In the fitness and health industry, foam rolling has become as popular as yoga pants, kale smoothies and motivational quotes on Instagram. But what does it actually do and do we actually need to do it all the time?
What happens when you foam roll?
A common misconception with foam rolling is that it changes the length of muscle or breaks down scar tissue. In truth, we do not place enough force through our tissues to achieve this.
So what actually happens? It would seem that the effect is more neuro-physiological than structural.
Neuro what?
Neuro-physiological – which means it decreases the “tone” of the muscle/s by turning down the nerve input into them. It is why we feel “freer” and more “mobile” after foam rolling. In many cases, the feeling of muscle tightness has more to do with an increase in tone, rather than a shortening of muscle.
How long should we foam roll for?
The current research suggests foam rolling should be done for no longer than 60 seconds on each muscle group – after that the benefits of decreasing tone could be lost.
What about the IT Band?
Whatever you do, do not foam roll the IT Band! Why? Because it is not a muscle, but rather a tendon, which acts very differently than a muscle. And it bloody hurts too!
Foam rolling is a great tool to use to free up the body to enable it to move better – having a good understanding of how it works is important to utilise this tool as well as you can for your circumstances.
