeros in on trouble spots and trigger points.  Here is a video I created today!

Stay tuned for more on the HYBRID STICK!

The Stick was awarded Best in Show for 2008, 2009 and 2010 for Massage Therapy.

The Stick has been around for 19 years and still wins awards!!! The popularity of The Stick continues to grow.  To see other award winners click here – http://www.nata.org/access-read/public/best-show

I was amazed at the fitness ans strength level when I watched all the finalists compete at the National CrossFit Championships in Okotoks, Alberta.  I was actually promoting The Stick, but I was more interested in watching the superior fitness levels of both the female and male athletes.  I could not stop thinking that these athletes have trained at an incredibly high level to reach the level of pure fitness that they were at.  The above picture was actually from championships. (I did not take it, but I remember it well) I posted a blog back in August sharing my thoughts of the competition.

I decided to help Dan with his quest in his participation in the CrossFit Games in southern California  by sponsoring him a Stiff Stick, FootWheel and TriggerWheel. 

Here is what Dan Rogers had to say about the products:

Your products were phenomenal and have been a big help to me. The Stick is a go to for quad and calf tightness and is used nearly daily for relief in hot areas. Other athlete’s at the games were continuously borrowing it when they saw me grinding out my thighs afters an event. The Trigger Wheel has been the greatest for forearm relief and tightness through my neck. The arms can get tight as hell after several hundred pull ups and its nice to have something that can dig em’ out so effectively. It’s also helped me work out headaches that I now know are caused from tightness in my neck. I also use it on tight/hot areas to really get in and dig stuff out. It is great and hurts so good. The Foot Wheel just plain feels good and is borrowed all the time by clients with foot pain. 

Dan added a story about The Stick:

Funny story about The Stick though was that when I was getting on the plane for California I almost had it confiscated as the believed it was a baton. I got to go on a rant about myofascial release and demonstrate on TSA agents how it could help release the tension caused by standing around all day. I was held up for about 20 minutes while I watched them discuss and rotated between rolling out their legs and wield it like a machete. I eventually got to board the plane but had to check my tension weapon.

Thanks Dan and best of luck to you!

 The Get FIT in the LOOP VIP card is only $15, and is packed with tons of savings, over $800 in value and includes such offerings as; Yoga, fitness and aquatic classes, reflexology, Reiki and Detox treatments, nutritional  education and a variety  of their specialized mind, body and spirit services and products.  Call 403-466-0467 to find out how you can get yours today!

Go to http://www.mardaloopbrz.com for a complete list of what this amazing event has to offer.

 I highly recommend it!

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: 

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever. 

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,300 times in 2010. That’s about 15 full 747s. 

In 2010, there were 16 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 110 posts. There were 14 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 11mb. That’s about a picture per month. 

The busiest day of the year was September 26th with 60 views. The most popular post that day was Chasing Atlanta ** Stick 101** Post – Free Giveaway!. 

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were blogcatalog.com, thestick.ca, facebook.com, en.wordpress.com, and bieganie.pl. 

Some visitors came searching, mostly for the stick massage, using the stick, massage sticks, back massage stick, and the stick it band. 

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010. 

Chasing Atlanta ** Stick 101** Post – Free Giveaway! September 2010
9 comments 

Choosing The Right Massage Stick April 2009
4 comments 

IT Band Syndrome November 2008
6 comments 

A New Back Massage Exercise With “The Stick”. March 2009
5 comments 

Using “The Stick” for Reducing Muscle Soreness February 2009
2 comments