The Complete Foam Roller Program

Rollers and implements used for soft tissue work have become very popular in the last decade. They are effective, easy to use, and many people find that it feels good to some degree. I recommend self massage work to all of my clients because everyone has problematic muscles that cannot be fixed by stretching alone. This is often called self-myofascial release, which simply means using an object (or body part) on yourself to loosen muscles or connective tissue like fascia.

Benefits

​In this program you will see the most beneficial ways you can use the foam roller and how they can help you manage pain in specific areas. Here are the biggest benefits of foam rolling:

• Improved flexibility
• Decreased pain
• Improved muscular symmetry and skeletal alignment
• Better posture

Soft tissue work is an essential part of health and fitness. From an athletic standpoint it allows you to train more often or push harder on your workouts with decreased risk of injury. It also helps manage pain or discomfort in your daily life. Caused by a sedentary lifestyle, repetitive strain, and the overuse of tech devises, getting these pains and knots out of your muscles can improve your quality of life.   

Other Worth While Soft Tissue Tools

Although many implements can be used, I chose to demonstrate using a foam roller in the following videos because every gym has them and many people have them at home. Aside from the foam roller, here are some my favorite self-myofasical/massage implements:

• The Tiger Tail: essentially a glorified stick, but works better than any other “stick” massager.
• Various balls: Tennis, soft ball, golf, bouncy, and my favorite, a lacrosse ball. Use them depending on the amount of focus and intensity needed.
• Thera Cane: A 2 foot cane which allows you to hit tender areas with a substantial amount of leverage. Great for the upper back and neck.
• Massage cups: For the more proactive self-massager, these can be used to loosen areas through the use of suction or decompression.    

The Most Useful Rolling Techniques

Use these techniques for problematic areas everyday until it becomes healthy and flexible. Often times it takes multiple days of rolling to get an area to really loosen up. You should notice at least a small difference after each session.

Rolling the IT Band Helps with:

• Knee pain especially when on the inside (medial portion) of the knee. Can also help if the pain is on the outside (lateral) portion.
• Hip pain at or below the greater trochanter (the boney portion on the side of the hip).
• Runners

Rolling the Quads Helps with:

• Knee pain above, on, or below the knee cap (quadriceps or patellar tendinitis).
• All athletes

Rolling the Glutes Helps with:

• Low back pain in the case of an uneven pelvis or sacrum
• Flat back posture correction (Posterior Pelvic tilt)

Rolling the Hamstrings Helps with:

• Hamstring tendonitis
• Flat back posture correction (Posterior Pelvic tilt)
• Knee pain when on the inside (medial portion) of the knee.
• All athletes

Rolling the Calves Helps with:

• Plantar fasciitis
• Achilles tendonitis
• Ankle issues
• Lower leg issues do to improper gait

Rolling the Adductors Helps with:

• Groin issues/tendonitis
• Knee pain when on the inside (medial portion) of the knee. Can also help if pain is on the outside (lateral) portion.
• Some ankle and foot issues 

Rolling the Back Helps with:

• Mid/upper(thoracic) back posture 
• Sometimes low back issues