Foam Rollers

1 lurker | 1 watcher

jmair01 Feb 2014 7:03pm, 6 Feb 2014 5 posts	0 jmair01 Hi, looking for some advice about using a foam roller. I've had quite a tight right hip recently and I started doing the 'ITB' stretch that people do with foam rollers. There was a very tender spot on my lateral hip, but I've been doing the foam roller ITB stretches for the past few days and the tenderness has gradually eased. I may just be fooling myself, but I think my hip feels looser as well. A couple of years ago I injured my right calf, but I self managed it by easing off the running for a while and doing some stretching. It got better and didn't bother me again until I ran my first marathon last year when it started getting sore at about twenty miles in. I hobbled to the end of the marathon eased off running for the next few weeks and did more stretching and again, it hasn't really bothered me much since. Out of curiosity today I tried doing some of the calf stretches with a foam roller and found a very tender spot in my right calf. I'm guessing that there must be some kind of scar tissue there from my previous injury. What I'm wondering is: is it safe to keep on doing these stretches? Will they make things better or might they make things worse? I should really see a physio, but I was wondering if anyone here had any advice or experience. Thanks for any advice you can offer.
JohnnyO Feb 2014 7:27pm, 6 Feb 2014 17,198 posts	0 JohnnyO It's safe. Just don't do it too hard. I use mine to get knots out of my calf all the time.
geordiegirl Feb 2014 8:15pm, 6 Feb 2014 6,992 posts	0 geordiegirl Its what they are very good at - although I seem to think that by owning one means I am super stretched when infact you need to use it…. it just makes me Welcome to fetch too jmair01
jmair01 Feb 2014 8:57pm, 6 Feb 2014 6 posts	0 jmair01 Thanks for the advice guys. I'll keep on using it gently. I my still 'treat' myself to a physio session - although I still have painful memories of the last time I did that. geordiegirl - I can empathise. I have owned the foam roller for about 6 months, but this week is the first time I have actually used it!
MH Feb 2014 9:13pm, 6 Feb 2014 219 posts	0 MH I go right down the ITB with mine. It makes your eyes water, but so does ITB massage at the physio. I've noticed results and so has the physio (when I keep it up)
MH Feb 2014 9:13pm, 6 Feb 2014 220 posts	0 MH I go right down the ITB with mine. It makes your eyes water, but so does ITB massage at the physio. I've noticed results and so has the physio (when I keep it up)
MH Feb 2014 9:13pm, 6 Feb 2014 221 posts	0 MH that's one for each leg...
geordiegirl Feb 2014 9:25pm, 6 Feb 2014 6,993 posts	0 geordiegirl Lol MH I do have to say when I use it I notice a real difference
Making_Tracks Feb 2014 7:59pm, 13 Feb 2014 3,202 posts	0 Making_Tracks I use one of these the-stick.co.uk I prefer it over a foam roller because I can control the pressure that is applied rather than using my body weight against a roller. My "stick" also has soft pointy foam ends that you can use to press into painful spots. I've managed to get good relief by pressing one end of the stick into the wall and then leaning the offending muscle into the other end of the stick. The stick is so popular in this household of runners that I often have to hunt it down ... friends who visit and use it threaten to smuggle it out of the house too!
ReturnoftheJuddi Feb 2014 8:44pm, 13 Feb 2014 2,414 posts	0 ReturnoftheJuddi I have a cheaper version of the massage stick that that MT refers to and I like to use that for focusing in on particular knots in my calf and a foam roller for hips and ITB amazon.co.uk