Overdoing SMFR - JP Fitness Forums

galapogos · 06-24-2007, 07:43 AM

I've been doing SMFR with a foam roller and a tennis ball on my glute area, specifically piriformis, for my hip injury. I've found the tennis ball to be especially effective for finding the right trigger point and for instant gratification. I'd cross my right leg on my left and keep the tennis ball on my right piriformis. Usually I keep the tennis ball on the trigger point for a minute or 2. After the release my pain levels are reduced significantly for the few hours afterwards, but it's only temporary.

Just a few days ago I might have gotten carried away, and I kept the tennis ball there for a few minutes longer. I began to feel some numbness on my leg, and so I stopped. That was yesterday. Today I still felt the numbness, and when I drove an hour ago, I realized that I had some difficulty performing dorsiflexion on my right leg. Kinda made driving pretty challenging!

I'm wondering if the tennis ball might have hit a nerve or something that prevents the muscles required for dorsiflexion to fire properly or something? Should I lay off the foam rolling/tennis ball work for now?

UConnJulie · 06-24-2007, 01:34 PM

I would ... it sounds like you've aggravated the sciatic nerve which lies just beneath the piriformis.

galapogos · 06-24-2007, 06:51 PM

Thanks...does that nerve control the muscles responsible for dorsiflexion of the foot? What nerve would that be anyway? Anything I can do to help it get better?

Jean-Paul · 06-24-2007, 11:34 PM

I can certainly relate to overdoing it. My problem is that tennis balls just don't get in there the way I need. I have graduated to a softball.

galapogos · 06-24-2007, 11:49 PM

Hmm, tennis balls still do it for me. I'm using Spalding #2 balls and they're pretty hard. Foam rollers no longer get where I want them to though. I've graduated from a regular foam roller to a high density foam roller and now to a tennis ball.

Phaedrus49er · 06-25-2007, 05:16 AM

A softball, eh? I may have to try that sometime. Like some, my foam roller doesn't do for me what it once did except on my back and chest. I use The Stick on my legs and a tennis ball on my shoulders, both of which are working fine now but could also lose their effectiveness in time.