I have reproduced this article by Tom Myers in its entirety as it so elegantly covers this issue. Click on the link below to go to Tom Myers Anatomy Trains website for many other informative articles. I have not sought permission from Tom (sorry Tom) but I know that he is keen for people to get this message about fascial treatment.
Foam Rolling and Self-Myofascial Release
Posted April 27, 2015 by Tom Myers
To roll or not to roll? That is the question.
What is happening inside when you do foam rolling or use any types of balls or tools for self-myofascial release (SMR)?
For starters, you cannot foam roll fascia exclusively; all the other cells – nerve, muscle, and epithelia – are also getting ‘rolled’ too.
In epithelial and muscle tissues, the water is squeezed out of the tissues, and then is sucked back in when the pressure moves on or is taken away. Like squeezing a sponge over the sink and then letting it fill again while doing the pots and pans, this is generally a good idea. As the old bedouin proverb has it: “Water still: poison! Water moving: life!”
Or as Paracelsus, the famous physician of the 16th century said: “There is but one disease, and its name is congestion.” To the degree that tissues are congested under the roller, it can definitely help liquefy and disperse such congestion.
It’s not going to make the muscle stronger, but there is initial evidence that it might make the arteries to them more elastic.
If we turn to the nerves’ reaction, rolling can certainly be ‘sensationful’. This is a negative if it is so painful it causes muscle contraction and cellular retraction, so I am not a fan of painful rolling. I prefer my clients stay in the pleasurable realm, or on the ‘hedonic point’ (poised between pleasure and pain).
Rolling through pain, however, can be helpful on previously traumatized areas – for instance, rolling over an old bone break – but we want the area to be pain-free when we’re done, not bruised or further traumatized. Bruising in general is, in my opinion, almost always a sign of tissue damage, not of healing. Moving slowly over the tool is very important in a painful area. Continue reading “Foam Rollers for Self Treatment”