Foam Rolling For Dummies

Description

A full-color, step-by-step guide to get fit, prevent injury and end pain using your foam roller Foam rolling is not just a fad; if you’re active in sport or work out regularly, you know how crucial it is to keep your muscles limber and pain-free to stay active and mobile.  As a form of Myofascial Release Therapy, foam rolling is an effective technique for unlocking your tight muscles and restrictive myofascial connective tissue. Foam rolling helps increase your overall body mobility and joint range of  motion, decreases pain and shortens recovery times—and it generally supercharges your body to reap the benefits of your active lifestyle!   Written in an easy-to-follow, no-jargon style by NFL physical therapist and trainer for 26 years Mike Ryan, Foam Rolling For Dummies shares proven roller tips usually reserved for professional athletes to help you quickly restore healthy harmony between your muscles and joints. Once you know the science behind foam rolling, you’ll understand how to use specific body-rolling techniques to address specific problems and goals, whether they’re eliminating painful muscle trigger points, loosening tight fascia, improving body flexibility, or just relaxing muscles faster after a workout.   Enhance athletic performance Improve injury prevention Learn rapid roller techniques Manage fibromyalgia Reduce soft tissue injuries Understand your myofascial system Reduce painful muscles Whether you want to maximize your fitness program, manage your muscle pain or pursue other health goals, this guide puts on a roll for an enhanced body—and an enhanced life. Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here Part 1 Getting Started with Rolling Chapter 1 Rolling for Life The Mind of an All-Pro Roller Rollers 101 Getting Under Your Skin Key Questions for You How do I unlock my thigh and hamstrings muscles? Why do my lower legs always seem to be my troublemaking “Achilles heels”? If I could make my lower back and hips pain-free, would it make my life easier and more fun? How can I improve my posture to relax my chest, upper back, and neck? How can I eliminate my shoulder and arm pain with a small roller ball? Working Out with Rollers Using Rollers to Manage Your Injuries Preventing Injuries with Roller Treatments Chapter 2 Choosing the Right Roller(s) for You Not All Rollers Are Created Equal Circular rollers: Keeping it simple Multi-pattern design rollers Vibrating rollers Roller balls Half rollers Travel rollers Other Equipment You May Want Handheld rollers Handheld massager Yoga mat Chair and balance dowel Pad and pillows Stretch bands Resistance bands Finding a Roller to Meet Your Needs Chapter 3 Finding the “Perfect” Roller Launch Pad Improvising in Unique Roller Settings Finding a Relaxing “Roller Rink” Having Enough Room to Roll Other Tips to Rolling Right Padding and Pressure Relief Chapter 4 Caring for Your Roller Cleaning Your Roller: Illness Prevention 101 Understanding What’s Good and Bad About the Covering on Your Roller Storing Your Roller Chapter 5 Roller Safety 101 Assessing the Safety of Your Roller Rink Rolling surface Roller rink real estate Objects in the roller rink Objects positioned over the roller rink Objects landing in the roller rink Who Should Not Be a Roller What Not to Roll Avoiding Injury on a Roller Part 2 Rolling the Right Way Chapter 6 Timing Is Everything: When and When Not to Roll Knowing When to Roll Best times to roll Pre-sleep rolling tips Knowing When Not to Roll Listening to a painful injury Rolling warning signs you should never ignore Chapter 7 Warming Up Your Body for the Roller Preparing Your Entire Body for the Roller Warming Up Your Mind Before Rolling Getting the Rolling Site Ready for Contact Chapter 8 Work With Your Muscles, Not Against Them My Five Ryan Rolling Rules Align the spine Breathe Slow your roll Seek and destroy trigger points Move the muscle Working with Your Muscles by Keeping Them Hydrated Good Roller Pain versus Bad Roller Pain Chapter 9 Supercharging Your Post-Workout Recovery with a Roller The Value of the Recovery Give Me Six: The Six-Minute Recovery Roll-Down Stretching a Freshly Rolled Muscle Common Recovery Mistakes to Avoid Part 3 Meeting the Muscles You’re Rolling Over, and More Chapter 10 Discovering What’s Under the Skin: Knowing Your Anatomy Muscles and Tendons Bones and Joints Fascia What’s a Myofascial Trigger Point? The Treasure Hunt Chapter 11 Upgrading Your Posture Why Good Posture Is So Important Understanding Posture Key Landmarks for Evaluating Posture Head Shoulders Lower back Pelvis Feet What Does Perfect Posture Look Like? Perfect standing posture Perfect sitting posture What Does Poor Posture Feel Like? Neck and upper back symptoms Shoulder symptoms Lower back symptoms Improving Your Posture Chapter 12 How Muscles and Joints (Supposedly) Work in Harmony Your Body — The Ultimate Machine Understanding How Healthy Muscles and Joints Work Together Knowing When Your Body Needs a Wheel Alignment Compensating to keep moving Looking at long-term consequences of altered movement Identifying pain and limitations in order to fix them Chapter 13 Fascia: Taming the Beast How Tight Fascia Makes Even Simple Movements Hard Tight Fascia’s Impact on Other Types of Tissue Tips for Healthy Fascia Chapter 14 Managing Scar Tissue What Is Scar Tissue? Four Phases of Scar Healing Factors Making Scar Tissue Good or Bad Symptoms of Scar Tissue Pain Types of Scars Tips to Manage Scar Tissue Part 4 Unlocking Tight Muscle and Fascia with Rollers Chapter 15 Scouting Your Body for Pain, Stiffness, and Restrictions Constructing and Interpreting Your True Past Medical History Why all three elements are key Interpreting the information Body Assessment Standing Walking Squatting Finding the Source of Your Pain What a muscle injury feels like What a joint injury feels like What a bone injury feels like What a nerve injury feels like What overly tight fascia feel like Putting Your Scouting Report Together Evaluating your TPMH Identifying blinking red lights (warning signs) Matching blinking red lights with tissue symptoms Chapter 16 Unlocking Your Upper Legs Ryan Rolling Rules for the Upper Legs Unlocking the Quads (aka the Workhorses) Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking your Iliotibial Band (ITB) Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Groin Muscles Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Hamstrings Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Chapter 17 Unlocking Your Lower Legs and Feet An Inside Look at the Lower Legs and Feet Ryan Rolling Rules for Lower Legs and Feet Unlocking the Calf — Back of Shin Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Peroneals — Outside Corner of Lower Shin Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Ankle Dorsiflexors — Front of Shin Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Arch Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Chapter 18 Unlocking Your Lower Back and Hips Ryan Rolling Rules for Your Hips and Lower Back An Inside Look at the Lower Back and Hips Unlocking the Lower Back — Back Extensors Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Front of the Hip — Hip Flexors/Upper Quad Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Side of the Hip — Hip External Rotators, aka “The Ladder” Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Back of the Hip — The Glutes, aka “The Roof” Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Chapter 19 Unlocking Your Chest, Upper Back, and Neck An Inside Look at the Chest, Upper Back, and Neck Ryan Rolling Rules for Chest, Upper Back, and Neck Unlocking the Front of Your Chest — The Pecs Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking Your Upper Back — Shoulder Blade Stabilizers Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking Your Side — Latissimus Dorsi Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking Your Neck — Upper Trapezius Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Chapter 20 Unlocking Your Shoulders and Arms An Inside Look at the Shoulders and Arms Starting with the shoulder girdle Moving down the arm Ryan Rolling Rules for Shoulders and Arms Unlocking the Front and Side of the Shoulder — Delts Anterior delt Middle delt Level 1 and Level 2 for anterior and middle delts Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Back of the Shoulder — External Rotators Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Palm-Side of the Forearm —Wrist Flexors Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Back of the Forearm — Wrist Extensors Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Unlocking the Palm of the Hand — Finger Flexors Getting ready The exercise Do’s and don’ts Chapter 21 Foam Rolling Workouts and Key Stretches Strengthening with a Roller Forming your strengthening game plan Key strengthening tips Stretching with a Roller Forming your stretching game plan Key stretching tips Upper-Body Roller Workouts and Stretches Upper body–strengthening exercises Upper-body stretches Core and Spine Roller Workouts and Stretches Core- and spine-strengthening exercises Core and spine stretches Lower Body Roller Workouts and Stretches Lower body–strengthening exercises Lower-body stretches Part 5 Workouts, Stretches, Injury Management, and Injury Prevention with Rollers Chapter 22 Injury Management with Rollers ROLLER Treatment Planner R: Research your muscles and joints (the What) O: Origin of your restrictions (the Where) L: Listen to your body (the Why) L: Lay out your treatment plan (the How) E: Execute your treatment plan (the Work) R: Reset the way you move (the Reward) Shoulder Injuries Impingement syndrome Rotator cuff strain Elbow Injuries Tennis elbow Golfer’s elbow Lower Back Injuries Lower back pain Glute pain and tightness Hip Injuries Hip flexor strain Hip rotator strain and tightness Thigh Injuries Quadriceps strain Hamstring strain Knee Injuries Patella tendonitis Chondromalacia Ankle Injuries Ankle arthritis and tightness Achilles tendonitis Chapter 23 Injury Prevention with Rollers for Your Sports What Is Injury Prevention? Three Steps to Prevent Injuries 1. Unlock the motor muscles 2. Strengthen opposing muscles 3. Launch prevention exercises for your sport Applying the Three Steps to Preventing Injuries in Your Sport Running Cycling or spinning Gym weight training Swimming Basketball Golf Soccer Tennis Gym cardio Part 6 The Part of Tens Chapter 24 Ten Roller Do’s and Don’ts Do Breathe Do Trust Your Roller and Your Body’s Response Do Be Creative Do Toughen Up Do Follow Up Your Roll with Reset Moves Don’t Hold Your Breath Don’t Roll on Swollen and Inflamed Injuries Don’t Add Joint Motion Too Early Don’t Work Against Your Body Don’t Roll on Nerves, Bones, or Open Wounds Chapter 25 Ten Changes Your Body Will Feel from Rolling Looser Muscles Increased Joint Range of Motion Less Effort to Move Smellier Urine Faster Warm-Up Less Pain and Fewer Injuries Increased Muscle Strength Improved Posture Faster Recovery Better Sleep Chapter 26 Ten Groups Who Love Rollers Stiff or Inflexible People The Injury-Prone Runners Mature Athletes Cross Trainers Bikers Stop-and-Go Athletes Walkers and Hikers Human Cardio Machines Yoga Haters Index EULA