3 foam roller exercises for your back
Foam rolling exercises are a great addition to your recovery tool kit. It’s safe, effective and easy to do in your own time. Although it isn’t a “silver bullet” it can definitely help you relieve muscle tension, pain and improve recovery and function.
When it comes to foam rolling for your lower back, our Newcastle Chiropractor has created 3 videos, each working on difference areas. You can get straight into watching these 3 video below.
Lower back foam rolling: QL muscles.
Lower back foam rolling: Glutes.
Lower back foam rolling: Hamstrings.
Benefits of foam rolling
It is a great tool in your recovery tool kit or tool self management for your lower back health. Here are a few of the main benefits you may receive
- Increased range of motion through better muscle tension
- Increase circulation and blood flow through moving and lengthening the muscle
- Inhibit pain through a “pain gating” theory. Where as a result of more movement, pain signals get inhibited form travelling through the nervous system and interpreted by your brain.
- Warm up muscles by stimulating the muscle and increasing blood flow.
How does it work?
There have been multiple proposed mechanism for why foam rolling is effective. The primary way is via your nervous system’s control of tone and tension within the muscle.
Foam rolling stimulates stretch and pressure receptors in the muscles, tendons and facia of the muscles being rolled. This sends specific signal to your brain and in turn, your nervous system sends return signals to the stimulated area with the effective of “resetting” the tone of the muscles. This response is noted to be a parasympathetic effect – with is a relaxation response, hence reduced muscle “tightness” and “soreness”.
Through more relaxed muscle tone and tension is why many people report an increase in mobility and range of motion.
What is also a reported benefit is an increase in blood flow to the targeted muscles. This means more oxygen is transported to cells and waste product which has build up is removed and is of benefit when seeking muscles recovery.
Tips for a Safe and Effective Foam Rolling Session
Foam rolling is generally very safe to perform. Although, like with anything if taken to extremes can cause trauma and injury.
There are 2 main considerations foam rolling and they apply to all areas of your body.
- Avoid rolling directly over bones
This is because there are delicate nerves and blood vessels that run over the top of bones which you want to avoid squishing against a firm object.
- Directly over the joint
It not ideal to continuously push directly into a joint with a foam roller or massage ball as if it is done incorrectly, with too much pressure or you loose control, it can injury the joint. I do recommend that you work around the joint, just avoid pressing into the joint itself.
Foam rolling as part of a strategy to get you back, back on tract
Your spinal health has many layers to it. Having different strategies to optimise your spinal health such as foam rolling, helps you to achieve better long term results.
Foam rolling however only works on one particular aspect of your spinal health, so it’s important to remember that it is not a “silver bullet”.
Non-the-less, it is great and I highly recommend you try it!
Finding the best Newcastle Chiropractor near me
Maintaining good spinal health requires a personalised care and a focus on the 3 specific aspects of your spinal health.
- Nervous System
- Structure
- Muscles
At Level Spine Chiropractic Mayfield (Newcastle) we have the only Chiropractor in Newcastle to combine traditional Chiropractic care with CBP. This can offer may addition benefits when it comes optimising your spinal and whole body health.
If you looking transform you spinal health form pain and dysfunction to performance in the best and fastest way, then booking your initial assessment is the next step.
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