Foam Rollers

[MillerMan]

Hi All

I have been following NROL for about 8 months. It’s been great and my only complaint has been some severe soreness. This seems most noticeable in my legs after squatting. I also get some lower back pain after DL.
So I decided to give the foam roller a try. I'm curious what experience others have had with the rollers and what you have found to be most effective. For example:
1. What size rollers do you use?
2. Are they best used right after a workout or the next day?
3. How often do you use them? Everyday?

Thanks

[Clemson]

Again foam rolling is overated.....it works but people look for it to solve tissue texture problems instead of reevaluating workouts.

[MillerMan]

Overrated - thats interesting. I have heard a lot of positive things about foam rollers. I was hoping they may give me some relief after doing squats. The soreness in my legs last for days making it difficult to continue workouts

[Clemson]

Postive things are most likely from articles and those that have tissue texture issues that can't afford massage. Some like myself will use it but it's program design as there was a time when biofoam rolling wasn't used.

[Hunter]

What's a "tissue texture issue"?

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

I've found that foam rolling helps incredibly well for alleviating soreness.

[Clemson]

Originally Posted by twinsavsvikingsfan

I've found that foam rolling helps incredibly well for alleviating soreness.

What's the mechanism?

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

By mechanism you mean?

[Clemson]

How does applying pressure from a foam roll decrease soreness and is decreasing soreness improving the problem? I can take morphine but that isn't going to solve the problem. Increasing the beta-endorphin response is ok with light exercise as it may relax tissue but smashing the top fascial tissues is not necessary.

So what physiological mechanism does rolling decrease soreness?

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

Oh, hell, I don't know. I'm just supplying anecdotal evidence. After two marathon training cycles in less than a year, I've found rolling to be one of my best friends, along with regular stretching. Now that I'm back lifting more I've continued rolling and have noticed quite a decrease in soreness as compared to pre-marathon lifting.

I wish I could give you a more scientific answer but I can't.

[Clemson]

It's good to have a solid handle of what is going on (truth) vs a belief from one's own training.

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

So personal experience is invalid just because I can't explain why something works?

[Clemson]

Personal experience is one step up from Bro advice. For example one guy is posting about posture changes and doesn't realize that it's most likely not the corrective exercise but the change in program design from bad to balanced/low volume. If he started playing a sport the program would fail.

I am not saying you are incorrect but people are quick to do things without reasons. How do you know you adjusting to workloads biochemically is the real reason why you are not getting "sore". My other question is why are you masking specific soreness with rolling? I am not attacking NROL but it just looks to be a bandaid solution.

[MillerMan]

One reason to do it is because it works! Getting back to my original post - has anyone out there had any personal experience with getting relieve from soreness using rollers?

[Lisa~]

You might enjoy reading these threads on foam rolling.

How and Why of Foam Rolling?

Foam Rolling.

Question about foam rolling hip flexors

The purpose of foam rolling is not specifically to reduce muscle soreness and whether or not you'd get a decrease in DOMS or shorten the duration of DOMS is not clear. But foam rolling can improve tissue quality, making your muscles more pliable and assist with improvements in mobility. Foam rolling is especially appropriate when you've got muscle knots (trigger points) or fascial adhesions that make you too tight to correctly perform a lift. Reduction in soreness may come more from improvement in technique as a result of improved tissue quality.

Or relief from DOMS may be felt just from the general movement patterns experienced while foam rolling. You'd feel the same thing from static stretching post workout or the next day. While that feels good and certainly isn't bad for you, there is no measurable evidence (although there is a lot of anecdotal evidence) that the length of DOMS is reduced from stretching.

[MillerMan]

Thanks Lisa I appreciate your help

Maybe I have misunderstood some of the information I recall reading in the past. I thought foam rolling was an effective means of reducing DOMS.
I am struggling trying to find relief from the days following a working that involves squats. My legs are sore, stiff and painful for days. Do I understand you correctly that it might be a problem with technique?

[Egham]

Originally Posted by Lisa~

The purpose of foam rolling is not specifically to reduce muscle soreness and whether or not you'd get a decrease in DOMS or shorten the duration of DOMS is not clear. But foam rolling can improve tissue quality, making your muscles more pliable and assist with improvements in mobility. Foam rolling is especially appropriate when you've got muscle knots (trigger points) or fascial adhesions that make you too tight to correctly perform a lift. Reduction in soreness may come more from improvement in technique as a result of improved tissue quality.

Or relief from DOMS may be felt just from the general movement patterns experienced while foam rolling. You'd feel the same thing from static stretching post workout or the next day. While that feels good and certainly isn't bad for you, there is no measurable evidence (although there is a lot of anecdotal evidence) that the length of DOMS is reduced from stretching.

My personal experience suggests that Lisa is indeed correct about mobility improvements and dealing with muscle knots. It also seems to help at least temporarily relieve my DOMS when it strikes, but I can't claim that it shortens duration. I sort of feel that it does, but there's no way to prove it.

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by MillerMan

Do I understand you correctly that it might be a problem with technique?

Could be. Might just be that it's a new movement for you. Might just be that squats are really hard and you happen to get lots of DOMS in your legs. Different people get more or less DOMS in different parts of their bodies at an individual level. I can't say for sure why you feel what you feel. Hot bath might help too (increases blood flow helps to remove the waste build-up from the damaged muscle tissues).

Egham, just like static stretching can feel really good, foam rolling can leave you feeling much better than you did. So it's all good whether your DOMS ends sooner or not.

I remember Mike Robertson saying that one really positive aspect of static stretching (and I think foam rolling does this too) is that it helps you become familiar with your body. It helps you find out where you're tight and where you're not. It helps you discover if you have differences between the two sides of your body. This information can help you to "know yourself," and knowing more about your body helps you perfect your technique and reduce your risk of injuries.

[Lisa~]

Here's an article from Mike Boyle on foam rolling. I thought it might add to the understanding of what foam rolling can and can't accomplish.

Using Foam Rollers