Foam Rolling…. Love it or leave it?

Over many years of working as a Massage Therapist, I’m always interested to hear how people use a foam roller. Many of my clients comment “I always roll out after exercise,” and yet their muscles are often tight and full of knots. How did you learn how to use a foam roller? Did you just pick it up one day and start rolling? Did a coach or therapist teach you how to di it? Did you read about it in a magazine or a book? Is there a right and wrong way to do it?

Many of my clients who use a foam roller on a regular basis are doing it all wrong. I’ve come to notice that these clients often have poor quality sliding surfaces between the fascia and muscles. As a therapist it becomes difficult for me to palpate the differences between one muscle and another. It brings me to the question; what came first? Are all these clients using the foam roller because their muscles and fascia are so tight? Or, are they using the foam roller incorrectly and causing the problems?

It recently came to my attention, the ignorance of fascia. Fascia is a structure of connective tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels, and nerves, binding some structures together, while permitting others to slide smoothly over each other. Since muscles and fascia are meant to work together as one, but separate from each other, when applying too much pressure and force through foam rolling you can crush facia and muscle together and cause a whole list of problems…. Enter the massage therapist =)
As much as I could do with the more business, I’m here to share a few little tips to get the most from your foam rolling:

• ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS warm up before you start foam rolling. Rolling cold muscles is never a good idea
• Slow down – the idea is to release the tension, not make more. You need to move over the muscle slowly and try to find the knots and points of tension. Spend some time on the tight areas and try to make the muscle move of the roller, not the roller over the muscle. For example when you are lying face down and rolling your quads you can straighten and bend you knee to cause the quad to contract and relax.
• Stay relaxed -If your not relaxed the muscles you’re working on are not relaxed. Holding your breath is never a good idea.
• Breath. Use your breath to control the pressure. If you are not breathing, you are going too deep. Find that area of tension, take a deep breath and slowly move through it.
• Test and re-test – Did foam rolling make a difference? If you are rolling your quads for example you might perform a few air squats before you roll. After you’ve spent 2-3minutes rolling each quad you can re-test your air squat to see if rolling has made a difference. Is there more range of motion? Does the squat feel easier?

If you have used these small, yet effective techniques, and you are still feeling pain, I would suggest your next best step is to find a good manual therapist who can assess what is going on. They will be able to properly teach you self-care, and the correct areas for you.

How do you know when you can stop foam rolling? If you feel pain or tightness in your muscles you need to keep them moving. Exercise, stretching and rolling are all part of the recipe to stay stronger and mobile.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me on: [email protected]