West London Fitness Sports therapist Phil Chesters who Specialises in Sports injury rehabilitation and massage writes about the importance of body maintenance and in particular the advantages of regularly using the foam roller.
The Dreaded Foam Roller
We have all heard a thousand times that self-massage is an essential tool for performance maintenance and injury prevention. However sometimes foam rolling techniques can be misguiding and confusing. Sometimes stories of ‘deadly foam rollers’ circulate between training groups and generate a predominantly negative stigma around what is a fantastic tool, and something which in my opinion; everybody should have in their arsenal of techniques to maintain fitness.
In this post we will talk about why foam rollers are so great… And hopefully clear up any ‘Old Wives Tales’ about how much damage and pain they will subject you to!
Firstly let’s get one thing straight. Foam Rollers are Brilliant! They can give huge amounts of relief, in a range of different ways, managed and controlled entirely by the user, self-administered, self-controlled and are readily available. It is portable, it can be used in rehab exercises, warm ups and cool downs, recovery, self-treatment and simply just maintenance, all at a low cost. What’s not to like…
What Is Foam Rolling?
In short; Foam rolling is a form of self-massage. It is where individuals use their body weight to roll over and round a cylindrical roller to relieve restrictions in muscular tissues.
Given the term ‘self myofascial release’, the author Mike Clark advised athletes to use their body weight to apply pressure to sore and tight spots of muscle, replicating a self-acupressure technique. This technique grew and now provides us with ways of relieving and managing tight and restricted muscle and tendons. It also provides joint and tissue mobilization and is a fantastic way of self managing your body for EVERYBODY, not just athletes.
Below is a link to a video that demonstrates foam rolling in areas where restrictions are regularly found.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLxruO3su0
Benefits of Foam Rolling
• Corrects muscle imbalances
• Improves joint range of motion
• Relieves muscle soreness and joint stress
• Increases extensibility of musculotendinous junction
• Improves neuromuscular efficiency
• Maintains normal functional muscular length
PHIL CHESTERS
If you would like to see Phil for any injury problems you may have or a sports massage then please contact us on 07852 606288 or contact@westlondonfitness.co.uk