At the base of the skull is a small group of muscles that serve to control and stabilize the head. These muscles can become overworked and chronically shortened. As these muscles adapt to the shortened position they can begin to impede blood flow to the brain and can be associated with tension headaches and chronic neck pain. Releasing these muscles can provide relief from chronic pain and headaches.
A lot of people suffer from tightness in their upper back and shoulders. Sometimes it feels like knots between your shoulder blades, while other times the pain might feel like it’s spreading from your upper back into your neck. The main cause of upper back and neck pain is a sedentary lifestyle, and extended use of computers, phones, and tablets. Upper back pain also easily leads to neck pain.
The key to foam rolling your upper body is actually to not roll much at all. Instead, use the roller to isolate smaller areas and allow them to release slowly from the pressure of your body’s weight on the roller.
If you need a reminder, read the general instructions on how to foam rolling, here.
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Sore, tight, or injured lats might make it uncomfortable to take deep breaths. Tight latissimus dorsi has been shown to be one cause of chronic shoulder pain and chronic back pain. Because the latissimus dorsi connects the spine to the humerus, tightness in this muscle can manifest as either sub-optimal shoulder function which leads to chronic pain or tendinitis in the tendinous fasciae connecting the latissimus dorsi to the thoracic and lumbar spine.
Foam rolling your lats is a simple process that helps and prevents. Please, read the general instructions on how to foam rolling, here.
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The adductor muscles are the muscles that run along your inner thigh. Tight adductor muscles are a common reason why people feel tight in the hips. Tight adductors can inhibit your glutes which can affect compound movements such as squats and lunges. Keeping the adductors loose is very important for hip mobility and to obtain the proper form of lower leg exercises.
To foam roll the adductors, you are going to have to get into an awkward beginning position. But it works.
Read the general instructions on how to foam rolling, here.
Do you want to watch more exercise videos? Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
The Quadriceps can be subdivided into four muscles or heads: Vastus Intermedius, Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Medialis and Rectus Femoris. This group of muscles combined is the largest muscles of the leg. They are extremely crucial muscles aiding in important actions such as walking, running, jumping and squatting in addition to stabilizing the patella.
Tight quads? Don’t worry: foam rolling your quads is quick, easy, and truly effective. There are two main variations on foam rolling your quads: rolling both legs at the same time and rolling each leg individually. Neither is better, it’s really a matter of personal preference and what works best to release your fascia. If you’ve never used a foam roller before, or never foam rolled your quads, you might want to start with the two leg variation. It maintains an even pressure on both quads at the same time, distributing your weight, and so it’s a little lighter. The single leg variation thereby exerts more pressure on the fascia, so it’s better for those that have rolled their quads before, and know that their quads require harder pressure.
Please, read the general instructions on how to foam rolling, here.
Do you want to watch more exercise videos? Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Running, jumping rope, box jumps, burpees… they can all lead to shin splints, a painful and incredibly annoying injury experienced by almost every single active person ever. Shin splints are often caused by inflammation of the sheath surrounding the tibia bone. Foam rolling can help release this inflammation (but don’t do this exercise if your shin splints are due to stress fractures).
Read the main instructions on how to foam rolling, here.
Do you want to watch more exercise videos? Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Tight hamstrings are a common issue among all kind of athletes, no matter the sport. Even non-athletes suffer from tight hamstrings, especially professionals who sit for extended periods of time. Foam rolling the hamstrings is an effective solution for this problem.
Stretching may be more beneficial if foam rolling is done prior to the stretch. A study from 2014, Foam Rolling and Static Stretching on Passive Hip Flexion Range of Motion, measures the effects of foam rolling prior to static stretching. The authors found an increase in the hip range of motion after rolling on the hamstring then stretching, compared to stretching alone.
In my experience, tight hamstrings cause lower back pain. Countless times the pain is gone once I take care of my hamstrings. As foam rolling the lower back is something we should NOT do, loosen up your hamstrings is an indirect way to relieve pain and tightness in the lower back area.
Read the main instructions on how to foam rolling, here.
Do you want to watch more exercise videos? Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
You´ll hear/read foam roller is a self-myofascial technique. Ok, self-myofascial release is the term for self-massage to release muscle tightness or trigger points. By applying pressure to specific points muscles return to normal function. Normal function means your muscles are elastic and ready to perform.
Some of the basic, most obvious benefits are better movement and increased the range of motion. These benefits can decrease the chance of injury and decrease recovery time after a workout.
We should start foam rolling our calves. From the shoes we wear to the way we sit in a chair, our calves are suffering most of the time.
Read the main instructions on how to foam rolling, here.
Do you want to watch more exercise videos? Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
We´re going to learn how to foam rolling. I love my foam roller so much, I´m even worried! Maybe I skip a training session or miss a yoga session, but I always find ten minutes to catch up with my foam roller.
As each exercise has its own instructions, but there are main guidelines and usual mistakes common to all of them, I think it´s easier to read separately. Once you know the “basic rules”, it gets boring read them over and over again, right? Anyway, if you need a reminder or thinking on new followers, I´ll add a link to this post for everyone´s safety.
WARNING! Most important: Do NOT use the foam roller on your lower back. Never. You may get injured. And that´s the opposite you want. Rolling your lower back will cause your spinal muscles to contract to protect your spine. To release your lower back, we roll the muscles that connect to it, glutes, hip flexors, and so on.
Time: Ideally, you should spend 20 seconds or so on each tender spot while managing how much pressure you apply. When using a foam roller you should apply enough pressure so that you feel some tension released, either with constant pressure or by making small movements back and forth. A mild amount of discomfort is expected but you shouldn’t be in pain.
Pressure: Apply enough pressure so that you feel some tension released, either with constant pressure or by making small movements back and forth. A mild amount of discomfort is expected but you shouldn’t be in pain. On painful or inflamed areas, it’s often best to roll just a few inches away first and then use large, sweeping motions to cover the entire area.
Speed: Do not roll too quickly; slow and concentrated movements. If you roll too fast, your muscles won’t have time to adapt and you’re not going to get relief.
Bad posture: If you use an improper form or bad posture while doing this, it could exacerbate existing postural deviations and cause injury. This is why we give specific instructions for each exercise!
