How to Use a Foam Roller
Ready to learn foam roller exercises? Breaking the injury cycle could be as simple as investing in a foam roller. Working out, although great for your health, can often wreck havoc on your muscles, fascia, and joints. Due to the interaction between the central nervous system, fascia and muscle, stretching just isn’t enough. To incorporate change in these faulty movement patterns caused by tightness or muscle fatigue, a rewiring of sorts is needed. The foam roller offers a simple easy way to help release tension and tightness to help you recover faster and workout injury free. When these patterns of poor movement are repeated it leads to further injury, so, break the cycle now by spending some time working with the foam roller. Just keep in mind the roller with never FIX your issue. You will need to change your movement patterns and activation for that!
Guidelines:
- Hold each trigger point for 10sec
- Be careful not to roll on joints
- Check with your health care provider if you are taking any medications, especially blood thinners.
Tensor Fascia Latae (TFL)
Lie face down on roller then roll slightly to the side, front pocket area.
Latissimus Dorsi
Lie in side lying with arm outstretched and foam roll placed in the axillary area.
Rhomboids and Thoracic Spine
Roll mid-back area, support head and neck and keep knees bent.
Pectoralis
Lie face down with the roller positioned on the top of your chest. Relax head and neck. Roll down from arm until you feel the pressure on the pec muscle.
Piriformis
Sit on roller and cross leg, lean to the side so you are in the back pocket area, not on the middle of your sacrum.
