Body Maintenance 101

Many of us come and grab a foam roller or a lacrosse ball as soon as we come in.  We hit the back, the IT band, maybe the quads.  But do we really know the how and why behind it...?  Do you grab the roller or lax ball because you know you should and you want to improve soft tissue quality, or do you want to 'fit in' with the other 25 people that you really don't know and feel as though you'd be judged if you didn't conform to the foam rolling cult?  (See great foam rolling video by Eric Cressey above)

I have to be honest, when I cover foam rolling in the intro series with folks, I know some of them are just dying to call bullshit.  Some of my favorite rumblings are "If this is so great, how come I've never heard of it" and the ever popular "Where should I be feeling this?" Both questions ignite the inner drum kit and I have visions of decapitation and impalement.

Well folks here is why this should matter to you.  Improving soft tissue quality through foam rolling, massage therapy and/or Active Release Therapy (ART) will help you improve your range of motion, aid in your recovery, and keep you moving like a spider monkey on an adrenaline drip.  As Dave puts it "It's essential troubleshooting and self maintenance."

Basically what's going on is the break up of soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue that form as a result of either too much or too little physical activity resulting in a restricted range of motion.  Around the muscles, bones, nerves and blood vessels throughout the body is a soft connective tissue called your superficial fascia.  Think of it as wrapping paper.  For various reasons, such as injury and disuse, the fascia and underlying muscle tissue can become 'stuck'.  What the foam roller or a good deep tissue massage does is break up these adhesions and improve soft tissue quality and help re-gain lost range of motion.

This video by Gil Hedley does a great job of explaining this in further detail.  WARNING: it is graphic...which if your like me means you're dying to watch it.

So, does this mean that I should only foam roll when I'm sore or injured...absolutely not.  You should do it as soon as you come into the gym.  If nothing else you are troubleshooting a potential problem, improving your overall soft tissue quality and, more importantly, becoming part of the cult...