Nearly every athletic training room and most physical therapy facilities contain an array foam rollers of different lengths and consistencies. These serve as tools for hands-on soft tissue care as part of massage therapy in caring for injury. Techniques like massage, Muscle Activation (MAT), and Active Release Therapy (ART) can work wonders for sore or injured patients. The foam roller enables one to self treat, manipulating soft tissue yourself in ways a therapist might. A foam roller is simply a cylindrical piece of extruded hard-celled foam. They usually come in one-foot or three-foot lengths. They are also now available in a number of densities from relatively soft foam, to newer high-density rollers that feel much more solid. The denser the user, the more dense the roller should be. Large, heavily-muscled users will do better with a very high density roller whereas a smaller, younger user should begin with a less dense product.
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| Basic foam roll |
The application techniques are simple. Pressure can be applied to tender areas. Or the user can roll the injured area over the roller in a sweeping stroke for a massage effect. The sweeping stroke can act to stretch the soft tissue. Users are instructed to let the roller search for tender areas or trigger points and to roll these areas to decrease density and over-activity of the muscle (cramping). Most users, however, require instruction on where to find the tender spots and on the positioning of the roller, such as parallel, perpendicular, or 45 degree angles, depending on the muscle. There is no universal agreement on when to roll, how often to roll, or how long to roll, but generally, techniques are used both before and after exercise. Foam rolling prior to exercise can help decrease muscle cramping and promote a better warm-up. Rolling after exercise may help muscles recover from strenuous exercise. Foam rolling is hard work that can border on being painful. It is important that one learn to distinguish between a moderate level of discomfort related to working a trigger point and a discomfort that can lead to tissue injury. When someone has completed foam rolling, he or she should feel better, not worse. Rollers should never cause bruising. Massage therapy remains a better therapeutic option but foam rollers do offer a cost effective alternative. If you do not have the strength to manipulate your full body weight over a foam roll, consider other manual tools like “The Stick” or “Body Balls”. These offer the same myofascial release with much less exertion. Foam rollers can be a very useful tool specifically when treating the spine instead of the soft tissue. One can achieve gentle spine segmental mobilization by rolling over a medium density roll with no significant adverse effects and good benefits.
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| Good use - simple spine mobilization |
