The Benefits of Using a Foam Roller Pre/Post Workout

Foam rollers are effective for increasing flexibility, but when are they best utilized? The answer to that question isn’t necessarily limited to when it’s most beneficial to use a foam roller. It’s rather a matter of how. According to National Academy of Sports Medicine CEO and founder Mike Clark (h/t OutsideOnline.com), practically everyone fails to properly utilize foam rollers. Correctly using a foam roller before strenuous exercise can decrease your chances of contracting an injury and improve your workout.

Tension release from problem areas
Your basic instinct to gently roll back-and-forth consistently won’t yield optimal results from using a foam roller. Instead, it’s important to apply pressure on problem areas of your body, such as the hip flexors and glutes. Hip flexor strain is a common outcome of daily physical activity, like sitting upright in a desk chair during an eight-hour workday. It’s also a primary point of concentration for mild lower back pain. You can effectively release the tension in your hip flexors, and other problem areas of the body, by rolling your hips on a foam roller for approximately one to two minutes before a workout.

Optimized range of motion
Stretching is widely conceived as an important element of pre-workout activity, but conventional stretching technique does not directly target muscle receptors and tendons. While it’s entirely possible to warm-up each major muscle group through stretching, using a foam roller can help prepare tendons for strenuous activity and also decrease muscular-tension imbalances. Foam rolling can help increase your body’s overall range of motion and enable you to perform explosive weightlifting exercises with greater authority.

 

Decreased muscular imbalance
Muscular imbalances refer to certain muscle groups within the body being stronger than others. Over time, it’s likely that you’ve noticed peculiar variations in how your body reacts to strenuous exercise. For example, it’s possible you’ve realized your quadriceps are able to handle more weight in the squat rack than your chest can tolerate on the bench press. While this is relatively common among active gym-goers, it could be an outcome of muscular imbalance. Clark emphasizes that foam rollers activate the Golgi tendon organ, which effectively allows conventional stretching to activate muscle receptors. This process helps create balance within the body, thus enabling you to exercise at optimal capacity.

Increased strength and flexibility
According to research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, a dynamic warm-up model will increase strength in the quadriceps and flexibility in the hamstrings. A conventional warm-up period typically consists of moderate stretching activity and low-intensity exercise. However, combining the use of a foam roller with a regular stretching regimen, and performing five minutes of moderately intense cardiovascular activity, such as spinning, has the potential to enhance your body’s ability to execute strenuous exercises. Although research regarding foam rolling and its correlative effect on exercise remains limited, experts like Clark tout foam rollers ability to stimulate muscle receptors, which aid the process of lengthening muscle fibers.

 

Enhanced effectiveness of stretching
The ultimate benefit of utilizing a foam roller both before and after a workout is that it enhances the effectiveness of conventional stretching methods. Foam rollers apply deep pressure to problem areas, especially those in the pelvic region. This consequently activates muscle receptors, which increases your overall range of motion, decreases muscular imbalance, and helps maximize your strength and flexibility.

John Shea is a team sports fanatic and fitness aficionado. His work has been published across a wide platform of online audiences in the realm of health and fitness. His passion for fitness is exemplified in his writing, as he aims to help readers improve their overall well-being.

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The Benefits of Deep Tissue Massage

Usually, deep tissue massage is recommended for specific problems. As a result, treatment sessions usually focus on affected parts of the body. Let us consider some of the benefits to be gained from this form of treatment.

Increased blood flow
Therapists apply firm pressure to the muscles using fingertips, knuckles, hands, elbows and forearms. This has the effect of increasing blood flow and thereby increasing oxygen supply to the tissues of the body. Increased blood flow also encourages the removal of toxins, such as lactic acid, from strained muscles and subsequently speeds up the healing process. This is beneficial to athletes following a heavy training session, for example.

Elimination of scar tissue
Deep massage therapy also has the added benefit of helping to break up scar tissue and thereby restoring normal movement to muscles. This is helpful to athletes recovering from a sports injury or to individuals who have suffered an accident of some kind.

Improved posture
Many people have poor posture, often as a result of sitting hunched at a desk for long periods. Deep tissue massage can help to improve posture by allowing the body to realign itself. This is because the treatment encourages the relaxation and lengthening of affected muscles and tendons.

Pain relief

During deep massage therapy, exerted pressure can stimulate blood circulation to painful areas and thereby help to relieve pain. Chronic pain suffers, and individuals diagnosed with osteoporosis, fibromyalgia and carpal tunnel syndrome appear to gain some pain relief from this treatment.


Relief of muscular tension due to physical or emotional causes
Those individuals who have chronically stiff necks, backs and shoulder can benefit from deep tissue massage. The techniques used in this treatment, such as slow strokes and the application of deep pressure across the grain of the muscle, encourage the release of chronic muscle tension or spasms. The body is thereby encouraged to return to its' natural state of alignment.

Ways to maximize treatment benefits
Breathing deeply can help when your therapist is working on particularly sensitive areas although it is important to tell your therapist if you are feeling comfortable. Taking a sauna or steam bath after your massage can help to reduce any soreness you may feel as it encourages the muscles to relax. Stiffness after a deep tissue massage is normal and usually dissipates within a day or two. If advised to do so by your therapist, the application of ice to the affected areas may help.

Finally, ensure that you select a suitably qualified practitioner to carry out your deep tissue massage treatment to maximize your chances of having a successful outcome.