While there's some evidence that foam rolling can help reduce muscle inflammation and soreness, many purported benefits go beyond what science supports, Cottle said. Improperly putting pressure on the body with a foam roller can also cause damage, worsening pain or mobility issues.
Considered a self-myofascial release tool, a foam roller can relieve soreness and inflammation, increase range of motion, alleviate muscular tension and release tight fascia — the thin layer of connective tissue under the skin surrounding muscles.
There are certain conditions and circumstances where use of a foam roller could be detrimental or damaging to a person's body. Foam rolling exercises load and stress the underlying tissues, including nerves, skin receptors, blood and lymphatic vessels, as well as bones.
Never roll over bony prominences – bones can be mistaken for adhesions but repeated rolling could result in inflammation of the periosteum. Avoid rolling over joints – rolling joints can cause inflammation of the tendons and ligaments around the articulation. Also, avoid hyperextension of unsupported joints.
These two areas of your spine are the most sensitive to injury. The skeletal and muscular anatomy of your neck and low back are not dense enough to support the body's weight while rolling without injury.
To put it simply, yes, it is possible to foam roll too much. Overdoing foam rolling can do more harm than good to the tissue connecting your muscles.
Break up muscle knots and adhesions: Fascia, the connective tissue surrounding your muscles, can become tight and restrictive, limiting movement and contributing to pain. Foam rolling is believed to help loosen these adhesions, improving tissue mobility and reducing discomfort.
While foam rolling has numerous benefits for athletes and active individuals, there is scientific evidence to suggest that it detoxes the body. However, foam rolling can help increase blood flow and lymphatic drainage, which can help the body eliminate toxins more efficiently.
Forcing your lower back into more extension is going to aggravate many conditions that are devastating if the extension gets worse. Conditions like stenosis or a spinal stress fracture are most notable. Even if neither of these conditions exists, you are never really able to effectively roll this area.
Over time, fascia can become stiff, tight, and restrictive, leading to pain, decreased range of motion, and potential injury. Using a foam roller helps to break up these fascial adhesions, often referred to as "knots," promoting better movement and flexibility.
If you're unusually sore the day after foam rolling, you may have foam rolled too long or too aggressively. Make sure you aren't foam rolling a particular muscle group longer than two minutes, which may mean setting a timer to help keep you from overdoing it.
Luckily, foam rolling can help your body bounce back faster and reduce post-exercise soreness by stimulating the healing process. The sooner oxygenated blood can reach your muscles (see #1), the sooner you can start boosting lymphatic drainage (your body's ability to flush toxins, i.e., lactic acid) and relieving pain.
Self‐myofascial release was operationally defined as a self‐massage technique using a device such as a foam roll or roller massager.
It's okay to roll your upper back and midback, specifically the areas around the shoulder blades and the lats. But even though you might be tempted to foam-roll your lower back, it's not a good idea. It's difficult to balance a foam roller on the lower part of the back, says Jiang.
“Too much extension in these cases decreases the space of the spinal and foraminal canals and can lead to the spinal cord and nerve impingement, and a multitude of issues can arise like shooting pain or weakness.” And if you've got a disc herniation, foam rolling can be too aggressive and can lead to even more ...
Foam rolling does not release toxins; it helps improve circulation and muscle recovery by breaking up adhesions and increasing blood flow to the area.
Stimulation of the lymphatic vasculature alleviates inflammation, reducing edema, epidermal thickening and inflammatory infiltration while improving lymphatic drainage, thus lowering the numbers of inflammatory cells in the inflamed skin.
In summary, applying foam rolling after damage has benefits such as an increase in anti-inflammatory proteins and a reduction of pro-inflammatory proteins, resulting in muscle recovery and better performance.
Ice and heat.
If a knot is causing a movement pattern that has caused swelling, then using ice for 10-15 minutes can help. Applied heat or a hot bath can help loosen up knotted muscles.
Try out our free foam rolling course today and learn the importance of foam rolling! Foam rolling is a self-myofascial release (SMR) stretching technique that has been embraced throughout the fitness industry. This effective and simple to do technique delivers positive, feel good results.