Foam Rolling

[Talo]

Here is a great article on that why and how of foam rolling ( video's included ) .

http://www.strengthcoach.com/public/1303.cfm (http://www.strengthcoach.com/public/1303.cfm)

There has been some talk recently ( mainly in journals ) about foam rolling and how good it is for recovery. I use a very dense roller so it hurts and when you hit the IT band you can feel it for sue , lol .

I've been doing it now for almost a year along with massage . Recently I've been doing it daily for a good 5-10 minutes . It's easy to hit the bigger body parts such as quads , hams , glutes , back ( upper / lower ) with the roller . When it comes to the smaller parts ( shoulders , pec's , triceps , calves ) I like to use a tennis ball. This is very effective for getting deep and in between the muscle .


Was not sure where to post this - recovery / injury section ?

[Talo]

Here is a great book.

Self-Myofascial Release

[tiramisu]

For those that need it and I have been one as well, myofascial is a good modality. I also find that old fashion cross-friction and digging your thumbs in and massaging the lumps/adhesions has helped as well.

The trick is to combine this with regular icing, mild compression (tensors), careful stretching, exercise and most importantly fixing your technique or imbalance so that you don't reinjure.

Recovering from tendon self abuse takes a surprising amount of work and patience. The damn things don't heal properly if left to their own devices.

[Ritch]

Big thumbs up for foam rollers. Youtube has good footage on how to use them as well.

[JifeLacket]

Made myself one out of 4" PVC and glued part of a yoga mat around it (1/4" thick), man does this baby work! I am going to make a 6" one too, i have a 9" and its great for doing ones back.

Would highly recommend it.

[Ritch]

^^^ Great idea! Repped.

[IronMan]

I wish I was that foam roller in the vid.

[Thorgrim]

I tried foam rolling for the first time a few days ago and it really reduced my normal hamstring soreness from my leg workout. Only problem is now my left hip is pretty sore and I am not sure if it has to do with the foam rolling. The pain started about 12 hours after the workout so I have no idea if it was the foam rolling or something else. I did hamstrings, glutes and the outside of the thigh (IT band?)

[JifeLacket]

The PVC (even with the 1/4" foam) is WAYYYY more aggressive then a foam roller so watch out! It realllly digs in deep though i love it.