Foam rolling or Self Myofascial Release is a great way to help yourself & prevent injury. There are many different tools you can use, but some of my faves: foam roll, soft balls, soft medicine balls, and lacrosse or tennis balls.
Why should we do it?
As we use our muscles we develop adhesion’s & trigger points that prevent the muscle from gliding and moving as it’s meant to. Stretching is a great way to prevent some of this, but sometimes doesn’t do the trick. Think about a bungee cord with a knot in it. Stretching won’t really address the knot. Myofascial release enables you to release the knot.
A few things to consider when practicing Myofascial release:
- speak to a health professional prior to practicing to ensure you’re clear to do it
- don’t ever go over bone or joint or roll your neck or low back – these are highly sensitive areas and are better suited to professional therapies like Physio or Massage
- roll gently over the whole muscle belly and use your body to control the pressure level
- when you find a “trigger point” try to hold & breathe for 5-30s
- if you can’t hold it right on the trigger point, ease off the exact spot, and then as it releases roll back to it and it should release
- you may find this uncomfortable – and that’s normal. But don’t go to the point of pain.
- just like a deep tissue massage you may have some soreness the next day, light stretching may help, also make sure you drink lots of water to help flush the body!
Click here for a playlist of videos I’ve created to help you!
Happy Rolling!
Questions? I’d love to chat with you – email me at gillian@superyou.ca