The Thumbsaver was invented over 10 years ago by Greg Polins and has turned into a necessary part of any massage therapist’s tool kit. I remember Greg had been massaging for a few years and started complaining about how his own body, especially his hands, wrists and thumbs, were hurting. He started to worry that maybe his career as a massage therapist was over.

His idea was to create a tool that supported the thumb from all sides which would reduce stress to the joints, too. He also wanted to make sure that he could keep it affordable so that anyone could keep their joints, hands, wrists, and thumbs pain free.

He gave me one of the first ones to try. I had been massaging for almost 10 years at this time so at first it seemed a little awkward. But once I got the hang of it I realized how much deeper I could get into muscles with very little effort and how less fatigued my hands felt. I started becoming creative with it and found that I was putting less and less stress on my thumbs, of course, but also on my wrists and hands.

Then I realized what a benefit using a Thumbsaver would be, especially for new therapists, worn out therapists (LOL- just joking with you) and for people who have no massage training but want to be able to get into the muscles deeply on friends and family.

If you are a massage therapist or even a physical therapist, (or actually anyone who uses the strength in their thumbs), who is worried about saving your hands for the future, this tool is for you! If you aren’t a therapist but love giving a good, deep massage once in a while you will love this tool as well. It almost seems as if the Thumbsaver “grows” on you; as you become more and more accustom to utilizing it in different ways it seems to become increasingly flexible.

Sometimes you need to press deeply into a trigger or acupressure point on different parts of the body. Using your elbow is an alternative when you are working on large surface areas such as the back. But what do you do to give your hands a rest when it is in small areas such as the points in the upper shoulder or neck region? Of course you can use the Thumbsaver for all parts of the body but these smaller areas are where the Thumbsaver really comes in handy.

Personally I enjoy using the Thumbsaver because I massage a lot of people with headaches. In fact, I sell a guide and other headache products as well. When treating headaches it is important to press into neuromuscular, trigger and acupressure points that are in small areas such as the neck, head and face. The Thumbsaver is the perfect tool for addressing these localized areas.

Now, I know the Thumbsaver was designed as a massage tool but I have to admit I’ve used it for a few other things, too. One time I was having a real hard time pushing a large needle through a thick piece of fabric….and then there was another time I needed to press a tack in deeper into the wall….hmmm, let’s see what else can I use this durable, flexible, affordable tool for…..

Jean Olsen is a licensed massage therapist (since
1995) and certified neuromuscular therapist.