Self-Care Tip #4: Foam Rolling

Until You Can Get a Massage…Self-Care Tip #4: Foam Rolling

What are you doing to take care of yourself? Last week my husband and I recreated our own Hot Ones interview with hot sauces from the YouTube show – totally frivolous and silly and fun. I also did some baking, went for a long solitary walk and had a virtual therapy session. We started potty training our son – so far it’s not as terrifying as I thought it would be. Another week down and hopefully another week closer to our lives getting back to some normalcy.

Since you still can’t get a professional massage, this week I want to talk about foam rolling. This is a self-care technique that can mimic some of the benefits of massage by increasing circulation to specific muscle groups, and softening and stretching muscles and fascia.

I’m not an expert in foam rolling, but I did some research this week and found some interesting resources, information, techniques and tips!

Tip #4 – Foam Rolling

What is foam rolling?

From Wikipedia: “A foam roller is a lightweight, cylindrical tube of compressed foam. It may be used for many reasons, including increasing flexibility, reducing soreness, and eliminating muscle knots. Foam rolling is a method of self-myofascial release.”

When doing research all the information I found came from fitness experts and websites, because foam rolling is a popular way to warm up muscles before a work-out or decrease muscle soreness after a work-out. That being said, you don’t have to be an athlete to use a foam roller – it is an effective tool to decrease general aches and pains when used correctly.

How does foam rolling mimic a massage?

When I massage a muscle group, my general flow is to first warm up the muscles, then find areas of tightness or tension and focus some deeper more specific pressure in those areas. If you’re going to use a foam roller to help with tight muscles, I would recommend doing a 10-minute full-body warm-up before using the foam roller – you don’t want to dig into cold muscles.

Once your body is warmed up, you can use the foam roller to “roll out” most of your body parts (there’s a video below with instructions). Start slow and use your body weight to sink into the foam roller. The pressure of the foam roller will encourage the muscles and fascia to soften and release tension. I like this article, it has a great explanation of muscles and fascia and how they are affected by foam rolling. As your muscles and fascia open, fresh blood flows through, bringing oxygen and nutrients to your tissues – the same great effects that you get when receiving a massage!

Before trying foam rolling for yourself, there are a few things to consider and be cautious of:

If you’re pregnant or recently postpartum, please check with your midwife or OB before foam rolling; or if you’re under the care of a sports doctor or physical therapist, please check with them first before foam rolling. Also avoid foam rolling if you’ve had a recent injury to any of your muscles.

• Warm up your body first

As I mentioned above, you don’t want to start digging into your muscles with a foam roller without warming up first – I would never start digging my elbow into your shoulder without first doing some warm-up strokes. The warm up allows your muscles to ease into the deeper pressure once you start foam rolling.

• Don’t overdue it

I would recommend foam rolling 2-3 times per week, about 10-15 minutes each time – any more than that and you run the risk of doing more harm than good. If I were to give you a deep tissue massage every day, I could possibly injure your muscles and cause acute inflammation – the opposite of what we’re trying to accomplish!

The point of foam rolling is to find pain, not cause pain. Listen to your body and go slow – if you find a point of discomfort, slowly sink into it and only until you feel mild discomfort. As your muscles and fascia open, you’ll be able to naturally go deeper without using a ton of pressure.

• Avoid your lower back

The general consensus is that you should avoid your lower back when foam rolling. It is safe to foam roll your upper back because the ribs and structures of your shoulder protect your spine. In the lower back there are no other support structures so you’re more likely to injure yourself if you foam roll your back. If you have lower back pain, foam roll the areas around your lower back – glutes, hips, and legs – and that will help your lower back pain.

• Work around areas of pain/inflammation

If you have a muscle in acute spasm – meaning it started hurting less than about a few days ago – you shouldn’t foam roll right on that area. Doing so can cause more acute inflammation and make you feel worse. Instead, foam roll the areas around the pain.

For example, if you have a muscle spasm in your hamstring, I would recommend roam rolling your IT band, quadriceps, and calf on that leg. By softening the areas around the spasm, it helps the main area of pain to relax, too.

• Use a foam roller with some “give”

Using a softer foam roller is especially helpful for someone who has never foam rolled before. Foam rollers come in a variety of firmness, sizes and textures. Firmer and/or textured foam rollers are more likely to cause more pain – if your muscles are really tight you can do more harm than good if you’re smashing your muscles into a hard piece of foam. To reduce the risk of injury, a softer foam roller is recommended.

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If you’re ready to try foam rolling, check out this video – it’s the best I found that shows proper body mechanics and addresses the whole body.