Four foam roller massage moves for running injury prevention.?

A foam roller can give similar benefits to a deep tissue massage， and used correctly can help to improve flexibility and decrease muscle tension. It’s a lightweight， relatively cheap piece of kit (ranging from ￡10-￡40)， it’s easy to store at home and will fit into your bike bag when travelling to camps or competitions. It’s particularly useful for treating and preventing running injuries， in two ways:

Use a foam roller for soft tissue release (controlled rolling over a wide area) or trigger point work (rolling on a specific tender point).

You can use a foam roller after training as a way of knowing which muscles feel tight. You can then flag these up with your physio before it becomes a problem.
I asked the Brownlees what they thought were the most useful foam roller exercises， and they agreed it was the four below:

Read more:?Essential Foam Roller Moves - Triathlon Plus | TriRadar.com?http://www.triradar.com/training-advice/essential-foam-roller-moves/#ixzz2jNFQG4ds

1 ITB (Iliotibial Band)

A tight ITB is commonly associated with the injury "runner’s knee”. The ITB is a band of fibrous material running from the top of the hip to

underneath the knee. Any dysfunction can

lead to pain at the front and side of the knee.

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1. Lie on your right side with the roller just under your hip-bone.

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2. Straighten your right leg， support yourself using your arms and if needed， the left leg.

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3. Roll from the hip down the outer side of your leg to the knee.

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4. Repeat on the other side

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Tight calves can be a factor in a number of lower limb injuries， from Achilles problems to shin splints.

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1. Sit with the roller under your calf， stacking one foot on top of the other.

2. Support your body weight with your hands and roll the length of the calf; alter the angle of the leg to get to the outside and inside of the

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Tight quads are a common complaint， but a foam roller can help overcome this. It promotes faster recovery， reduces soreness and lowers

the risk of associated hip and knee injuries.

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1. Lie face down， with the roller under one thigh， support your body weight with your arms.

2. Roll the length of the quad from the hip to the knee.

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3. Alter the angle of the leg so the whole muscle is worked.

4 Thoracic Spine

A stiff thoracic spine is common， especially in triathletes who spend countless hours flexed over their handle bars. In addition to injury

prevention， working on better thoracic extension will help run performance by improving run posture， biomechanics and breathing

Method
1. Lie on your back over the roller with your lower back dropped down.
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2. Roll， relaxing as much as possible， letting the back arch over the roller.
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3. You can hold this position， or roll to target the muscles at either side of the spine. Support the neck if you have any issues in this

Read more:?Essential Foam Roller Moves - Triathlon Plus | TriRadar.com?http://www.triradar.com/training-advice/essential-foam-roller-moves/#ixzz2jNFfMcQs

Great for athletes， sports players and fitness enthusiasts
Designed to withstand constant， heavy， and repeated use without breaking down?
Built from EVA foam - The material has good clarity and gloss， barrier properties， low-temperature toughness， stress-crack resistance， hot-melt adhesive water proof properties， and resistance to UV radiation
Designed for exercise and physical therapy?
Helps with stretching， yoga， Pilates and injury rehabilitation?
Unique design allows for targeted massage?
Achieve a comprehensive core body workout?
Incorporate it into daily workout routines?
Compact design lets you travel with it and work out anywhere
Dimension: 15 x 30cm

Core body workout versatility:
- Achieve a comprehensive core body workout
- Incorporate it into daily workout routines
- Compact design lets you travel with it and work out anywhere

Highlights

Great for athletes， sports players and fitness enthusiasts
Designed to withstand constant， heavy， and repeated use without breaking down?
Built from EVA foam - The material has good clarity and gloss， barrier properties， low-temperature toughness， stress-crack resistance， hot-melt adhesive water proof properties， and resistance to UV radiation
Designed for exercise and physical therapy?
Helps with stretching， yoga， Pilates and injury rehabilitation?
Unique design allows for targeted massage?
Achieve a comprehensive core body workout?
Incorporate it into daily workout routines?
Compact design lets you travel with it and work out anywhere

ReviewsPreviousNext

Rock’n and Roll’n with the Rumble Roller: A Review

If I was going to invest in?just?two pieces of equipment it would be a kettlebell and a foam roller. Thankfully， we have the space for a little more equipment in our RV but?if I had to narrow it down to just two?a foam roller would be one of them. Recently， I was sent the?Rumble Roller?to review.

Over the last few years， I’ve come to believe that?foam rolling is not optional. It’s sort of like like flossing teeth， I may or may not love it but it’s worth the effort and time. What a a shame to go to the trouble of building stronger muscles and connective tissues and then not take care of it all.

My experience with the Rumble Roller.

Before using the Rumble Roller I was using a conventional smooth roller. It was serving its purpose but it seemed like no matter how much I used it (along with mobility drills) my achey hamstring (I pulled one of my hamstrings when I was doing taekwondo) would not stop acting up. I’ve been using the Rumble Roller for over a month now and， I kid you not， the pain in my my hamstring has all but disappeared. Coincidence? Possibly. All I know is my troublesome hamstring has not been troublesome since I started using the Rumble Roller.

Facts About the Rumble Roller

The Rumble Roller is water proof， latex free， comes in two different sizes and densities. The full size Rumble Roller is ?36″ long with 200 bumps. The compact Rumble Roller is 12″ long with 64 bumps. It also comes in two different densities. The blue Rumble Roller is the regular density roller. The black Rumble Roller is 35% percent more dense than the blue Rumble Roller.

Here are some of the questions I had about the Rumble Roller and what I found out by experiencing it myself.

What makes the Rumble Roller different from a traditional roller?

Traditional foam rollers are smooth. The Rumble Roller is covered with flexible bumps or nubs that really dig into， stretch， and manipulate the tissues simliar to the thumbs of a masseuse. Whereas， unless you are very skilled at foam rolling， a smooth roller compresses the tissues rather than stretch it in multiple directions. You can really feel the bumps kneading the tissues.

Does it hurt to use the Rumble Roller?

Using the Rumble Roller is?definitely?more intense than using a?traditional?roller but not what I would call "painful”. The first week or so I did experience some discomfort but as I kept at it the discomfort subsided. This tells me that not only is foam rolling effective but my Rumble Roller was getting to tissue that I was missing before. Now it’s just as pleasurable to use (if not more-so) as?a traditional foam roller.

Is the Rumble Roller hard to keep clean?

It’s a slightly harder to keep wipe down than a regular roller because of the bumps， but it’s?molded with an antimicrobial that stops the growth of bacteria. This is good for personal trainers who might use it with multiple clients.

What size of Rumble Roller should I get?

I was sent both sizes and I prefer the longer one because it’s easier to move around on. ?You can see in the pictures the difference in rolling my IT band. There is a lot more space on the full size model.?Also with the compact Rumble Roller you have to roll one leg at a time when doing calves， hamstrings， etc. If you are going to use it in one place I’d get the full size.

However， for traveling the compact Rumble Roller is great.?It fits right into a normal sized backpack. Currently， I store the larger Rumble Roller on the back of my couch to use in the RV and my smaller one in a backpack to take with me to?different workout locations.