Foam Rolling Guide – Part 1
What is a foam rolling?
A foam roller readily available from the likes of TK Maxx is a tool for self massage. Foam rolling is basically a cheap and easy way of keeping your muscles flexible.
How do you foam roll?
You place the foam roller under the area you’re targeting and use a gentle, flowing backwards and forwards motion to apply pressure to the area.
How does it work?
You know how if you visit us for a massage, we apply pressure to release the knots in your muscles. You use the same principle with a foam roller except you use your body weight to apply pressure.
Are there any downside to foam rolling?
While I fully recommend foam rolling it will never replace the precision and experience of a massage therapist. It can be difficult to target small areas with a foam roller so a spikey ball is a better alternative.
How often should you foam roll?
The simple answer is as much as you can. When exercising a foam roller should be used both before and after exercise for best results. Please try to remember foam rolling isn’t a chore it’s a therapy you will gain benefits from it!
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What to expect from a sports or deep tissue massage.
First let me reassure you if you haven't been to us before that we don't do any unnecessary nakedness. If you want you can wear gym shorts but it is no necessary. On your first visit you will be asked to fill out a consultation form and we will discuss why you booked. At the start of subsequent treatments we may ask you about your response to our last treatment or if there has been a long gap, your reason for booking. If there has been a significant gap we may ask you to fill out a consultation form again, especially if it has been archived. While we are all able to use oils, we tend to use a sports wax as it doesn't stain your clothes and it is odorless and one brand we use is nut free too. During the massage we will use fingertips, knuckles, hands, elbows, and forearms to treat you. You may be asked to breathe deeply as we works on tense areas. Most of our clients want deep pressure. However there are times when we need to use a lighter sustained pressure on some restrictions to achieve a myofascial release. We may get you to move position on the massage bed to give us better access to certain muscles or to treat the opposing muscle. For example, if we have worked on your upper back we may need to open up your chest, particularly your pec muscles. We may stretch your muscles ourselves or ask you to move your body in a certain way to stretch it or to see how it reacts to the movement.
More of what can assist you with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Following on from my previous tips, here are a few more:
- ICE - If your wrist feels inflammed (red, hot and swollen) then icing the area may assist you.
- Cupping - which is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In a trail of cupping therapy, whereby heated glass cups are applied to the skin to create suction and encourage energy flow in the body, the cupping group experienced a significant reduction in pain and other symptoms compared to the control group.
- Myofasical Release - Its a hands on therapy which uses manual pressure and stretching to release the faction to assist the carpal tunnel. In a study of four patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, all saw an improvement in both their symptoms and MRI scans after myofasical release treatment. Amanda Oswald, a leading myofascial therapsits has written a book with self-help fascial stretches for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Living Pain Free (published by Lotus Publishing in 2017).
