Foam rollers are easy to use and are an invaluable resource to aid your recovery after exercise, training or competing.
While traditionally they were made from foam, nowadays they are made from a variety of materials and come in different sizes, textures and densities. Some rollers are ridged and bobbly, useful for applying varying amounts of pressure in different anatomical areas, whilst others are smooth.
As a start, using a smooth roller with no ridges feels easier and then you can add some ‘contours’ later. They aren’t comfortable to use however, and they take some determination to familiarise yourself with the discomfort.
BENEFITSUsing a foam roller stimulates and increases circulation to the cells and tissues, helping your body to eliminate lactic acid and exercise waste products as well as easing tensions to facilitate smooth movement after exercise.
Before exercise, foam rolling helps loosen the tissues ready for movement.
WHY TO ROLL?Muscles are made from bundles of parallel muscle fibres that are wrapped in a tough fibrous outer layer called fascia. In a normal functioning muscle, the fibres and the fascia should glide alongside each other without any ‘snagging’ or ‘stickiness’.
However, as is often the case, the effects of modern life can often conflict with how our bodies are supposed to function and the net result is dysfunction. Long periods of immobility and inactivity (e.g. sitting), intense physical training (e.g. weight training, aerobic endurance exercise), repetitive joint movements (e.g. lifting/carrying a child, bag or other object in the same way), or occupational movements that are overly repetitive (e.g. typing, lifting, stooping), can all cause binding between the muscle and fascia creating fibrous knots known as adhesions. These adhesions present in the muscle as tight, tender points which cause mild pain and discomfort when pressure is applied, called trigger points.
Soft tissue fascial adhesions are places where the muscle fibres and fascia become ‘glued together’, preventing the smooth gliding action of muscle fibres. This binding reduces the efficiency of muscle fibres to generate force, and can also result in additional strain being placed on other fibres and neighbouring muscles to compensate. Inflammation may also present at this site in some cases. For all of the reasons above, fascial adhesions have the potential to cause both local and referred pain – this is pain that presents away from the site of the adhesion.
Self-myofascial release applies direct pressure to the site of the trigger point/adhesion, causing it to disperse, breakdown and remodel in a similar way to the effects of physiotherapy soft tissue treatments.
THE GOAL OF USING A FOAM ROLLERThe goal of using the foam roller is to achieve ‘myofascial release’,- this is the soft connective tissue, that wraps around everything in your body, like a huge continuum of cling film enveloping everything, situated just beneath your skin that connects your muscles, bones, nerves, organs and blood vessels – by stretching and mobilising it, to tease out knots and tensions.
The Athletic training journal reports that 20 minutes of foam rolling immediately after exercise and every 24 hours thereafter helps to reduce stiffness after hard exercise and prolonged muscle soreness.
Target areas for foam rolling can be identified in several ways:
Palpation – using the fingers to feel for adhesions and trigger points
Areas of tenderness found while foam rolling
Historical areas of tenderness such as the upper back in desk workers or areas of known injury and tension
Activity-specific – foam roll agonists and antagonists prior to activity, e.g. quadriceps and hamstrings prior to squatting
HOW TO USE THE FOAM ROLLER?To foam roll properly, you should lie on the roller so that it is between the target muscle/tissue and the ground. You should then roll up and down the target muscle/area using moderate pressure in an exploratory fashion, seeking out any adhesions and trigger points. Start out with mild pressure and gradually allow the roller to go deeper with each roll.
For large, wide muscles, such as the quadriceps, it may be necessary to move medially or laterally also (inside and outside) to ensure that the entire muscle is affected.
If any trigger points are found, (they normally present with localised tenderness and/or pain), roll firmly on that spot for 30-60 seconds, or until the tension and pain subsides. It is normal for the pain to ease gradually, although in particularly sensitive areas, it may take a few sessions.
If an area is too painful to roll directly, pressure can be reduced by adjusting the body position, or using the arms or legs for more support. In the case of very tender areas, rolling should only be performed on the surrounding areas and gradually introduced to the painful area over a number of sessions. This helps to build a tolerance.
FOAM ROLLING EXERCISESThe more bodyweight placed on the roller, the deeper and potentially more painful the effect will be. Reduce the amount of weight placed on the roller if a less intense release session is required.
The ITB, short for iliotibial band, is a problem area for many exercisers, especially runners.
Lie on the side with the roller under the lowermost leg. Initially, bend the upper leg and rest the foot on the floor to reduce the amount of pressure. Roll up and down the roller from the side of the knee to the top outside of the gluteus maximus. Repeat on the other leg. For more pressure, place the legs together to increase the weight on the roller.
HAMSTRINGS sit up tall with legs straight and hands either side of the hips to form an L position. Place the roller under the thighs. Roll up and down so the roller goes from above the back of the knees to just below the gluteus maximus. If more pressure is required, cross the legs and do one hamstring at a time.
QUADRICEPS Lie on your stomach and resting onto your elbows, place the roller under the thighs. Roll up and down from the tops of the knees to the tops of the thighs. Cross the legs and do one leg at a time if more pressure is required.
GLUTEAL REGION Sit on the roller with bent legs and with arms supporting the upper body. Cross the left ankle over the right knee. Roll the gluteus maximus back and forth while leaning from side to side. Once one side is done, switch legs and repeat.
THORACIC SPINE Spending too much of our lives seated is awful for our posture and back. This hunched position can be undone, at least temporarily, by rolling the thoracic spine. Lie on the back and place the roller behind the shoulders. With legs bent and neck relaxed, slowly roll the roller down the thoracic spine to level with the bottom ribs. Roll back up and repeat. It is not uncommon to hear/feel some clicks as the vertebrae move back into the correct position.
After two or three slow passes have been made up and down the thoracic spine, position the roller behind the shoulders and lie back vertically onto the roller, letting gravity pull the thoracic spine into gentle extension. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds before slowly turning to the side and carefully standing up.
To maximise results while minimising risk, users of foam rollers should observe the following:
Don’t roll over bony prominences – bones can be mistaken for adhesions but repeated rolling could result in inflammation of the periosteum
Avoid rolling over joints – rolling joints can cause inflammation of the tendons and ligaments around the articulation.
Increase the intensity and duration of foam rolling gradually to avoid post-treatment soreness or bruising. Foam rolling can be uncomfortable but should never be extremely painful
Once you have finished foam rolling, the muscles should feel worked, not fatigued and range of movement of the associated joints will increase also.
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