How many of you started a New Year’s resolution to get fit? Be honest. How many are you still committed? Thought so. Getting fitter is hard. Sometimes the thought of going to the gym or the discomfort you feel after a workout is enough to put you off, but that shouldn’t be the case.
The soreness of your muscles after pumping that iron means that you’ve done something, but the pain isn’t something you have to live with. Increasingly, the benefits of foam rolling as a way to ease your body back to its best is revolutionising exercise, but what are those benefits? Let’s take a look.
How do foam follers work?
If your first question is ‘how do foam rollers even work?’, then let’s look at that straight away. Whether you’re warming-up or cooling-down, you can take your cylindrical piece of compressed foam, known as a foam roller, and slowly run it up and down your muscles, using your own body weight to provide the pressure.
They come in a number of different sizes and degrees of firmness. The process works by simply massaging your muscles. It does this by applying pressure to them and surrounding tissue to release stiffness and tension. Technically, this is a process called myofascial release, or in this case as you’re doing it yourself, self-myofascial.
Every muscle fibre, organ, nerve fibre and bone in your body is surrounded by thin layers of tissue called the fascia. It’s what helps give your muscles their shape and attaches to the bone to help you move. They are normally supple and move freely, but when they’re not, they can lose their elasticity and form tight bands, limiting your movements. The foam roller helps to return this flexibility through pressure, helping the muscle fibres to relax and become malleable again.
The Benefits of Foam Rolling
So now we understand the science behind it, what benefits can you feel by using a roll of foam?
1. Ease Muscle Pain
The first benefit is probably the reason you’re using one in the first place, to ease your muscle pain. A foam roller isn’t part of the latest exercise trend, there’s actually academic research that shows that using one after exercise helps to reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness, compared to those who don’t.
2. Improve Flexibility
Foam rolling isn’t just confined to those who work out too strenuously. There’s growing evidence that using a foam roller can improve your flexibility however active (or inactive) you are. Anyone with fibromyalgia will tell you the pain they feel when just trying to move their arms and legs. Because of the way the roller helps to bring back flexibility in your muscles, more people are using them as part of their day-to-day routine to keep themselves supple and help to maximise their range of movements.
3. Relive Back Pain
If you have ever suffered with back pain, or know someone who has, you’ll understand how debilitating any sort of injury can be. The spine is a vital part of our basic movements, so relieving back pain is key to remaining fit and healthy. If you already have back pain, then obviously you will need to be more careful not to make matters worse, but using a foam roller is a great way to help ease those niggling aches. If you’re using it for your back, keep it so it’s inline with your spine, rather than horizontal, as this can cause you to overcompensate and strain your back as you arch.
Yoga is another great way of helping reduce back pain.
4. De-stress
In this modern world we live in, there are enough pressures on our limited time and finances already, so we want to ease those things too. When life is getting on top of you, take your foam roller and use it to unwind. As it does its thing, rolling across those tightened muscles, you can feel the stresses of the day melt away. It’s a great way to relax and we all need to do more of that.
Hopefully now we’ve convinced you to give foam rolling a try. The best thing about it, aside from all the benefits above, is that it’s a relatively cheap piece of equipment to buy. They are widely available, so once you find the one that suits you, start off lightly.
If you are a member of a gym, ask a member of staff to help start you off. If not, then check out this YouTube video and go gently at first. It might be a strange sensation and even a little painful at first, especially if your muscles are tight, so adjust the amount of pressure you’re applying until you’re comfortable. Start with 10 second durations initially and build up the more comfortable you get. Foam rolling is a great way to prevent injury, unwind and increase flexibility, so let’s roll.
