Personally, we like to start with lower body foam rolling before going to the upper body because we find a lot of the roller for lower legs requires my upper arm strength and most of the time when we start with the upper body by the time we finish with lower legs, our arms need a roll again.
But that’s just our personal preference, you do you 🙂
Foam rolling helps release tension in the muscles, relieve muscle soreness, and improve flexibility and range of motion.
Foam rolling is a self-myofascial release (SMR) technique. It can help relieve muscle tightness, soreness, and inflammation, and increase your joint range of motion.
Foam rolling can be an effective tool to add to your warm-up or cool down, before and after exercise. And the benefits of foam rolling may vary from person to person.
Foam rolling is generally considered safe to do if you experience muscle tightness or regularly exercise. But avoid foam rolling if you have a serious injury such as a muscle tear or break, unless your doctor or a physical therapist has cleared you first.
Also avoid rolling over small joints like your knees, elbows, and ankles, which could cause you to hyperextend or damage them. Instead, when foam rolling your legs, roll out your calves first and then your quads separately, avoiding the knee area.
Foam rolling may help relieve tension during pregnancy. Just get cleared by your doctor first and avoid lying on your back to foam roll later in your pregnancy. You also should skip rolling out the calves in your third trimester. This may cause premature labor. Talk to your doctor if you are concerned.
Keeping in mind these exercises are of general nature and do not take your health injuries/history into consideration. In order to fully rehab your discomfort, you will still need to continue to progress to harder foam rolling exercises that are specifically tailored for you to feel pain free while working or exercising.
Here at Capital Physiotherapy, our physiotherapists are the experts in helping you to fix your issues as well as all the discomfort that comes with it!
We can help you lead a healthier and pain free lifestyle.
Our physiotherapist will be able to give a full assessment on you and come out with individualised advice/ treatment plan that is tailored for your particular needs.
At Capital Physiotherapy, your initial appointment is 40-60minutes long. This allows our physios to be thorough in their assessment, as well as giving them enough time to give you treatment on the same consultation!
For any physiotherapy related concerns, visit our clinics near you or you can do online booking for faster appointment. We also provide Telehealth Consultation for your safety and convenience during this pandemic.