Ahhh the glorious foam roller massage. It hurts so good. I can still remember going into the training room at Cal before practice for a pre-workout foam roll session. I also remember staying after practice to foam roll as a recovery too. And then foam rolling before bed when I got back to the dorm.

But what does foam rolling actually do? Should Foam rolling happen before or after a workout? What and how often should we foam roll? Is it actually worth the time?

Let’s get into it.

1. What is foam rolling?

Foam rolling is a form of self-massage, in which the muscle is rolled and compressed utilizing a circular foam rolling device and one’s body weight.

There is mounting evidence that foam rolling is not only worth your time as a recovery tool, but it is also worth your time as a performance enhancer.

2. What exactly does foam rolling do?

Foam rolling hydrates our muscle fascia, the protective wetsuit under our skin made of collagen and water which transports oxygen, nutrients, and cellular waste.

Fascia is a thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fiber and muscle in place. I like to picture the fascia as a full body wetsuit located directly under your skin. The fascia tissue does more than provide internal structure. Fascia has nerves that make it almost as sensitive as skin, and when stressed the tissue tightens up. Maintaining a healthy fascia is all about flexibility and hydration. Dehydration and stagnation of fluid in the body can lead to damaged joints, bones, nerves, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments.

Properly hydrated fascia helps treat inflammation and prevent injury

Maintaining a hydrated fascia helps combat acute inflammation caused by repetitive stress. Acute inflammation leads to stiffness, tenderness, swelling, aching pain, and injury.

Why foam rolling maintains healthy fascia and muscles

Foam rolling is a superficial way to treat the fascia, resulting in improved hydration and fluidity in the body. A properly hydrated fascia leads to an increased ability to transport oxygen and nutrients throughout the body while removing cellular waste.

Whealthy tip: Bone broth can be a great source of nutrients and hydration for our fascia

3. What are the benefits of foam rolling?

4. How do you use a foam roller (MELT away back pain)

Rolling back and forth with no direction on the foam roller is not an effective way to foam roll.

It can take some time to learn how to foam roll. Constantly rolling back and forth on the foam roller is not an effective way to foam roll. It is often more helpful to find an area of pain, discomfort, or immobility that needs to be worked on. Once you have identified this knot use the foam roller to sit with the pain until it goes away completely. That's right, no movement at all. Sit with the pain and let gravity apply the pressure.

Enter The MELT method — so easy it can be done while you watch tv

The MELT method is a hands-off, self-treatment that is said to alleviate chronic pain, release tension and restore mobility, utilizing specialized soft treatment balls, soft body roller, and techniques mimicking manual therapy.

Many of the foam roll techniques I have learned were through trial and error over a long journey as an elite athlete, and this is the most effective foam rolling technique I’ve found. The MELT method is easy to understand — so easy that it can be done while you watch tv.

The MELT method is proven to be beneficial to relieve chronic lower back pain as well as increase flexibility. You just let your body, well, melt.

CAUTION: Do not use foam roller or self massager directly on bones, tendons, joints or ligaments. Foam rolling can be painful at first, but don’t push yourself past your limits. A good pain hurts, but should begin to go away fairly quickly. A bad pain is often an intense piercing pain. Leave the hard stuff (tendons, ligaments, and joints) to the professionals. Only use the foam roller on muscles.

5. When should I use a foam roller (pre-exercise vs post-exercise)

Foam rolling exercises should be done pre-exercise to improve performance and post-exercise to improve recovery

Pre-exercise roll

As of recently, studies have found foam rolling to be beneficial when it is incorporated into an athlete’s warm-up. In addition to a dynamic warm-up, a brief warm-up foam roll session improved athletes’ performance in speed, balance, power, and agility.

Post-exercise roll

Post-exercise foam roll was found to provide benefits for exercise-induced decreases in sprint and strength performance. Those who foam rolled post-workout performed slightly better than those who did not during the following workout, while reducing muscle pain.

6. How often and how long should I foam roller?

At least 20 minutes once a day

One study found that a 20-minute bout of foam rolling immediately post-exercise and every 24 hours thereafter may reduce muscle tenderness and delayed onset muscle soreness.

7. Is it okay to foam roll every day?

Daily foam rolling is recommended even on off-days to improve recovery.

There is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to foam roll frequency. As you foam roll more you may begin to notice the benefits less. This is part of the reason why people tend to explore multiple foam roll options with different surfaces and vibrations.

8. Foam roll vs other self massagers

A tendency was found for foam rollers to offer larger effects on the recovery of strength performance than bar/stick roller massagers.

There are multiple tools available to aid in self-massage techniques. These include things such as a basic softball, a hypersphere ball, or a theragun, which work well as a self massagers. One tool that does not seem to work so well is a massage bar/stick. In one study of 24 athletes, of which 14 used a foam roller and 7 used a massage stick, a tendency was found for foam rollers to offer larger effects on the recovery of strength performance than roller massagers. This does not mean massage sticks are ineffective, just not as effective as foam rollers.

Whealthy’s Favorite Foam Rollers

Do not feel pressured to buy the most expensive foam roller. What really matters is the technique, along with the ability to listen to our bodies.

There are many foam roll options available from a basic high-density foam roller to a trigger point roller with spikes, to a vibrating hyperice roller. The rollers vary in price but given the price of a massage from a professional masseuse, many of these tools can help save some big bucks! However, do not feel pressured to buy the most expensive foam roller thinking it will be better. My personal favorite is the basic high-density foam roller. What really matters is technique along with the ability to listen to the body.

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