Your Daily Habits Are Making You Achy—These PT-Approved Tools Can Help (2025)

Whether you’re brand new to physical therapy or have a regularly scheduled date with your physio, following some PT best practices in your everyday life can have a major impact on your muscle strength, mobility, and overall well-being. Simply remembering to stretch and move your body, even if you’re working or relaxing at home, is a great start: ”Opting to move rather than staying stationary is always a good choice,” Susan Bradbury, MEd, PT, a physical therapist at Briotix Health, tells SELF.

But if you want to take a bigger step toward addressing your everyday aches and pains, you can do so with just a few pieces of equipment. For the record: If you’re dealing with pain as opposed to general achiness (and it isn’t going away), you should get in touch with a physical therapist or your health care provider to determine the best course of treatment for your issues. It’s also a good idea to talk to a pro before trying unfamiliar equipment to make sure you’re using it properly.

Here, we got the lowdown from experts about the best workout tools, massagers, and other physical therapy products to have on-hand at home.

In this article

  • Shop workout equipment
  • Shop massage and recovery tools
  • Shop home office seating

What is physical therapy, and how is it different from regular ol’ exercise?

According to the American Physical Therapy Association, physical therapy is provided by licensed professionals who have completed a four-year bachelor’s degree and a three-year doctorate degree (the latter became a requirement in 2015). Your PT gives you recommendations based on your history and needs (maybe you’re seeing them after having surgery or dealing with a nagging injury). The exercise and recovery regimen they provide is specific to you and based on their authority in the field, so you can expect your treatment plan to feel very individualized.

It can involve exercises that rehab injuries, prevent future ones, or encourage better posture and body alignment—sometimes your PT will also implement soft tissue massage to ease your discomfort. Ultimately, physical therapy is more about your quality of life (can you bend down and pick up heavy things? Can you enjoy a stroll around the neighborhood without pain?), whereas regular workouts prioritize your performance.

Obviously, tips you read on the internet can’t replace the hands-on help of a pro—and you should definitely see an expert for support with an injury or ongoing pain. But the PTs we spoke with all say that moving with physical therapy’s overarching goal—maintaining and improving your ability to move comfortably—in mind and adding some at-home exercises to your routine can help you feel less creaky and more refreshed in your day-to-day life.

Why is it important to have good physical therapy habits?

When we talk about “physical therapy habits,” we mean routines that prioritize your physical health, like moving and stretching regularly or strengthening muscles that support your mobility and balance (i.e., in your core, back, and hips). Picking up these practices goes hand-in-hand with breaking some habits that physical therapists consider not-so-great for you, like sleeping on your stomach or staying in the same position for hours at a time. If there’s one physical therapy habit you should follow, it’s moving more.

“Regular motion and movement are key to good health, a happier lifestyle, and prevention of injury and disease,” Bradbury says. “Healthy movement—in whatever form that takes for each individual—is a great habit to include in your daily life.”

Citing the American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Bradbury recommends that most adults do at least 30 minutes of moderate activity five days a week, including exercises that specifically build your strength and endurance. If you’re short on time, don’t sweat it: The US Department of Health and Human Services states that any amount of activity is better than none—and short workouts can still offer plenty of benefits.

You can incorporate little moments of movement into your daily routine by warming up your back muscles every morning or firing up your legs with a quick mid-day walk. This is especially important if you sit at a desk for work—Bradbury says you should schedule regular standing and stretching breaks throughout your workday. And you can make full workouts more accessible if you have the right exercise equipment at home (and don’t have to worry about commuting to a busy gym).

Beyond increasing your movement, Bradbury says thinking about body mechanics and correcting your posture is another important habit to develop. This can feel like an even greater challenge, mainly because it’s so easy to slip into positions that feel comfortable but actually throw your body out of alignment. Maybe you crane your neck while staring at your phone or computer or tend to sit with your shoulders hunched up and rounded forward. While you might not feel the effects now, according to Bradbury, these habits can lead to pain throughout your body—especially in your neck, back, knees, and hips.

It can be hard to switch up your routine and change ingrained habits (truly, who doesn’t love slumping into the couch after a long day?). But you can prevent future pain (and just feel better) by being intentional about your movement and posture now.

Shop the best physical therapy tools

Ready to address your muscular woes? These PT-favorite items will level up your home workouts, recovery routine, and WFH setup.

Workout equipment

Exercising helps strengthen your muscles and joints, which makes them less likely to strain or feel fatigued, Bradbury says. The following fitness gear can bolster your workout routine at home and make it easier to perform PT-approved moves.

Trideer Exercise Ball

Amazon

Trideer Exercise Ball

What it’s for: Bradbury likes exercise balls for improving mobility and core stability. “The ball can assist movement, provide resistance, or provide an unstable surface to challenge your core muscles for strengthening and balance training,” she says.

How to use it: Exercise and stability balls are great for making your ab workouts more challenging. You can use one under your feet or arms while planking, or pass one between your feet and hands during V-ups. Keep in mind, the goal here isn’t a six-pack; a weak core can cause strains and pains throughout your body.

BOSU Sport Balance Trainer

Amazon

BOSU

Sport Balance Trainer

What it’s for: BOSU Balls (and other instability devices like wobble boards) are great for engaging smaller muscles and training your body awareness. “For someone looking to gain control and awareness of the foot, simply standing on an instability device can give them information about how their foot interacts with the floor,” Ted Andrews, CSCS, a certified strength and conditioning specialist based in Boston, previously told SELF.

How to use it: “Remember that old Portlandia bit ‘put a bird on it’? That's kinda how it goes during workouts with my personal trainer: ‘Do it on a BOSU!,’” SELF’s commerce director says. “Balancing on the BOSU for exercises like planks, Romanian deadlifts, and squats (with the ball-side down) engages your core and turns almost every move into a full-body exercise.” FYI: When you’re not being supervised by an expert, it’s best to stick with bodyweight exercises when using a BOSU Ball—adding weights can increase your risk of injury and make it harder to maintain proper form.

Bala The Play Mat

What it’s for: Bradbury says a workout or yoga mat can provide a comfy, cushioned surface for pretty much any floor exercise. That comes in handy if your knees, back, or hips tend to feel crunchy when bearing weight on hard wood or concrete surfaces.

How to use it: The Play Mat from Bala is heavy, well-padded, and genuinely good-looking, which makes it great for home yoga flows, Pilates practices, or stretching. It’s available in two thicknesses (five millimeters and eight millimeters), so you can pick your preferred level of cushioning.

Resistance bands

Amazon

Theraband

Resistance Bands Set

Courtesy of brand

Committed HP

The Better Band

What they’re for: We love how versatile resistance bands are—plus, they take up next to no room if you have limited storage space at home. Bradbury says they can assist in stretching and can provide some degree of strength training as well.

How to use them: Straight bands, like the best-selling Therabands, come in handy for pull-downs, rows, deadlifts, and pull-aparts. You can tweak their level of tension just by shortening their length, so they’re well-suited for beginners and folks coming back to their workouts after an injury. Meanwhile, bands that are made to loop around parts of your body (a.k.a. mini bands) can add a degree of difficulty to lower body moves like squats, leg lifts, and clamshells. The SELF Home Fitness Award–winning Committed HP Better Band has multiple hook-and-loop closures, so it’s easy to adjust and put on.

Hoka Clifton 9

What it’s for: “The easiest and [most] essential piece of equipment would be a good pair of comfortable sneakers,” Bradbury says, adding that well-fitting, supportive, and shock-absorbing sneaks can help reduce your risk of injury while walking and working out. There are tons of excellent pairs to choose from, but Hoka’s Clifton 9 is a top pick among our editors for its breathability and substantial (yet lightweight) padding.

How to use it: Lace up whenever you’re going for a brisk stroll or jog—Bradbury points out you can get a quick walk in just by bopping from room to room or climbing the stairs in your house or apartment building.

Henkelion Adjustable Ankle Weights

Courtesy of brand

Henkelion

Adjustable Ankle Weights

What they’re for: My physical therapist assumed that I already had multiple sets of ankle weights when she recommended them for back- and glute-strengthening exercises. I ordered two pairs of Henkelion’s weights and found that they made the simplest moves—like a leg lift—feel noticeably more intense.

How to use them: Matt Scarfo, a NASM-certified personal trainer, previously recommended incorporating ankle weights into lower-body workouts like donkey kicks, fire hydrants, and glute kickbacks, as well as walks. Make sure to start with a low weight (say, one or two pounds), then work your way up.

WalkingPad P1 Foldable

WalkingPad P1 Foldable

What it’s for: A walking treadmill like the WalkingPad makes it easier to add more movement to your days (especially if you work at a standing desk or live in a smaller space).

How to use it: The WalkingPad’s deck unfolds to be a little more than 56 inches long and its speed maxes out at 3.75 miles per hour, making it perfect for a range of walking paces. It’s remote-controlled for easy adjustments while you’re on the move—and when you’re done using it, you can fold it up and slide it under a desk or couch.

Massage and recovery tools

Taking time to rest and recharge is just as important as being active—doing so can help reduce post-workout soreness and improve your range of motion. There are so many massage tools and devices on the market, but these come recommended by experts and editors.

Amazon Basics High Density Foam Roller

Amazon

Amazon

Basics High Density Foam Roller

What it’s for: Andy Fata-Chan, PT, DPT, a physical therapist and fitness coach at Moment Physical Therapy and Performance in New York, tells SELF that a foam roller is a “key piece” of equipment for stretching, increasing mobility, and generally refreshing your muscles. Joey Levine, CPT, CES, a personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist, and VP of fitness at Bay Club Walnut Creek in California, previously told SELF that foam-rolling helps increase blood flow to the area you’re rolling out, which can help your muscles recover and feel less sore.

How to use it: Dr. Fata-Chan recommends foam-rolling the day before you plan to work out, explaining that doing so can help improve your range of motion when you’re active. It’s best for large muscle groups like your glutes, quads, calves, and upper back.

Therabody Theragun Prime Plus

What it’s for: Handheld massagers can similarly boost circulation, Bradbury says. My personal favorite is the Theragun, a pricey but effective percussive massager with tons of intensity options (which is key if you’re working out any particularly sensitive knots).

How to use it: Massage guns can knead out kinks and soothe soreness in your legs, glutes, forearms, and shoulders. But never use one directly on your neck, the location of your vital carotid arteries. As SELF has previously reported, the pressure from the massager can affect or temporarily starve the flow of blood from your heart to your brain, which could cause a mini stroke or stroke-like symptoms like confusion, numbness, and severe headaches.

Kieba Massage Lacrosse Balls

Amazon

Kieba

Massage Lacrosse Balls

What it’s for: Dr. Fata-Chan also recommends keeping a lacrosse ball handy for a quick massage. Where a foam roller lends itself to widespread relief, a massage ball provides a more targeted sensation, he explains.

How to use it: Thanks to their size, lacrosse balls can roll out knots in small and hard-to-reach areas like your shoulders, pecs, and bottoms of your feet. Pro tip: If you find that lying on the ball doesn’t provide the right amount of pressure or leverage, Bradbury recommends using it while standing. Put the ball between your back and a wall, then lean into it. Pro tip: You can put the ball in a sock to keep hold of it and prevent it from falling out from under you.

Norbase Portable Wooden Slant Board

Amazon

Norbase

Portable Wooden Slant Board

What it’s for: “My trainer will often grab one of these to help stretch out my calves and Achilles during my workout's cooldown,” SELF’s commerce director says. “I have flexible calves, so many of your typical stretches (like lunges) don’t really cut it, but the board helps deepen the stretch.” In addition to deepening calf stretches, slant boards may help ease calf strain and spasms, which can further enhance flexibility in this area.

How to use it: You can use a slant board while standing, sitting, or lunging. Choose between four heights on this foldable board and place one foot on it, toes pointing upward (as you would in a calf wall stretch). You should feel a release in your calf and Achilles tendon.

Walgreens Reusable Cold Gel Wrap

Walgreens

Walgreens

Reusable Cold Gel Wrap

What it’s for: Don’t forget about good old-fashioned ice for a little cold therapy, Bradbury says. “Ice is always a simple go-to for soreness or swelling, especially after working out,” she says. “Ice constricts the blood flow and, therefore, fluids associated with injury to an area.”

How to use it: SELF’s director of fitness and food likes this cold wrap because, unlike a standard ice pack, it has Velcro straps that help it stay put (so you don’t have to worry about it slipping and sliding if you’re treating an awkward area). “Because it’s made of gel, the coldness molds against my leg, making sure every part is covered,” she says. “Now, when I need to ice an injury, I can just wrap it with this and forget all about it.”

Home office seating

If you work from home, you need an office chair that encourages neutral body alignment. A good general guideline from Bradbury: Your furniture shouldn’t force you to lean forward or sit with your knees up near your armpits—instead, it should support your natural posture.

Amazon

BodyBilt

Seating Sola LT Ergonomic Office Chair

Staples

Staples Torrent Bonded Leather Manager Chair

Amazon

Steelcase

Series 1 Office Chair

What it’s for: Upgrading your desk chair to one with ergonomic features like an adjustable height, adjustable armrests, lumbar support, and firm (but comfy) cushioning can help promote good posture while you work, Bradbury says.

How to use it: First, pick your preferred chair—Bradbury likes BodyBilt’s line, while Dr. Fata-Chan points to the Steelcase Series 1. For a slightly less pricey option, Theresa Marko, PT, DPT, MS, a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy in New York City, previously recommended the Torrent Bonded Leather Manager Chair from Staples.

With any chair, the seat should be deep enough that you can sit comfortably and fit two or three fingers between its edge and your knees. The chair’s height should allow your feet to rest flat against the floor, and its armrests should let your elbows rest comfortably under your shoulders, Bradbury says.

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Your Daily Habits Are Making You Achy—These PT-Approved Tools Can Help (2025)

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