Have you ever noticed people lying on top of a big blue styrofoam roll in the gym and wondered why?

I foam rolling and it has become very popular in recent times as a form of self-massage and stretching of tight muscles.

Foam rolling is a new technique that many fitness professionals are adopting for their clients.

I apply it not only on my clients but also on myself because it is a cheap useful tool in accessing myofascial release and trigger points.

What is a foam roller? ? It is a portable solid plastic cylinder wrapped in dense foam. I the blue cylinder roller you often see lying in the corner of the stretching room in most fitness centres.

You can use foam rollers that are soft or hard density, that are smooth or come with ridges, or rollers that are small or large in size.

What Is Myofascial Release?

Fascia is the soft tissue connections surrounding muscles, bones and organs and other bodily structures. There are three layers of fascia ? superficial, deep and visceral (fascia surrounding organs, nerves and blood vessels).

Fascia helps support and protect the structural integrity of the body by providing a healthy environment for repairing torn muscles, and to injured nerves and joints.

Myofascial release is a broad term to describe a wide variety of techniques used in massage and other related health modalities such as osteopathy, Rolfing, trigger point release and other soft tissue techniques.

Generally, myofascial release is a technique to release tightness in the fascia and the underlying muscle tissue.

What Are Trigger Points?

They are the tender spots you feel when experiencing muscle tightness or soreness. They can refer pain to other parts of the body.

For example, you may have a persistant pain in the trapezius muscle (upper back) that affects the mobility in your neck and the trigger point may actually exist in your lower back or in the gluteals.

Trigger point therapy is a common technique used by massage therapists, osteopaths and chiropractors to treat muscle stiffness and joint mobility issues.

How Foam Rolling Can Help With Myofascial Release

Using a foam roller prior to exercising can help reduce muscle soreness and promote joint mobility to assist in a more effective workout.

Foam rolling post-workout also is thought to encourage greater muscle flexibility and therefore promote faster recovery from a challenging workout. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3679629/

Foam Roll Exercise Guide

• Use the foam roller prior to your work out, as part of your warm up, or after you exercise.
• Slowly ?travel? the roller along the targeted muscle.
• Roll back and forth several times until you feel the muscle responding to the treatment.
• Sometimes a muscle may be too tender to use the roller on it. This is okay. Simply use your hands to massage the affected area and then continue using the roller for other muscles.
• Take 5-15 minutes most days using the roller. With practice, you will become more proficient at pinpointing the exact muscle you wish to massage.

Foam rolling can be used on just about any part of the body but for best results apply to the following areas?.

• Back & Shoulders
• Hamstrings and Butt
• Iliotibial Tract (outer thigh)
• Quadriceps