Image source: Huffington Post
A More Balanced
Discussion on
Foam Rolling
By Drew Hume
experiencing knee discomfort
and you’ve been told it may be
related to the IT Band, this article
provides a great demonstration
of how to roll out the surrounding
muscle tissue instead of the Band
itself for relief. When rolling the
muscle tissue the pressure that a
foam roller supplies does two main
things: helps to disperse adhesions
and scar tissue, and flushes used
blood out of the muscle, drawing
new blood to the area and with
it, more oxygen and nutrients
for muscle repair and healing.
The thing we need to be sure of is
that our pain tolerance matches
the intensity of our foam rolling. If
we’re experiencing too much pain,
any benefits of tension relief will be
short-lived, if gained at all. At greater
intensities (than we can handle)
all of our surrounding tissue tenses
up in response to pain. More Pain
is NOT more gain. Instead of going
past this edge, try working up to
greater intensities by approaching
your pain edge, breathing during
the experience, and ensuring that
you are comfortable enough to
allow all of the surrounding areas
of muscle to relax. For better results
overall, finish a foam rolling session
with stretching.
Take home messages: Don’t
roll your IT Band, always try to
focus on muscle tissue, and only
go up to the edge of your pain
threshold, not past it. I hope this
helps feed a more balanced
conversation on foam rolling!
Drew.