Review: Armaid, Trigger Point Therapy Assisting Tool
People who know me personally are aware of my daily struggles with wrist and arm pain.
I spent my free time drawing, painting, and knitting, and I love to fidget. Of course, the constant use of my arm and hand has led to some issues. I've dealt with carpal tunnel in the past, and am currently dealing with a condition known as de Quervain's tenosynovitis, which causes pain in my thumb and down the thumb side of the wrist and arm.
And believe me, as an artist, it stinks.
I've tried many things to deal with the pain over the years. I know many brands of wrist braces by heart at this point, and my spouse can attest to the amount of compression gloves and bands I have laying around the house. I've even gotten acupuncture done. And while a lot of this does provide relief, I still wanted something that felt like I was being proactive about dealing with my issues, rather than treating symptoms as they came up.
In came the Armaid.
The Armaid is an interesting tool - it looks like an odd white clamp, with an interchangeable part on the side. The device is fairly simple to use - add on one of the provided five attachments, use your free hand to clamp the device to the arm experience pain, then move your arm back and forth. This helps the user provide trigger point therapy to the areas where there is pain. Each of the attachments provides a different sensation - harder ones for very stubborn muscle knots, or softer ones for more delicate areas such as the wrist and hand.
I'm not going to say this stuff will guaranteed get rid of your conditions - but doing the routine daily has seen a massive improvement in me. I've gotten rid of muscle knots, and am more importantly getting back to my most important hobby: drawing, without dealing with tons of pain. Doing the routine consistently (using YouTube videos that the Armaid company provided) has allowed me to work on my health in a way that doesn't involve just sitting around resting it in a brace or waiting for my next acupuncture appointment.
The Armaid costs $79.00USD for the device and one attachment, or $129.00USD for five interchangeable attachments. Being able to get back to activities I love? Priceless.