The Benefits of Foam Rolling - The Essence of Health

Have you ever wished that your massage therapist could be on call for you every day?

Benefits

With a foam roller you can almost have your wish come true. A good foam roller is the next best thing to a massage which includes these benefits:

Reduces inflammation
Improves circulation and blood flow to the area that you are rolling
Improves flexibility
Helps prepare muscles for a workout when done just before working out
Helps muscles to recover from a workout when done after the workout, by removing lactic acid from the muscles
Alleviates the stress and tension of sitting all day

Cautions

Points to consider when using a foam roller:

Sometimes it is going to hurt! Rather than avoid the painful areas roll slowly and breathe deeply. If rolling is too painful just rest the weight of your body on the foam roller at the point of pain, keep still and breathe deeply. As the muscle starts to relax you can start to move gently.
Always roll slowly.
Be careful on the lower part of your spine
Avoid bones – e.g. knees, elbows and bruises

How often to use your foam roller?

You can use your foam roller every day. If you don’t feel any aches and pains, then you may only want to roll for a few minutes but if you do feel any tension or pain then roll for as long as it takes to ease the tension or as long as you can manage.

The more frequently you use the roller the less the problems will be as you will be removing the tension before it builds up to be a big painful problem.

The foam roller that I recommend is Meglio. It is a high-quality