Road to Recovery or Circle of Death…Is Foam Rolling Good for You?
3 Surprising Reasons Foam Rolling Won't Fix Back Pain or Enhance Athletic Performance
Foam roller devotees swear by foam rolling and tout its benefits. There are those like me who believe grinding away on a foam roller is more of a band-aid because of the passive nature of the modality. While it might ease the pain, short term, it doesn’t address the underlying cause of pain because usually… that is much deeper.
So, what are the negative to foam rolling? And is there a better option?
During my initial consultation, I ask new clients an important question: what is their RECOVERY ROUTINE or WHAT DO THEY DO TO HELP EASE THEIR PAIN? More often than not their answer includes foam rolling. It’s easy to see why people use them. I found thousands of YouTube videos and articles suggesting foam roller exercises to CORRECT POSTURE. There are plenty of gizmos advertised that are excellent at TREATING NECK PAIN. Social media is constantly abuzz with pro-foam roller posts in exercise groups.
Heck, I have a few routines in my FormFix Exercise Archive. Its proponents claim it can relieve pain, aid recovery, increase flexibility, and correct posture. Could foam rolling be the panacea that we are all looking for? But but does foam rolling actually help pain or enhance athletic performance? It turns out foam rolling is a polarizing topic.
First, we have to answer the question: where did the pain come from? I could write a novel on the varied potential reasons, but the short and sweet of it is: it’s how we move. If you move asymmetrically there’s a higher possibility you’ll eventually experience pain; but if your movement is symmetrical, it’s likely you won’t have pain. Movement and body position is key to enhance athletic performance and staying pain-free. So for a foam roller to help reduce pain, it would have to change how we move… but we know that grinding away on a piece of foam can’t do that. One of my mentors, Tom Myers, once said:
“You can manipulate the tissue all you want. You can loosen it, make it more relaxed, whatever, but manually manipulating it can’t train it. Now you CAN train the tissue properly to fix pain and not manually manipulate it, but it’s a hell of a lot harder.”
Find more info about “Posture Faux-Pas” in our blog post “Good Posture & You”
TRANSLATION
You DON’T need manual therapy (e.g. passive foam rolling) to get out of pain, but you DO need to change how you move. Manual therapy may help make training easier, but the root of the issue is your own movement.
Everyone seems to have their anecdote about foam rollers, but what does the research say?
To find out, I looked at the current research to check the validity of these wondrous claims. I looked at the data to see what benefits, if any, foam rollers could provide. The results may come as a surprise to many. After reviewing the research, the answer was clear: I found no data suggesting foam rolling is effective for reducing pain, for the long term.
FOAM ROLLER RESEARCH: Is foam rolling scientifically proven?
What I did find is that foam rolling can be useful to help mask certain issues. Meta-analysis of a variety of studies (Cheatham et al1) suggests that it can help with short-term flexibility and recovery. Sounds great, right? In my professional opinion, it can be okay but in reality, to be PAIN-FREE we need address the ROOT CAUSE and that’s learning how to move more symmetrical and more more functional.
Additionally, foam rolling may make you feel better in the short term, it doesn’t help with lactic acid buildup and the underlying issue remains.
So what can people do for pain if foam rollers aren’t the magic cure-all that so many people say they are? Luckily there are healthy alternatives that may provide people with better results!
HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES
There is a reason why I call them “circles of death”, despite offering short-term relief. Why? Because they don’t address the cause and give people a false sense of progress and well-being. In some cases, they can even exacerbate the issue. I always focus on treating the cause, not the symptom. But when immediate relief is needed, there are much better alternatives to foam rolling.
FOAM ROLLER: NOT THIS, BUT THAT
HERE ARE MY 3 REASONS WHY WE ENCOURAGE CLIENTS TO NOT RELY ON FOAM ROLLERS AS A CRUTCH AND MY ALTERNATIVES.
Foam roller pain
Tight, Stiff, and Weak Muscles
Improper Usage
Read on to see what you can do instead of using a foam roller!
1. FOAM ROLLERS ARE PAINFUL!
Even during a massage, there is such a fine line between “Ahhhhh” and “Ouch!” I can’t stress enough that the “no pain no gain mentality” isn’t beneficial and the same goes for the foam roller. I’ve watched people grimace, hold their breath, tense up as they grind away. As you are trying to “loosen the muscles naturally” you are actually tensing your muscles.
The pain can also be a sign that you’re causing more damage. People can often push too hard on the roller coming away with bruises and muscle strain. This should be a clear sign to back off. Sometimes your knee pain or IT band will feel better after a hard rolling of the quads. But it’s not because foam rolling fixed the problem. It’s because you’ve numbed those areas and now have pain elsewhere that your brain is focusing on. Deep pressure needs to be applied gradually and in the right direction to achieve therapeutic results. Rolling over a piece of foam won’t cut it.
FIX FOAM ROLLER PAIN!
Foam rolling and massage therapy primarily target surface-level muscles and may not effectively address deep fascial imbalances because they don't penetrate deeply enough into the body's tissues. These imbalances often extend beyond isolated areas and can involve interconnected muscles and fascia throughout the body. Therefore, a more holistic approach is needed to address these issues comprehensively.
In contrast, group fitness classes offered on Zoom provide a more well-rounded solution. Through a combination of strength training, flexibility exercises, and targeted movements, these classes can help improve overall body alignment, muscle balance, and mobility. By engaging in regular group sessions, participants can address deeper fascial imbalances while also enjoying the supportive and motivating environment of a fitness community.
To join our classes click HERE
2. TIGHT MUSCLES, STIFF MUSCLES, AND WEAK MUSCLES
Often the muscle group that is in pain is loose, weak, and overused. These are the muscles people focus on rolling. If you’re loosening a muscle that’s already loose with a foam roller, you are compounding the problem!
TEST DON’T GUESS!
Before reaching for the foam roller to address back pain, consider testing the hamstrings first. Tight hamstrings could contribute to discomfort in the lower back. By assessing hamstring tightness, you can tailor your approach more effectively, ensuring you're addressing the root cause of the pain. The straight leg raise test is a simple way to test the hamstring range of motion with a straight knee. Here's how to perform it:
Lie flat on your back on a comfortable surface, such as a mat or the floor.
Keep one leg flat on the ground while extending the other straight out in front of you.
Keep the knee of the extended leg straight throughout the test.
Slowly lift the extended leg upward towards the ceiling, keeping it as straight as possible.
Note the angle at which you feel tension or discomfort in the hamstring.
Ideally, you should be able to raise your leg to at least 70-90 degrees without discomfort to demonstrate good hamstring flexibility.
Perform the test on both legs to compare flexibility and identify any imbalances.
Still unsure of what muscles are weak, loose, or tight? Set up a FREE Pain Analysis with one of our biomechanics specialists.
3. IMPROPER USAGE OF THE TOOL
This is a big one. I once read an article with the headline: “Tips to unlock your lower back.” I’m always looking for new research and information I can use to assist my clients, so I delved into the article. Much to my horror, I found it was full of photos like this:
Improper use of the foam roller, when addressing the hamstrings can cause additional pain and problems. This requires an individual to put all their body weight on their shoulders putting them in a compromising position as they roll up and down the leg
PLUS hyperextension of the knees while crushing your calves is a recipe for more pain and discomfort.
People don’t realize how easy it is to misuse a foam roller making their problem even worse! A biomechanic specialist would never recommend lifting with improper form, so why would they introduce improper form for recovery?
USE THE RIGHT TOOL!
When it comes to rolling there are now a plethora of tools available to make sure you don’t put your body in a compromising position.Try this instead! If you want to target your hamstring use a softball size ball and Place the ball on the fold of the glute with your leg straight (slight bend in the knee) bend the opposite place the knee on the ground and sit on the heel of your foot.
While I only highlighted the misuse of rollers on a few muscle groups as an example here, there are BETTER exercises that are more effective and address the body as a whole to help you get out of pain and recover in no time. This is why I created The Unbreakable Blueprint, using the best of many of the modalities I’ve learned over the years like ELDOA and Functional Patterns.
If you need help with your pain and recovery, click below to schedule a FREE Pain Analysis today.
IN CONCLUSION
Foam rolling’s benefits are tenuous at best. Evidence shows foam rolling may have short-term benefits, but at what cost? The reasons why it may “help” in the short term are still unknown. What is known is that they don’t address the root cause of the problem. The bottom line is pain is a result of how you move. Fixing the problem means fixing how you move. But if you DO have pain now, many other methods are less risky, healthier, and easier than foam rolling. You don’t need to put your body in compromising positions and risk further injury during your recovery.