Ready to Roll with the Foam Roller!

Snap, crackle and pop! What’s that? The sound of somebody eating rice krispies? No, that’s the sound coming from your spinal cord when you use a foam roller exercise aid. If you’ve ever had adjustments by a chiropractor or osteopath, you know what those sounds are. Those are sounds of your out-of-line or out-of-place vertebrae becoming aligned again! And the foam roller is just the exercise apparatus to do it!

This very inexpensive exercise aid is nothing more than a cylinder of styrofoam or some other kind of rigid plastic about a yard long with a diameter of less than a foot. The way it’s used is simple. Just let different parts of the body “roll on it.” The foam roller not only stretches muscles and tendons but it also breaks up the muscle knots and scar tissue at the same time that it increases blood flow and circulation to the soft tissues.
Without getting too technical about the physiology of what actually happens when these body parts are rocked and rolled, let’s just say that certain areas in the body are prone to irritation in their muscle fibers. These areas are what we call “trigger points.” The foam rollers rolling over these trigger points breaks them apart. This restores the natural integrity to these soft tissues, namely the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and in doing so, improves not only the range of movement but the quality of movement as well.
The feeling from the rolling action will vary, depending on which areas of the body need to be worked and restored. It can range from a slight pressure on your muscles to feeling like being run over by a steamroller. The rule of thumb is: the more you feel, the more you need. Tolerate as much as you can, and don’t worry-- it’ll get better each time.
There are some basic exercises in which the foam roller will roll easily over a muscle group. One is lying on your back, using the roller to glide back and forth from your hips to your shoulder blades. And then there are other moves that won’t roll so easily, like lying face down with the roller under your thighs. Try rocking back and forth in that position. But that’s where the challenge comes in. If it were too easy, you might lose interest. These moves are aimed at the abs, back and the lower body and also include stretches, but the variety of possible movements is as endless as your imagination.
Try doing your rolls as a warm-up before your weight training or as a cool-down at the end. They can replace some or all of the regular pre-workout stretches that you already do. And they can certainly replace your after-workout massage. Of course, it lacks that personal touch, especially if you’re used to having a masseuse or a masseur, but not having to pay an hourly massage fee kind of makes up for it. Don’t you think?

by Bruce Heath, DnC
Your Health and Medical Consultant