Are you experiencing low back, hip or sciatic pain?
When it comes to self help tools, one of my biggest recommendations is a ‘Foam Roller’. You can get a sense of a deep tissue treatment with this tool right from your home. It’s really amazing how much relief you can get from this simple invention.
I usually recommend it as a home care tool for sciatic, low back and hip pain, but you can actually treat most areas of your body with a foam roller. Even ‘Tennis elbow’ can be addressed by placing the foam roller on a table and rolling your forearm muscles with the foam roller. (You can even try stealing your wife’s rolling pin before getting a foam roller)
One of the keys to using a foam roller is moving very slowly. It’s the same with deep tissue work when you go see a Massage Therapist for example. The rule is - the slower the better.
You can also treat mid and upper back pain with a foam roller. Just do some research on youtube and see how you can help alleviate symptoms with it.
Foam rollers are great tools for treating Trigger Points in your muscles. To put it simply, Trigger Points are knots in your muscles that can cause pain and tightness in muscles, limiting your range of motion.
Personally, I have a foam roller that has a hard plastic core. They tend to last a bit longer than the ones that are made of only foam.
The cheaper alternatives are the ones that are purely made from foam. These are still excellent and may even give a deeper pressure depending on the product. But if you do some research and read product reviews, I am sure you will find one that suits your needs.
Just as a note of caution - a foam roller does require some strength and agility to use. So for elderly or someone in a lot of pain I would not advise using one. Most foam roller techniques are on the floor, so you need to be able to get back up easily.
I always tell my clients, going to see a practitioner is only a part of getting healthier. You will heal much faster if you do as much as possible at home and keep a positive mindset!
Here is a good video that explains and shows foam rolling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzSU2FiFKTM
Stay well,
Roman