What are the benefits of foam rolling?

Foam rollers have only grown in popularity over the past number of years. Offering an alternative to a sports massage, foam rollers use your body weight to roll over a foam cylinder in order to exert pressure on specific muscle groups. This releases tension in the muscles and helps knotted connective tissue to recover for improved alignment. Not just for problematic areas or sore muscles, foam rolling is commonly done after physical activity to help the recovery process and ease pain and aching. Foam rollers can be expensive and aren’t as beneficial as a sports massage by an expert physio, but here are the benefits of them nonetheless. 

1. Foam rollers can contribute to improving your all-around fitness 

Much like stretching, foam rollers can increase flexibility without having a negative impact on strength or athleticism. This can have a knock-on effect of improving your range of movement which can improve your performance and power. 

1. Reduce injuries

Tired muscles crave help with recovery. Sports massage and acupuncture are two treatment techniques we use at Cairnhill to treat pain, muscle tightness and more. Foam rolling can have a similar effect by putting pressure on your tissues and releasing trigger points, working to prevent muscular injuries. Our physios can advise on the best methods to use a foam roller.

1. Additional recovery

If you take your recovery seriously perhaps you schedule regular sports massage sessions ahead of time. This is a great way to treat muscles and prevent injury, but on the occasions you can’t visit a physio, whether you are travelling, in isolation or can’t afford to add an extra session, a foam roller is a good alternative to get by until you can attend a future physio appointment.

1. Quick results

With the above benefits, foam rollers can combine to improve performance by improving range of motion, making injuries less common and improving flexibility. It can also improve posture over time, whether poor posture has been caused from sport or the repetitiveness of sitting at a desk in work. 

It is a worthwhile solution to some of your physical needs, but for expert advice and treatment, contact Cairnhill Physiotherapy today and we’ll be happy to help.