Self myofascial release is quickly becoming a staple in training programs worldwide. From elite athletes to weekend warriors, you can walk into many training facilities and see individuals using a foam roller as part of their training regimen. Introducing self myofascial release to your own training or daily routine could be a step toward improved performance and a decrease in injury. It is well accepted that muscles meed to not only be strong, but pliable as well. It is important to have strength and optimal function through a full range of motion. Stretching will improve the length of the muscle, while self myofascial release adjusts the tone of the muscle and the breakdown of soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue.
We develop scar tissue in our fascia due to trauma to the muscle. This trauma can cause poor posture, muscular imbalances and poor flexibility leading to a host of problems such as neck, shoulder, hip, low back, knee and ankle pain. One way to eliminate soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue is through massage, active release technique or other deep tissue modalities. One need not look past the overwhelmingly positive results numerous individuals have had with eliminating these soft tissue adhesions.
Unfortunately, from a financial and convenience standpoint, we cannot all expect to get these deep tissue modalities on a frequent basis.
How does self myofascial release work? A mechanoreceptor found at the muscle tendon junction is the Golgi tendon organ. When a muscle’s tension increases to the point of high risk injury (ex. muscle rupture), the Golgi tendon organ is responsible for stimulating the muscle spindles to relax in the muscle at high risk. This reflex relaxation is called autogenic inhibition. Put simply, self myofascial release is similar to that of a cheap massage — we stimulate muscle tension and it forces our muscle to relax while breaking up soft tissue adhesions.
Self myofascial release can be utilized using many different implements, the most popular being a foam roller. A foam roller is just that — a circular, generally long, dense piece of foam that we roll our different muscles/fascia over to achieve the desired results. With a foam roller, we can work almost every muscle group, making it very versatile. Other implements include: The Stick, a tennis ball, lacrosse ball or medicine ball. Self myofascial release generally takes five to 10 minutes, and is of great benefit to start a training session, but can be utilized at anytime to reap the benefits.
There are some reasons you may not want to include self myofascial release into your routine, or areas to avoid. They include recently injured areas, circulatory problems, chronic pain conditions and body prominences/joints. If you have been on a foam roller yourself, you know the first couple of times of foam rolling are generally quite uncomfortable until tissue quality is improved.
Self myofascial release on the foam roller offers an effective, inexpensive and convenient way to both reduce adhesions and scar tissue accumulation and eliminate what is already present on a daily basis. Self myofascial release is a valuable tool, but it simply cannot be compared to high quality work done by that of a skilled soft tissue practitioner. Not that like stretching, foam rolling does not yield marked improvements overnight; you will need to be diligent and stick with it (although you will definitely notice acute benefits). Refer to the blog titled “Self Myofascial Release” at www.FeldmanPerformance.com for video of a foam rolling series.
Dusty Feldman is a certified personal trainer through the NSCA and has his bachelor’s of science in fitness and human performance. He is the founder of Feldman Performance, and currently works at North Dodge Athletic Club in Iowa City and at Advanced Fitness in West Liberty. Any questions can be sent to him at Dusty@FeldmanPerformance.com. Check out his Web site and blog at www.FeldmanPerformance.com.
Self Myofascial Release
Posted by: JLandis | Comments (0)Self myofascial release
by Dusty Feldman, BS, CPT · January 13, 2010
Self myofascial release is quickly becoming a staple in training programs worldwide. From elite athletes to weekend warriors, you can walk into many training facilities and see individuals using a foam roller as part of their training regimen. Introducing self myofascial release to your own training or daily routine could be a step toward improved performance and a decrease in injury.
It is well accepted that muscles meed to not only be strong, but pliable as well. It is important to have strength and optimal function through a full range of motion. Stretching will improve the length of the muscle, while self myofascial release adjusts the tone of the muscle and the breakdown of soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue.
We develop scar tissue in our fascia due to trauma to the muscle. This trauma can cause poor posture, muscular imbalances and poor flexibility leading to a host of problems such as neck, shoulder, hip, low back, knee and ankle pain. One way to eliminate soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue is through massage, active release technique or other deep tissue modalities. One need not look past the overwhelmingly positive results numerous individuals have had with eliminating these soft tissue adhesions.
Unfortunately, from a financial and convenience standpoint, we cannot all expect to get these deep tissue modalities on a frequent basis.
How does self myofascial release work? A mechanoreceptor found at the muscle tendon junction is the Golgi tendon organ. When a muscle’s tension increases to the point of high risk injury (ex. muscle rupture), the Golgi tendon organ is responsible for stimulating the muscle spindles to relax in the muscle at high risk. This reflex relaxation is called autogenic inhibition. Put simply, self myofascial release is similar to that of a cheap massage — we stimulate muscle tension and it forces our muscle to relax while breaking up soft tissue adhesions.
Self myofascial release can be utilized using many different implements, the most popular being a foam roller. A foam roller is just that — a circular, generally long, dense piece of foam that we roll our different muscles/fascia over to achieve the desired results. With a foam roller, we can work almost every muscle group, making it very versatile. Other implements include: The Stick, a tennis ball, lacrosse ball or medicine ball. Self myofascial release generally takes five to 10 minutes, and is of great benefit to start a training session, but can be utilized at anytime to reap the benefits.
There are some reasons you may not want to include self myofascial release into your routine, or areas to avoid. They include recently injured areas, circulatory problems, chronic pain conditions and body prominences/joints. If you have been on a foam roller yourself, you know the first couple of times of foam rolling are generally quite uncomfortable until tissue quality is improved.
Self myofascial release on the foam roller offers an effective, inexpensive and convenient way to both reduce adhesions and scar tissue accumulation and eliminate what is already present on a daily basis. Self myofascial release is a valuable tool, but it simply cannot be compared to high quality work done by that of a skilled soft tissue practitioner. Not that like stretching, foam rolling does not yield marked improvements overnight; you will need to be diligent and stick with it (although you will definitely notice acute benefits). Refer to the blog titled “Self Myofascial Release” at www.FeldmanPerformance.com for video of a foam rolling series.
Dusty Feldman is a certified personal trainer through the NSCA and has his bachelor’s of science in fitness and human performance. He is the founder of Feldman Performance, and currently works at North Dodge Athletic Club in Iowa City and at Advanced Fitness in West Liberty. Any questions can be sent to him at Dusty@FeldmanPerformance.com. Check out his Web site and blog at www.FeldmanPerformance.com.