Foam Rolling: Fact vs Fiction
Foam rollers can be used as a tool that trainers can use to create variety in sessions, and also to promote healthy range of movement and reduce acute muscular fatigue.
While researchers are still unclear about the exact mechanism that makes foam rollers effective, they have reported several potential benefits in terms of increased flexibility and range of movement (ROM), reduced feeling of fatigue and muscle soreness, enhanced recovery, and improved posture.
While some suggest that the benefits could be due to a placebo effect, Dr Eric Drinkwater, who is a Lecturer in the School of Exercise and Health Sciences at Cowan University, has just completed a study which showed that, “there are real improvements when we stimulate the muscle, which demonstrates that it’s not just a benefit fabricated by the brain.”
Flexibility and ROM
Physiotherapist and Exercise Physiologist, Merrin Martin often uses foam rollers with clients who have difficulty stretching, which may be due, in part, to excessive tension and muscular adhesions. Martin explains that the benefit of using a foam roller, as opposed to static stretching, is that you’re able to focus on releasing tension in a specific part of the muscle, which may improve overall flexibility. Dr Drinkwater explains that when it comes to increasing ROM the evidence supporting the use of foam rollers is fairly clear. “As you roll up and down the muscle you create stretch and lengthening of the muscle itself.”
Posture
For individuals with poor posture, such as a consistently rounded upper body or forward sitting posture from excessive muscle tightness, foam rolling can also deliver benefits. Again, in this circumstance a foam roller will assist the individual to target certain muscle groups, which can help improve mobility of the thoracic spine. Additionally, performing stability exercises with the foam roller that are designed to promote lumbo-pelvic control may assist to improve a person’s posture. Suggested exercises include:
- Cat and camel exercise with foam roller placed under hands
- Thread the needle exercise with hands placed on the foam roller
Martin and Dr Drinkwater agree that a foam roller should be regarded as a tool that a personal trainer can use to create variety in sessions, though not for therapeutic purposes. “Exercise professionals shouldn’t limit themselves to one, but instead embrace a variety of tools to keep their methods fresh and ensure their clients continually progress,” says Drinkwater.
As with the introduction of any exercise modality, further research needs to be conducted to determine best practice. However, the current literature and anecdotal evidence suggests that foam rollers do have their worth.
Read the full article in the eJournal, POWERED by Fitness Australia at ejournal.fitness.org.au
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