Foam rollers....do they work?

alison2429

I have a chronic injury causing pain in my left buttock. It is a combination of tight leg muscles and degenerating lower spine. Resulting in a tightness which feels like I am sitting on something on my left side. I have had MRIs and Xrays and I see an osteopath every few months just to check I am still doing the right exercises and that it's not getting worse.
I do like to run though and although I have stopped running for various periods of time the symptoms do not go away. As I get so much from running (weight loss and de-stressing etc) I made the decision to carry on and I try to reduce the pain by stretching really well.
I see that some of you use a foam roller to massage muscles. Do you think this would help me? If so can anyone suggest a good place to get one? Are they all much of a muchness or is there a huge variety? Would I risk making my condition worse
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much

Alison

bethvandenberg

my gym has foam rollars and I use them when I'm sore. I love them. I do think they help release some of those tight knit fibers that you can't seem to do anything about.

Aviendha_RJ

I actually prefer the wooden rollers you can pick up at Walmart. They're cheap... if you can stand the pain, it's kind of like a deep-tissue massage. I separated a shoulder in 1999 & left physiotherapy with reduced range of motion & was told I would never lift more than 3lbs over my head ever again.

Today, I have almost ALL of my range of motion back, AND I'm doing shoulder press over my head with 5lb weights. I love the wooden rollers! You feel like a new person after!

valeriebpdx

I have gotten physical therapy for two different running injuries--the first time, when the PT found out I didn't foam roll, she was about as aghast as if I told her I didn't brush my teeth. She says it is a must for distance runners. I am bad about doing it, but when I do foam roll consistently, I see a definite improvement in my ITB issues and a quadratus muscle strain I have been battling for a couple of years. There are spongy foam ones, like a hard pool noodle--these are softer and will lose their shape (you'll make a depression in the middle) eventually, but they are good to start with, because it hurts like a b**** at first and the foam is a little more forgiving. If you need more pressure, they have hard ones (more like a buoy), called molded foam rollers. Amazon.com has both kinds, I got my noodle one at Target for $25 and my hard one from my PT for $16 (it's shorter). I would definitely recommend trying it out. There are lots of ways to use them; you can find instructions online.

alison2429

I actually prefer the wooden rollers you can pick up at Walmart. They're cheap... if you can stand the pain, it's kind of like a deep-tissue massage. I separated a shoulder in 1999 & left physiotherapy with reduced range of motion & was told I would never lift more than 3lbs over my head ever again.

Today, I have almost ALL of my range of motion back, AND I'm doing shoulder press over my head with 5lb weights. I love the wooden rollers! You feel like a new person after!

Thanks - but we don't have Walmart in the U.K!!

redtalent

ASDA is pretty much the same thing! They are owned by Wal-Mart so they should have some.

aviduser

Foam rollers are the poor person's massage. I had a groin injury a while back and got on the foam roller regularly and that really helped. Your muscles are not supposed to hurt when you are on the roller, so if they do, you have to work it back and forth (steady pressure for really tough spots).

I aspired to do it every night, but only managed to do it a few nights a week. It really helped.

When you are doing your IT band, you can place your upper foot on the ground to adjust the amount of pressure (the upper foot/leg takes some of your body weight).

So go for it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

cantcatchup

I was actually given a pair of foam rollers by my trainer at my gym (she wasn't using them at the time) and I found that they really help to release a lot of the tension after competing in the great south run - ( www.greatsouthrun.co.uk )

I'm gutted because I wanted to run it this year but registration is now full. :mad:

Atlantique

The TP Massage products are very good. I have their Ball and their Footballer and use them every night. I bought them at a marathon expo after having a demonstration done on one leg.

http://www.tpmassageball.com/

CakeFit21

I'll second the TP product recommendation! I foam roll several times a day, (about to do it right now!). The TP GRID is the best one I've used, does not go soft or lose it's shape in the middle. They do hurt at first, especially on your IT band but it gets better, now I crave it, (weird?). It has done WONDERS for recovery after long runs and hard training sessions. Another good product is "The Stick" but to use that one really effectively you sometimes need someones help and it is torture!

Every runner should have a foam roller. My Chiro and PT were also shocked when I told them I didn't have one! Yes, you might as well have said I didn't brush my teeth!

http://store.tptherapy.com/The_Grid_Revolutionary_Foam_Roller_p/tpt-grd.htm

dad106

I love the foam roller! The first few times my PT used it on me after our session, I wasn't too crazy about it.. but now I love it. Esp when he uses it on my back... I pretty much roll over and do what ever my PT asks of me during our training sessions, if he'll roll my back out after.

SpaceMarkus

I haven't used them myself, but I know they play a huge role in the recovery portion of the new P90X2.

lottee1000

My PT, who is an absolute hardass, uses a tennis ball instead of a roller. Sounds agony but a very cheap alternative?!