The Benefits of Foam Rolling Exercises for Runners
What is Foam Rolling?
A foam roller is a lightweight, cylindrical tube of compressed foam, they come in a variety of sizes and firmness levels.
It is a form of self-myofascial release therapy that applies pressure to sore muscles, fascia, and trigger points. This essentially is an alternative to deep tissue massage therapy and aims to stretch and loosen overactive muscles.
Foam Rolling Benefits
As running causes muscles to go through a constant process of breakdown and repair with each training session, this can cause the connective tissues surrounding muscles to become inflamed leading to muscle tightness. Due to this, runners can experience numerous benefits by performing foam rolling exercises regularly, including:
Relieve tension in muscles
Increase blood flow
Improve balance
Increase mobility
Release neurotransmitters that help to block fatigue
This will ensure that your muscles are in peak condition for better training performance. This will also help to prevent further injury, and promote relaxation and repair of the affected muscles.
While foam rolling is most commonly carried out post-training, it can also provide many benefits to runners as part of their warm-up routine. The method helps to release tension within muscles.
Foam Rolling for Beginners
If you are a beginner and have never included foam rolling in your training programme, it is important that you are using a roller correctly and effectively to get the most benefits.
It is often advised that beginners start out using a foam roller of soft density. Then slowly work their way up to a harder roller when they are ready. When it comes to foam rolling, avoid spending too much time on one area. This could cause further inflammation and injury. The aim is to spend between 30 and 60 seconds on a sore area and to slowly foam roll your way from the pain center to the connecting muscles.
The most common areas for runners to foam roll include the quadriceps, calves, hamstrings, and the iliotibial band. If the area is particularly painful do not apply too much direct pressure and cover the whole muscle or body part instead of staying on the painful spot.
Here at Ballsbridge Physiotherapy Clinic, our physiotherapists are trained in assessing your running performance and can advise you on correct foam rolling exercises and techniques to help you ensure that your training sessions and recovery are optimised for peak performance.
If you have any questions about foam rolling exercises or would like to book an appointment, contact us.
Sports Clinic
Our sports clinic is lead by Elizabeth Bovich and David Richards. Together they have an extensive sports background with high level athletes in Ireland and the USA.