How to Use Voodoo Floss

Voodoo floss is a compression band that you can use to increase mobility and flexibility in your body. You can also use it to prepare your body for a workout. Wrap the band at your hip to increase hip mobility and stretch your sore hips. You can also use the band on your feet and ankles to increase flexibility and prepare for a run. Using the band on your wrist, forearms, and knees can help relieve pain when working with your hands or running.

EditSteps

EditUsing it for Hip Mobility

1. Start the voodoo floss just below your hip. Place the end of the floss on top of your thigh, then wrap the floss once around. You shouldn’t be wrapping it as tightly as possible – use about half of the stretch/tension available in the band.^[1]
   
2. Continue wrapping the band down your thigh. Start overlapping the band as you continue to wrap it around your thigh. You should use an overlap of about . If you start to feel any tingling or pain, you’re wrapping too tight.^[2]
   
3. Tuck the end of the band under the previous strip. Once you get to the end of floss, you’ll need to secure it so the band doesn’t come loose. Take about of the end of the band and pull it up and then tuck it under the previous strip.^[3]
   
4. Swing your flossed leg backward and forward. Use the leg that’s not wrapped for balance, standing with your knee slightly bent. Then start gently swinging the leg that’s wrapped from the hip. You should feel your hip extending, particularly when you swing forward. Repeat this motion for 15 to 20 reps.^[4]
   
5. Swing your flossed leg side to side. Stand so the foot of your anchor leg is slightly behind your hips. Then swing your flossed leg side to side in front of your anchor leg. Your leg should make a 30 to 45-degree angle as it swings out. Repeat this for 30 seconds.^[5]
   
6. Perform 5 to 10 squats. Stand with your legs just more than shoulder-width apart. Your feet should be pointing slightly away from center. Then squat so that your knees extend just over your feet and your butt almost touches the floor. Perform 5 to 10 squats, squatting as deeply as you can.^[6]
   
7. Perform a lateral lunge. Stand with your legs more than shoulder-width apart. Then lunge to the side of the flossed leg. Your feet shouldn’t move – the lunge movement should come from your hips. Perform 5 to 10 reps.^[7]
   
8. Remove the band. You shouldn't use the voodoo floss for longer than 2 minutes at a time. Once you've finished your set, remove the band immediately.
   
9. Repeat the exercises using the voodoo floss on your other hip. If you're looking to increase mobility in both of your hips, wrap your other hip in the floss. Then perform each of the exercises on that hip.
   

EditIncreasing Ankle Mobility

1. Start in a seated position. It’s easiest to wrap your foot and ankle while you’re seated. You can sit on a chair or workout bench. Then cross the leg you’re wrapping over the opposite leg. You should rest your leg just above the ankle, so you can get to the ankle to wrap it.^[8]
   
2. Begin wrapping at the arch of your foot. Place the end of the floss on the top of your foot at your arch. Then wrap the floss around your foot about 3 times, slowly moving back toward your heel.
   • Make sure your foot stays in a neutral position as you wrap your foot and ankle.
3. Skip over your heel and begin wrapping your ankle. Once you reach your heel, let a little extra floss through your hands and begin wrapping the ankle.
   • You’ll need to skip your heel to make sure you still have enough range of motion to work out your ankle.
4. Wrap the floss the rest of the way up your leg. Once you’ve wrapped your ankle, continue wrapping the floss up your calf. You should still be using about 50% tension. Once you come to the end of the floss, tuck the end under the previous strip.^[9]
   
5. Flex and rotate your ankle while seated. Once your foot is wrapped, extend your leg out so your foot is off the ground but your knee is still slightly bent. Flex your foot back and then point it forward. Then you can rotate your ankle, moving it both clockwise and counterclockwise. Flex and rotate your ankle for about 1 minute to warm up the tissue.^[10]
   
6. Perform toe raises. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Then slowly lift your heels off the ground, bearing the weight of your body on your toes. As soon as you reach the top of your range of motion, slowly lower your heels back to the ground. Then raise them off the ground again. Do this for 20 seconds.^[11]
   
7. Perform dorsiflexion. Once you’ve done toe raises for 20 seconds, add a dorsiflexion to the end. When you lower your heels back down, bend slightly at the knee and lower your body until your knees are just over your feet. Then raise your body back up, take the weight off your heels, and do a toe raise. Repeat this whole process for about 20 seconds.^[12]
   
8. Hop for a few seconds. Once you’ve flexed and stretched your ankles, hop on both feet, bringing them just off the floor. This will warm up the tissue well if you’re planning on going for a run after.^[13]
   
9. Remove the band. Once you’ve finished your exercises, remove the band. You don’t want to have it on for longer than 2 minutes at a time. If you'd like to increase mobility in both of your ankles, wrap the other ankle and repeat all of the exercises.^[14]
   

EditFlossing Your Wrists and Forearms

1. Hold the band in your hand and begin wrapping your wrist. Holding the end of the band in the hand you want to wrap. Then use 50 to 75 percent tension and begin wrapping your wrist, overlapping the band slightly.
   
2. Wrap the floss up to your elbow and then back down. Overlap the floss slightly as you wrap it up your arm from the wrist. Once you reach about from your elbow, reverse direction and start wrapping the floss back down your forearm toward your wrist.^[15]
   
   • Tuck the last strip under the previous band once you’re finished.
3. Swing your arm from a downward position to back behind your shoulder. Stand with your arm hanging down at your side. Then swing your arm up, curling it as you would if you were lifting a weight, until your hand touches your shoulder. Then return to the starting position and repeat the motion.^[16]
   
4. Perform a wrist extension against a wall. Extend your arm so that your palm is up and your elbow is almost completely straight. Then press your hand against a flat surface – a wall is best. Relax your wrist as you pull it away from the wall. Then repeat the motion.^[17]
   
   • Make sure your shoulder remains in a neutral position – don’t push so hard that your shoulder moves.
5. Perform a wrist extension against the floor. Kneel with both knees on the floor with your legs and feet extended behind you. Start with your arms extended and palms up. Then bend forward and place your palms on the floor so your fingers are pointing back toward your feet. Rock slowly back and forth on your hands and knees to extend your wrists.^[18]
   
   • You can also reverse your hands so that the top of your hands are on the floor while your fingers point back toward your feet.

EditFlossing Your Shoulders

1. Ask a friend to wrap your shoulder. Stand with your arm resting on a friend’s shoulder. Your shoulder and arm should be in a neutral position – not extended or flexed in any way. They should place the end of the floss on the top of your shoulder, slightly down from the top joint. Wrap it once for an anchor strip, then use 50 percent tension to continue wrapping.
   
   • You might start to feel occlusion – some pressure and tingling in your hand – that’s alright for this particular wrap.
   • Make sure they wrap the end under the previous strip.
2. Flex and extend your arm. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with your arm at your side and your fingers pointed toward the ground. Then raise your arm up, reaching toward the ceiling. Then swing your arm down and back, making about a 30-degree angle with your arm. Repeat this for 10 to 15 reps.
   
3. Swing your arm across your body. Start with arm extended out to the side. Your elbow should be almost straight. Then swing your arm across your body so that it’s parallel with your chest, keeping your elbow straight. Then swing your arm back out so that it’s extended at your side. Repeat this movement for 15 to 20 reps.^[19]
   
4. Perform pass-throughs holding a stick or dowel. Hold a stick or dowel in front of you, so that your arms are just over shoulder-width apart. Lift the dowel up and over your head, extending your arms behind your body. Then bring the dowel back to the front. Repeat this for 15 to 20 reps.^[20]
   
5. Use a dowel to press overhead. Hold the dowel with your arms just over shoulder-width apart. Raise the dowel so you’re holding it above and slightly behind your head. Then bend your elbows and bring the dowel back down until it rests against the nape of your neck.^[21]
   

EditUsing Voodoo Floss for Knee Pain

1. Begin wrapping the knee below the kneecap for anterior knee pain. Anterior knee pain occurs at the front and center of the knee. Start the floss just below the kneecap. Wrap the floss around your knee, moving up toward your thigh and overlapping each band. Tuck the end into the previous band.^[22]
   
2. Begin wrapping your leg above the kneecap for lateral knee pain. Begin the floss on the outside of your leg. Then pull the floss from the outside of your knee, across your leg, and toward the inside of your thigh. Continue wrapping, working downward toward the top of your knee. Tuck the end into the previous band.^[23]
   
   • You shouldn’t wrap your knee if you have lateral knee pain. The entire band should be wrapped around your leg just above your kneecap.
3. Use the voodoo floss below your knee for pain under the kneecap. Start the floss on the outside of your leg, just below your kneecap. Then wrap it over the front of your leg, working toward the inside of your thigh. Overlap the floss as you wrap it, tucking the end into the previous band.^[24]
   
4. Perform 20 to 30 squats. Stand with your feet just over shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back straight, bend at the knees until they are just over your feet. Then push into the ground and raise your body back up.^[25]
   

EditTips

• Although there have not been scientific studies proving the efficacy or safety of using this tool, many people have experienced the benefits of increased mobility and reduced joint pain from using these bands appropriately and as recommended.

EditWarnings

• If you begin to feel any pain, tingling, or occlusion in the body part you’re wrapping, unwrap the floss immediately.
• If you have continual pain even after using the floss, see a doctor.

EditSources and Citations

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