Self Myo... What?

Tiger Tail                         Foam Roller                          Massage Stick

So, you may have seen these obscure looking pieces of equipment in your gym, friends home, or local sporting goods store. They may resemble to some of you an item that you think belongs in Martha Stewart's Baking section at Macy’s, the rolling pin. Well, let me tell you, these are not your mamma’s baking utensils that she uses to roll out that delicious home made cookie dough. These rollers are meant for rolling more meaty tissue, and I’m not talking about steak. The meaty tissue these bad boys prefer rolling out are YOUR MUSCLES! Yes, you and your tight, sore, crampy, tired muscles! Ouch? That’s right, it will hurt. But only while your royal toughness surrenders to this magical phenomenon and leaves you feeling oh so much better in minutes! This practice is known as “Self Myofascial Release” (in the biz we say SMR).  Self Myo… huh? This fancy scary name simply put means massage, and I’m clearly not talking about the relaxing joyful soothing spa Swedish massage. This massage actually requires active involvement and attention, and maybe a little pain ;-)

The myofascia is a layer of connective tissue that surrounds our muscles. This tissue can tense like a web over our muscles when our muscles tighten up from everyday life and exercise. When this happens we can experience muscle soreness and decreased flexibility. We use these rollers to loosen up the kinks in our myofascia to allow more movement for our muscles and therefore more flexibility and less pain. This is a great technique for reducing back pain and most of the other muscles in our body.

The big roller is better used for the larger and denser muscles in our body and can also be used for postural, rehabilitation, and stability exercises. The Smaller rolling sticks are better used for smaller and more specific difficult to target muscles, but can be used on the larger ones as well. The foam rollers come in different densities and colors, white most likely being the mostly recognizable one as it was the original and least expensive. The smaller massage sticks come in the 2 above pictured materials (sponge and beads) as well as several other variations. I prefer the black and orange one (the tiger tail) because the beads move around and can pinch your skin.

SMR is a great theory and even better practice. I strongly encourage you to implement this technique into your workouts and every day life. Make sure your muscles are a little warmed up prior to this practice. If you have any serious injuries or spinal issues such as a slipped/herniated disc, take caution and preferably the instruction of a fitness professional.

Happy Rolling!

In Good Health,
Dani