Got a nagging pain you can’t seem to shirk? Is an old injury giving you trouble? Jamie Nonis combs her house for items that, combined with exercise, double as on-the-spot treatment. Illustrations by Mindflyer 

Household item: Broomstick
Problem area: Lower back 
How to use: Hold the broomstick with both hands, shoulder-width apart, and place it over your head so that it sits across the back of your shoulders. Twist your trunk slowly to the left and right. Do this ten times in each direction, a total of 20 twists. 
Advice: ‘This exercise is recommended as rotation helps to loosen the spine,’ says Carin Penberthy from In Touch Physiotherapy

Household item: Tennis ball 
Problem area: Upper back, for that niggling knot from repetitive keyboard and mouse use 
How to use: Place the tennis ball between your shoulder blades. Lean against the wall with the tennis ball between your back and the wall. Roll the ball around and locate the tension spots between your shoulder blades. When you find a spot, lean against the ball and hold for 20 seconds. 
Advice: ‘You should be able to find and ease several spots between the shoulder blades and spine using this method,’ says Penberthy. ‘This releases the lactic acid build-up and increases blood flow to the muscle, and in turn relaxes muscle tension.' 

Household item: A thick book like the Yellow Pages, or a step 
Problem area: Calf and ankle 
How to use: Stack two large books on top of each other and secure together firmly, or stand on a step. Stand on books/step with both heels hanging off the back. Stretch the calf by lowering your heels. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat fi ve times. Inversely, do calf raises and repeat 20 times. 
Advice: ‘These exercises are good for strengthening the calf and ankles and you can do them anywhere in the house that has a step,’ says Chong Hai-Yen, sport management lecturer at ITE College East. 

Household item: Golf ball 
Problem area: Arch of your foot 
How to use: Position the golf ball under the arch of your foot. Use your foot to roll the ball forward and backward, pressing down firmly. Continue rolling for five minutes. 
Advice: ‘This is useful when you’ve got sore arches or plantar fasciitis, which is a painful inflammatory condition where the pain is felt on the underside of the foot,’ says Penberthy. ‘This condition is commonly associated with long periods of weight-bearing, obesity, jobs that require a lot of walking on hard surfaces, shoes with little or no arch support and inactivity.’ 

Household item: Squash ball 
Problem area: Wrist 
How to use: Grip the squash ball firmly in the palm of your hand. Squeeze 50 times. 
Advice: ‘Another effective exercise is the act of washing unboiled rice in a pot of warm water. The temperature of the water does the trick in relaxing the muscles and opening up the pores. Practising “grasping” the rice in slow, controlled movements is good for strengthening the wrist as it increases the range of motion,’ asserts Hai-Yen. Using a squash ball, however, is ‘easier to grip’, says Penberthy. 

Household item: Rolling pin 
Problem area: Thigh 
How to use: Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out. Take the rolling pin and roll down the outside and top of the thigh, pressing firmly. Continue this action for five minutes. 
Advice: ‘Pain felt in the kneecap can sometimes be caused by muscle imbalance around the knee,’ says Penberthy. ‘It is often associated with tightness in the iliotibial band on the outside of the thigh, and quadriceps. Tightness in these muscles may then cause tracking problems with the kneecap, so loosening these muscles plus stretching may assist in reducing kneecap pain.’ 

Household item: Two 1kg bags of rice 
Problem area: Biceps 
How to use: Hold a rice bag in each hand. Keep arms as close to your body as possible in anticipation of slow, controlled movements, similar to a bicep curl. With arms down by the side and palms facing out, bend each elbow, raising the rice bags toward the front of your shoulders, and then lower back down by your side. Repeat 30 times. 
Advice: ‘Combine this exercise with squeezing the bags of rice 50 times to strengthen the grip, which will, in turn, strengthen the forearm muscles,’ says Penberthy. ‘Done together with the bicep curl exercise, these help to strengthen the area around the elbow joint, thus reducing the possibility of injury to the joint.’ Always get a proper diagnosis from your doctor before trying these treatments.