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Foam rolling

Foam rolling is a widely used technique for self-myofascial release it has become a widely used technique as it can be done by one’s self you don’t need another individual to have to push down and massage a specific muscle group that may be tight or sore. Most users of the foam rolling technique use foam rolling to speed up their recovery process and help reduce the feeling of DOMS in the muscles which also impressed flexibility at the joint.

The biggest advantage of foam rolling is that it is cost effective it doesn’t cost a lot, your only cost would be the price of the foam roller which can go for ten pound to around 20 pounds depending on the quality of the roller. Whist going to see and sport therapist to get any form of soft tissue manipulation done can cost you between thirty to fifty pounds. Foam rolling is widely used to aid recovery (Pearcey et al 2015) it is most used to combat DOMs (delayed onset muscle sornes) this in a performance context can be detrimental to and athlete’s performance as DOMS may result in altered muscle function and joint mechanics. DOMS has been known to affect athletes sprint, power, jump height and drop jump performance.

As many positives foam rolling has they are a wide range of things that make it not as effective as getting soft tissue manipulation from a sports therapist. If the person using the foam roller is a train therapist or have been instructed to use the foam roller in a certain way they could harm themselves. Another issue with foam rolling Is that when rolling most people tend to go up and down but when you massage a patient you are only supposed to massage towards the heart. Foam rolling as a use of recovery is great when used correctly but studies have shown that it has no substantial influence on the flexibility and muscle function (Healey et al, 2014)

Foam rolling can have a positive effect when done correctly it can speed up the recovery process by helping reducing the effect DOMS can have on performance. It can have the same effect you get from have soft tissue manipulation done but be less cost effective as soft tissue manipulation can be much more expensive. As many positives there is for foam rolling they are also negatives, it can be done incorrectly which can cause injury, it also shows no signs of improve flexibility for people that use foam rollers.

Referencing

Pearcey, G. E., Bradbury-Squires, D. J., Kawamoto, J. E., Drinkwater, E. J., Behm, D. G., & Button, D. C. (2015). Foam rolling for delayed-onset muscle soreness and recovery of dynamic performance measures. Journal of athletic training, 50(1), 5-13.

Healey, K. C., Hatfield, D. L., Blanpied, P., Dorfman, L. R., & Riebe, D. (2014). The effects of myofascial release with foam rolling on performance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 28(1), 61-68.