How to Use a Foam Roller Workshop What is a Foam Roller? The foam roller is made of hard celled foam rubber, and is available in different sizes and varying hardness. There are now available in a variety of different models but the traditional foam roller is more economical and is tried and tested. Why Use a Foam Roller? Using a foam roller is an affordable alternative to a massage, though not as effective as hands on manipulation from a qualified therapist a foam roller is still very effective. Combined with the low cost and ease of accessibility, the foam roller is a very powerful tool. Sport, exercise, work and the general demands of our life place significant demands on our bodies. Either metabolic bi- products associated with activity, disuse or prolonged postures can cause muscle and joints to stiffen up, often in a less than ideal position. The foam roller is an effective tool to stretch or release certain muscles and even stretch or mobilise some joints. How does the Foam Roller Work? The superficial facia is a soft connective tissue located just below the skin. It wraps and connects the muscles, bones, nerves and blood vessels of the body. Together, muscle and fascia make up what is called the myo- fascia system. For various reasons including disuse, not enough stretching, poor posture or injuries the facia and underlying muscle tissue can become stuck together. This is called an adhesion and it results in restricted muscle movement. It also causes pain, soreness and reduced flexibility or range of motion. Myo- fascial release is a technique in which the practitioner uses sustained pressure on the soft tissues whilst applying traction to the facia. The technique results in the softening and lengthening (release) of the facia and the breaking down of adhesions between the skin, facia, muscles and bones. Myo facial release has been shown to relieve various muscle and joint pains such as shin splints, patella femoral joint pain, ITB syndrome etc etc.
How to use the Foam Roller 1. Place the foam roller on or around the muscles that are tight or overactive. You can pretty much use it on any muscle. 2. Work from the proximal aspect of the body part (nearest to the centre of the body) then work the distal aspect of the body part (away from the centre of the body), this targets the Golgi Tendon Organ, next work in between these two points (the belly of the muscle). 3. Muscles are three dimensional so roll up, down and across the muscle to find the tender points. 4. When you find a tender spot hold onto that spot for 30-60 seconds or until the discomfort decreases by approximately 50-75%. 5. Make sure you breathe and relax when a tender spot is found. 6. Continue rolling the foam roller over the muscle to find any other tender spots. 7. To apply more pressure on the lower body you can go to use a single leg or stack one leg on top of the other. 8. You can also take a more of a self- massage approach if there are no major tender spots. Use long slow sweeping strokes on long muscle groups such as the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and adductors When to Use the Foam Roller? You can use the foam roller before your workout as part of your warm up, after your workout as part of your cool down or on a different day as part of your recovery. Using the foam roller after a brief warm up at the start of your workout will get your body ready for the upcoming exercises by releasing tight muscles and improving tissue quality, allowing you to move more freely and perform better. After your workout the foam roller can be used as part of your cool down by bringing your body back to a more rested state and releasing any tension built up by your workout. On recovery days the foam roller is great for getting rid of any niggles and bringing tight muscles back towards normal. If I had to choose the best time to use the foam roller I would pick the start of a workout. This is because it will allow your body to move better and get more from the workout. Also by using the foam roller at the start of the workout you are more likely to incorporate it in your routine.
Assessment with the Foam Roller Not only can you use the foam roller to relieve tension but you can also use it as a tool to assess the quality of your muscles and identify problem areas or potential areas of concern. Roll on the following areas and rate the discomfort from a scale of 1-10. Record these measurements in the space provided and reassess at a specified time to compare results. Make note of any imbalances. The higher the rating of discomfort in these assessments, the greater the need is to use the foam roller on those areas. Please note if there is extreme discomfort or large discrepancies between right and left sides of the body seeking advice from a health care professional such as a Physiotherapist. Foam Roller Assessment Card Calves: It is important to foam roll the calves as tight, overactive calves can contribute to things like Achilles tendonitis and restrict the ankle which can cause trouble with the knee ITB s: Tight ITB s can cause knee pain and limit range of motion, foam rolling your ITB s help reduce the pain and increase your range of motion Adductors: Adductors are often forgot about but tight adductors can limit the range of motion of the hips and lead to knee and lower back pain Glutes: Tight and locked up glutes can contribute to knee pain and also lower back pain. Foam rolling your glutes you will enable to move better and with less pain Thoracic Spine: Poor posture and too much sitting can lead to a immobile Thoracic spine which can lead lower back pain and shoulder problems. The foam roller is a great way to turn off the seated position and work towards better posture
Examples Pages Thoracic Spine Poor posture and too much sitting can lead to a immobile Thoracic spine which can lead lower back pain and shoulder problems. The foam roller is a great way to turn off the seated position and work towards better posture. This can be done as roll like described above or just lay on it and feel your thoracic spine stretch into extension. This is a great way to improve your posture and reduce neck pain and headaches.
Glutes Tight and locked up glutes can contribute to knee pain and also lower back pain. Foam rolling your glutes you will enable to move better and with less pain
ITB s Tight ITB s can cause knee pain and limit range of motion, foam rolling your ITB s help reduce the pain and increase your range of motion. This one can be a little painful at first but just use your other foot to take some of your body weight until it loosens up and the pain settles.
Calves It is important to foam roll the calves as tight, overactive calves can contribute to things like Achilles tendonitis and restrict the ankle which can cause trouble with the knee. Do both together or for a more aggressive release cross your feet like in the picture above.
Adductors Adductors are often forgot about but tight adductors can limit the range of motion of the hips and lead to knee and lower back pain
References: Effective Movement Training Course by Personal Training Academy/ Self- MyoFascial Release Lecture By Ian O Dwyer Feel Better for Ten Bucks by Eric Cressey and Mike Robinson http://www.t- nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_repair/feel_better_for_10_buc ks;jsessionid=c4cff88137916674c30f902f175c9b76- mcd02.hydra Foam Rollers for Myofascial Release and Massaging Tight Muscles http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/flexibilityandstretching/ss/foamroller.htm Using Foam Rollers by Michael Boyle http://www.performbetter.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/pbonepieceview?storeid=10151&catal ogid=10751&languageid=- 1&pagename=225