Sore Muscles? Try Foam Rolling

Have you ever woken up feeling achy? Have you ever started a new exercise program and felt really sore the next day or two? Have you ever been preparing for a big race and your muscles feel tight during or after a run? One of the main reasons of this is from muscle fascia becoming tight

Fascia is a thin, sensitive connective tissue that holds everything from your muscles to your bones and organs of your body in place and when stressed it tightens up. Good news there’s help. One of the main ways people get ease from this is self myofascial release (SMR). A great tool to use for SMR is a foam roller. Although there are different tools for SMR such as medicine balls and handheld devices, the foam roller is the most popular. Rolling the specific body parts can target a specific stress and release that stress to make you feel better. The pain might also be from another muscle being tight. For example, if you have sore hamstrings you might have tight glutes. That’s why it is always important to hit all body parts when doing a rolling session. That way nothing is missed. This will also help get the blood going through all the surrounding areas and help with recovery. Other benefits from doing this are increased flexibility and injury prevention. It’s a great way to prevent injury. If in the middle of a run or lifting weights, if you feel something come on that feels like its “tweaked” bring out the roller. It can drastically reduce your chances of pulling a muscle.

Basically, what you are doing with self myofascial release is returning the tissue to its proper position. This can be done by beginners and the pros. Foam rollers are a very inexpensive piece of equipment to help you recover and move on to your next workout. They vary in size, shape, thickness and most important, density. A basic piece of hard cylindrical dense foam cut in 12 inch pieces is the most popular. They even have ones that are rigged and even temperature controlled. So the price ranges vary.

Rolling can be done everyday or every other day. It is ok to take a day off from it if you feel you need a rest from it. Like any regimen, get yourself into a routine with this. Make it a part of your workout. Try to roll before you warm-up for your workout. It can also be done after your workout as a cool down. Try to target the specific muscles that were worked on the day. A slow roll for about 20-45 seconds per body party should be plenty. It may seem a little uncomfortable at first but that’s all part of it. The bigger picture is you will feel better in the long run.  Little things like this are important in a weight training regimen or running program. You need to stay loose to help your body perform at its peak.

Foam rolling is not for everyone, so make sure you check with your doctor before starting a SMR regimen. Also, before you go off on your own using one, reach out to an instructor or look for videos to show you how to properly do this.

Foam rolling, the most popular tool for SMR it is a great piece of equipment for recovery, flexibility and injury prevention.