Foam Rolling, Fascial Release…Rolfing?
What are all those sore spots that I feel when I foam roll? Why does foam rolling hurt sometimes? And why do I have to do it!?
A knot (or trigger point) is basically a fiber contracture that won’t release, and because it can’t supply the oxygen or energy to keep this contraction, the pain or tenderness felt is because of the nerve structures becoming irritated and the tendons overloaded.
Stretching a muscle with knots stretches the healthy tissue around the knots. Foam rolling takes a shotgun approach at “untying” these knots by temporarily cutting off the blood supply in the area by compression, and as you roll off it flushes out the inflammatory chemicals and metabolic waste with fresh oxygenated blood.
The Trigger Point Workbook, self-treatment guide by Clair Davies, suggests no more than 15-20 seconds of sustained pressure on the point once daily, and held at the pain level of 7/10. Leon Chaitow, author of Clinical Application of Neuromuscular Techniques adds to this that after compression it must be followed up with stretching to restore the muscles normal resting length and prevent them from recurring.
Remember anything can feel like a trigger point when pressed long and hard enough. Treatment happens over time so resist the urge to “scratch the itch raw”.
According to Thomas Myers, “Fascia is the fascinating biological fabric and glue that holds us together. Long ignored, the fascial system is now getting its rightful due of attention, from both therapists and researchers.”
Tensegrity is a model for understanding the geometry of the body, on both a micro- and a macro-cosmic scale, that leads to many new insights in terms of body connectivity, the relation between stability and movement, and how we can develop what might be called “Spatial Medicine”
Muscle takes you there, fascia keeps you there
Fascia is the web that surrounds the muscles from head to toe like a second skin, and for some it is like an internal straight jacket that restricts movement. When your reach seems inflexible, or your feeling old — it’s not the muscles that are tight…it’s fascia. Fascial dictates our shape and our ability to move freely.
The basis of deep tissue structural bodywork or Rolfing is to restructure this fascia.
Tom Myers, author of Anatomy Trains, compares the human structure to a sailboat in the video below. A good balance of the muscles should distribute the work load evenly throughout the body, but when imbalanced you can easily see a shift in work load in those with poor posture causing the popular low back pain.
Foam rolling can address thickened fascia over big muscle groups similar to a deep tissue session. When performed slowly the fascia “melts” under the pressure and the fibers reorganize themselves in a much more flexible fashion.
Guidelines to better foam rolling
- Roll at a slow pace and actually stop on the most tender spots for 10 seconds, roll off to let the endorphins kick in, and come back on the point for 20 seconds
- Work on any given area between one and two minutes
- Hit different fibers by rotating your arm/leg internally or externally
- Spend most of the time on the tightest tissues
- Roll 10 mins a day, and stretch immediately afterwards for another 10 mins- preferably pre & post workout.
- As you get more comfortable, increase pressure by moving from working with both legs to one leg, “stacking” one of your legs on top of the other, or start to progress to higher density tools
Resources & Articles to Read:
Fascial Research-Find out more about what it is, how it works, etc.
Great post T! I love FASCIA!!! I cover soft tissue work for the shoulder complex in my video series, for a FREE DVD on Training the Athletic Shoulder visit http://athletichshoudler.com today!
Thanks T!
Eric Beard
Eric Beard
September 18, 2009