Foam Rolling
Time to dust off those foam rollers!
There’s no better time time than now.
Let’s get rollin.
Most people have seen a foam roller before - they all look a little different, some have knobs or spikes coming off of them, while others don’t. Maybe you have one, and maybe you don’t - either way it’s okay! Down below I get into the who-what-where and when of foam rolling.
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First at foremost - what IS a foam roller? It’s a cylindrical object that is used to roll out/massage/loosen your muscles. It can support our body weight so we can use gravity to our advantage by laying on it different ways to most efficiently foam roll an area of the body. If you have sore or tight muscles, foam rollers give a good self-massage and can work out some knots you may feel and increase blood circulation.
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So now I’m going to dive in to how to best target different parts of the body with your foam roller. The body is full of muscles that are different shapes and sizes. The most important part is to know what you are foam rolling so you can properly work the entire length of the muscle.
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First and foremost, the low back aka lumbar spine. Start with the foam roller going horizontally going across the small of your low back. It is important to note that we must keep our ribs down while targeting this area so we don’t put our back into an excessive curve. As you can see in the video, my back is very rounded to make sure we don’t hurt the back and best roll out the muscles down there.
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Next is the mid to upper back, or thoracic spine. As shown, we should put our arms up to extend our spine over the foam roller (note, this is completely opposite of how to roll out the low back). Make sure not to go too low on the back - a good indicator if you did is a feeling increased pressure around the spine. If that happens, either reverse and start rolling higher on your back again, or round the back and continue down to roll out the lower back.
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Next up is the adductors, or groin muscles. This one looks a little advanced, but it is very effective! As shown, start with the foam roller at the end of the knee while in a half frog position. Roll the inside of your thigh over it and go as close as you can to the insertion of the muscles at the pelvis. So don’t just stop halfway up like a lot of people tend to do!
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Finally, the IT band, or outside of your thigh. Similar to the adductors, this covers a long area. So start with the foam roller up at the top of your hip, then roll down to the outside of the knee where the muscles attach. This one takes a little bit of balance and coordination, but it won’t take much pressure to feel the muscles being hit!
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Additionally, but not shown in the video, the lats are another group that can be easily hit with the foam roller. The lats cover a large area under the armpit and across part of the back. An easy way to target them is to lay on your side with your bottom arm over your head. Place the foam roller under your arm near the shoulder and slowly go up and down the outside of your rib cage. It does not take a lot of pressure to feel this one!
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There are plenty more areas of the body, but some are easier to reach with something smaller like a roller sick (shown in video). From the neck, to the shins, to the calves. The quads in my opinion are also easier to target with a roller stick because it can be done by yourself with such ease. However, targeting the quads with a foam roller applies way more pressure to the area - so it depends what your goal is with doing it. Both roller sticks and foam rollers can be purchased on Amazon or places like Target and Walmart.
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Of course if rolling/stretching out your muscles feels good, keep doing it! It’s not doing any harm. But if you’ve been doing stuff like this for months to years without any significant change? We know that a tight muscle is a weak muscle, therefore, we must also strengthen it. In which case, we’d love to assess you and start working on strengthening the areas where you’re weak.
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So take a look at the video and give these ones a try!
