Foam Rolling Essentials
- aredekop
- Jan 30, 2017
- 2 min read
You have probably seen one of these increasingly common torture devices called a foam roller. Does John Mellencamp singing "Hurts So Good" start playing in your mind every time you try to use it? The song immediately starts playing in my mind as I try to keep my balance. It may not be the most graceful looking or enjoyable routine, but it seems to be beneficial. So down to the nitty gritty...
How it works:
Foam rolling is often classified as Self-Induced Myofascial Release (SMR). The myofascia is the connective tissue that surrounds the muscle, and it is can affect us due to a number of reasons such as overuse, inflammation or inactivity. Using the foam roller, one uses their body weight to apply pressure to the affected tissue until the tissue "releases". This is why when using the foam roller, you should find the point of pain and apply pressure to that point until you feel the tissue release (usually 60-90 seconds) before you move on. For each area of the body, for example your quadricep, you should try to find 2-3 points to work on before moving to the next area, such as you hamstring.
Benefits:
Studies have been done on the effects of using foam rollers before and after work outs. Here are a few ways they have been shown to help.
- Incorporating a foam rolling routine before a work out can be more beneficial than a static stretching routine by allowing you to stretch the muscles without over-stretching or injuring yourself (YES you can stretch too much before a workout and increase your chances of injury, but thats a different topic).
- Foam rolling has been shown to increase range of motion as much as 10%. Maybe I could finally reach that hold in the climbing gym...
- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (the reason you are sore 48 hours after working out) is decreased. This also lowers DOMS affect on dynamic movements and lowers the amount of soreness, which allows you to recover and get back to peak performance faster.
- Massages in general have been shown to increase blood flow to areas of low blood flow. This is especially good for cardiovascular purposes. Its not a bad idea for those sitting at a desk all day to break out a foam roller and get moving every so often.
What type of foam roller to buy:
A study showed that a high density foam roller increases the amount of pressure applied to the soft tissue and therefore increases the benefits of foam rolling. Here are a few main competitors in the business:
AND for those of us who don't want to look like a floundering fish on top of a moving object, buy yourself a hand held roller:
Sources:
1.) http://europepmc.org/articles/pmc4645924
2.) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Behm/publication/259349900_Foam_Rolling_as_a_Recovery_Tool_after_an_Intense_Bout_of_Physical_Activity/links/00b4952d3f2189d38f000000/Foam-Rolling-as-a-Recovery-Tool-after-an-Intense-Bout-of-Physical-Activity.pdf
3.) http://www.natajournals.org/doi/full/10.4085/1062-6050-50.1.01
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