I highly recommend getting regular soft tissue work, but people often don’t get treatment as much as they should. In a lot of case regular soft tissue work is the different between getting an overuse injury or not.

The foam roller is an excellent tool for self massage between treatments. Foam rollers come in many different densities, sizes and shapes, depending on your needs.

When you first start incorporating foam rollers into your training regime,  it's best to use them at the end of a session, or during flexibility training. However, once your body is used to it you can start incorporating the foam roller into warm-ups, and even on off days. I like to get people to progress to harder or smaller objects when they are able to relax during the treatment and they feel what they are using is not working as effectively. If you’re not sure how relaxed your muscle should feel, contract the muscle hard and then relax it. Your muscle should sink into the roller.

I have a few different approaches I use on some clients depending on their goals.

  • If you are using self massage to help improve your mobility, after you’re finished with the massage use the new range of motion in a mobility drill. This will help your body remember how to use this new range of motion.
  • For improving tissue health find a tight spot, contract the muscle and relax it, do this until the pain decreases, or if it is to painful to contract the muscle lay on it and try to relax. Then with the pressure over the tight area, take the muscle through its range of motion this lengthens the tight fibres under the pressure.
  • You can also use the foam roller to mobilise stiff joints, it works well to increase the mobility of the thoracic spine into extension. For beginners and a more generalised approach I recommend lying back on the foam roller with it in line with your spine. For a more specific and advanced approach have the foam roller crossways and do baby crunches on top of it.

Self massage can be used to help improve your range of motion, quality of motion, help prevent overuse injuries and help you recover from exercise. For best results regular self massage, say after every session or even every day, will greatly improve all of the above. This is not a treatment for acute injury! Go and see a medical professional if you are injured.

Tips

  • Focus on tight spots.
  • Take the muscle through its range of motion or if it is really painful maintain the pressures until the pain subsides.
  • Do not fight the pressure, learn to relax into it.