Self-Myofascial Release - The Foam Roller, Your New BFF!

We all know how it feels to have a muscle that’s giving us trouble. Oftentimes something will act up in response to exercise, overuse, or even just poor body mechanics in everyday life.

You might feel tightness, pain, or soreness that persists - this is your body responding to a given stimulus by eventually developing muscle adhesions, or knots, which is what hurts your efficiency and undermines your muscles’ ability to function optimally.

There’s some pretty science-y shit at work here and frankly it’s pretty rad, but honestly all most of us really need (and want) to know is that when your body creates these adhesions, your muscles and joints aren’t able to work as well as they should. Not to mention, it’s usually quite uncomfortable!

The technique of self-myofascial release targets these adhesions and through concentrated and prolonged pressure (again, science) causes the muscle in question to relax.

My favorite tool to use is a foam roller, because they’re very effective and foolproof, as well as easiest to use for the beginner and experienced alike! Whether you’re a dedicated gym-goer or you just want to feel better, self-myofascial release is for you.

So how is it done?

You’ll take your foam roller (fairly cheap, easy to find, different densities available) and use your own bodyweight to apply pressure onto different muscle groups. Go slowly, and when you find the “ouchiest” spot, stay there - when an area feels hot, tingles, stings, or aches, chances are you’ve landed on an adhesion or some version thereof. Success!

Once you’ve found this spot, don’t furiously roll back and forth over it like your body is a pie crust and your foam cylinder is a rolling pin - instead, slowly apply as much pressure as you can stand directly to the affected area, without moving around, for 1-2 minutes. It is this application of pressure over time that actually makes the science do it’s science-ing and cause the muscle to relax and realign. Get me?

Self-myofascial release can be done on your own (hence the whole “self” part) without assistance, doesn’t take a huge amount of time to produce results, can be done using a handful of different tools, and a little can go a long way - using this technique can really help to speed recovery, increase your flexibility and range of motion, as well as decreasing any pain you might experience from bound-up, unhappy muscles.

You can do this at the beginning of your workout or the end, or both! Sometimes I like to use my foam roller at the end of the day while I’m watching TV, because it helps to have something else to focus on during the less than comfortable parts… Plus, if I’m going to watch TV anyway, I might as well be doing something productive at the same time!

This practice doesn’t necessarily have to be done in response to any particular pain, either - using this technique can help your muscles to stay in good working order, maintain your mobility and flexibility, and anticipate any potential “sticking points” before they actually present a problem, aka pain!

My favorite foam roller is a new product from my absolute all-time favorite company, Lululemon :) I was lucky enough to be chosen as an ambassador for them and just love everything about the brand, but that’s not why I picked this roller - it’s truly badass.

It has two layers, a ridged outside as well as a bumpy core, which each serve different purposes and can target different areas incredibly well. It’s basically a two-for-one! It’s lightweight, versatile, and (obviously super importantly) it’s CUTE :) the girly girl in me loves that it’s stylishly marbled an easy on the eyes. Of course, your foam roller doesn’t HAVE to be cute to be effective, but it certainly doesn’t hurt!

MAKE FRIENDS WITH THIS TOOL! Best friends. Best friends forever, even. Spending a few minutes a day (and that’s all it really takes) will help you to prevent or decrease injury, feel better, and unleash your muscles’ potential. Who wouldn’t want that? :)

Do you use a foam roller? What about other mobility tools?

Please feel free to comment, upvote, or resteem if you found this helpful! :)