The idea is to seek out the tender spots in your muscles (trigger points or knots) then roll over them to massage them out, relieve pain, pressure and inflammation. It works like massage therapy. Think of your muscles like a shoelace. It has a certain length to it. When you get a knot in it, the shoelace is shortened. You have to work out the knot to restore the natural length. The same goes for your muscles. Sometimes stretching is not what you need. By working out the knots in your muscles, you restore the muscle to the original length making it more pliable and functional.
There are a couple of techniques that you can use:
1) Keep a continuous roll over the trigger point to massage the area.
2) Find the trigger point and hold pressure to that area for 20-30 sec.
Either way works just fine. Apply only as much pressure as you can tolerate and build up the amount of time that you spend doing it.
When to do it:
You can foam roll anytime. There is no such thing as too much. Doing it before a workout can help warm up your muscles and work out the tight sore areas leading to a more effective workout. After a workout can help prevent sore muscles. The first time you use this technique it may be a little painful. Stick with it. Once you are past the first few weeks it gets easier and more comfortable. The better foam rolling feels and the less it hurts means that you have better quality muscle tissue now.
Benefits:
If you still need more benefits than better quality muscle tissue and less pain.... then here are a few added benefits to foam rolling:
- the compression causes nerves to relax
- loosens the muscles making them more pliable and functional
- increases blood flow (more blood flow=faster recovery and toxin release)
- alleviates soreness and helps recovery
Roll your way to better recovery and muscle function.
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