How to Use a Foam Roller - Eliminate Pain, Reduce Injuries, Increase Flexibility, Improve Posture, Move and Perform Better

This workout is designed to give you a complete understanding of how to use the foam roller. Foam rollers are one of the most convenient exercise tools on the market to help relieve tight muscles and trigger points. You can use the foam roller almost anywhere; in your home, at the office, at the park, and of course the gym.

What is a foam roller? Hard Styrofoam tube that helps with massage and trigger point release called myofascial release, which helps diminish pain and reduce injuries.

What is the problem? The inside of the body is covered with soft tissue called fascia. This tissue covers structures including organs, muscles, nerves and blood vessels. The fascia that covers your muscles is call myofascia. When the myofascia is stressed from overuse or trauma it can tear and adhere together. These adhesion's are called "trigger points" and can prevent the muscles from working well. Trigger points lead to an increase in muscle stiffness and tenderness and a decrease in range-of-motion. In addition, the discomfort from trigger points can radiate from the adhesion. Tight areas, pain, injuries, trigger points - are described as hyper-irritable spots in the fascia surrounding skeletal muscle.

What are the causes? We sit all day, past injuries, exercising, compensations, and trauma to that area.

Current ways to fix it? Massage therapist, yoga, chiropractor, stretching, physical therapist, and pain medication.

Reason it doesn’t work. Like anything, you have to do it on most days to see long term results. I love massages, but I can’t afford a massage therapist every week. Foam rolling can be done every day, which is the only way to see true benefits with tight areas on your body.

This is how it works The Foam roller is tool that helps with myofascial release, which is a soft tissue therapy for the treatment of skeletal muscle immobility and pain. This alternative medicine therapy aims to relax contracted muscles, improve blood and lymphatic circulation, and stimulate the stretch reflex in muscles. Over time these areas should improve. You will want to perform myofascial release daily until improvement is seen. Could be weeks or months before you see improvement, but eventually you will be on a maintenance phase, which could include 2-4 times per week.