Reap the Rewards of Rolling

Foam Rolling, the newest prescription anti-depressant

Imagine that rolling your body across a little blue tube, i.e. a “foam roller”, can reduce anxiety. Preposterous; isn’t it. If anything the sheer embarrassment of sprawling across the gym floor twisted up like a pretzel on some strange blue tube should INCREASE your anxiety! Added to which the indignant expressions on your face when you hit your trigger point (which you know your on when if feels like someone is squeezing your leg with a pair of needle nose pliers)!!! But; according to a recent article produced by the National Academy of Sports Medicine, foam rolling regularly can “decrease feelings of anxiety and fatigue.”

Foam rolling is a relatively mainstream method of inducing what experts call “ischemic compression” on the body. Some doctors, chiropractors, and massage therapists have been using this type of compression for years to reduce pain in the body (although through other tools than a foam roller). This type of compression works to alleviate pain by diminishing the effects of trigger points (active or latent) within the body.

The “pain receptors” in your body (interstitial receptors and ruffini endings) that indicate a trigger point have recently been proven to do much more than just indicate pain. The receptors themselves have autonomic functions within the body that include changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration.

The following are examples of how foam rolling can greatly decrease the overall effects of stress (emotional or physical) on the human movement system:

Foam rolling reduces internal pressure on the muscle and increases blood flow. Blood flow brings about more oxygen and nutrients, removes waste bi-products, and facilitates tissue repair.
Foam rolling makes for a more uniform density throughout each muscle group thereby increasing the way your muscles work with each other in the body. This in turn translates into fewer faulty muscle contractions, making you more physically coordinated and less prone to injury.
Foam rolling builds humility and character by making you flop around the floor like a fool.

AND

Foam rolling can actually lead to better oxygen content in the blood and better respiration which can decrease feelings of anxiety and fatigue.

Foam rolling really does give credence to the saying that “sometimes you have to go through hell to get to heaven!” Once you make rolling a habit, though, it’s really not that bad. Considering all the good that rolling can bring should encourage you to add rolling to your stretching routine. Find one trigger point in each muscle you stretch before you stretch that muscle, and reap the rewards of rolling!