Pain Management and Pain Relief Information

Many people these days have seen and even own foam rollers. They typically will tend to use them for very sore or tight muscles. Foam rollers are a form of self myofascial release or massage. The fascia is a layer of connective tissue that surrounds and supports muscle. Through various sports activities and or injuries it can become tight and form adhesions that prevent fluid muscle contraction and expansion. Along with associated trigger points or tight spots within the muscle, the foam roller can help to relax both of these conditions. In fact, this is what most people use them for. When attempting to relax tight muscles or fascia rolling should be performed in a very slow manner with frequent pauses over extremely tight areas. In addition, stay away from the tendons which attach the muscle belly to a joint or you risk injuring yourself.

What most people do not realize is that the foam roller can be an extremely effective warm up tool. Because the pressure applied from rolling causing compression of the tissues warming them up and helping to relax and loosen tight fibers. In addition, it brings more blood flow to the area which readily prepares the muscle tissue for the contractions it will undergo in its workout.

In order to foam roll properly prior to doing an exercise or for warm-up there are a few key differences from foam rolling to relax tight muscles. First, you want to roll over the muscles rapidly and with more superficial pressure than when trying to release trigger points or tight fascia. For example, to warm up for a run I might roll over my hamstrings up and down, staying away from the tendons and mostly in the belly of the muscle 3-5 times, and then roll my calves, 3-5 times, roll onto my side to do each IT band individual 2-3 times, and then onto the quads 3-5 times again avoiding the tendons at the top and bottom of the quads. Then I will move over to the other IT band and repeat. And then last roll over the gluts. The entire process should take no more than 3-5 minutes.

Another difference, is I am not trying to spend any considerable time on any tight or hot areas. By spending a lot of time foam rolling over a tight area very slowly prior to a workout you run the risk of injuring the tissue. This is because, just like deep tissue massage, as we break up scar tissue we can create a little inflammatory response. Exercising immediately after this may result in further inflammation and injury.