4 Foam Roller Techniques For Low Back Pain
In this article, I’m going to share with you my favorite 4 foam roller techniques for low back pain.
You see, stretching is not enough when it comes down to breaking up a knotted muscle.
If you can’t carve out the time to schedule a professional deep tissue sports massage, or you can’t fit one into your budget, the foam roller can be a cost-effective alternative.
Using a foam roller can help break down adhesions and scar tissue in the soft tissues of the muscles.
Using the weight of your own body, the cylindrical foam roller can provide a self-myofascial release massage, smoothing out the trigger points while increasing blood flow and circulation to the soft tissues.
Researchers at Memorial University in Canada published a paper in the January 2014 edition of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise on the effects of foam rolling after intense physical activity as a recovery tool.
The researchers found that foam rolling was beneficial at reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and improving range of motion.
When using these 4 foam roller techniques, search for tender areas or trigger points and roll onto these areas, controlling the intensity with your own body weight.
Depending on the muscle that you’re targeting, you might have to position the roller in a parallel or perpendicular direction, or at a 45-degree angle.
4 Foam Roller Techniques for Low Back Pain
1) Low Back
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With the foam roller resting underneath your low back, pull your left leg up and hug your left knee. Roll from the base of your left side of your rib cage to above your glutes.
Do 10-12 slow and steady passes, and then repeat on the other side.
2) Hamstrings
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Place the foam roller underneath your upper hamstring muscles below your glutes. Cross your right leg over your left leg and roll the foam roller down from your glutes to right above your left knee.
Do 10-12 slow and steady passes. Repeat on the other side.
3) Glutes
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With the foam roller resting underneath both your glutes, bring your right leg up and rest your right ankle above your left knee. Roll onto the side of your right hip. Do 10-12 slow and steady passes.
Repeat on the other side.
4) IT Band
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Start by lying on your side with the foam roller underneath the upper thigh. With the assistance of your legs and arms, roll the length of your IT band along the foam roller from the outside, upper portion of your thigh to just above your knee.
Do 10-12 passes. Repeat on the other side.
If all that foam rolling doesn’t do the trick…
I recommend you check out The Essential Lower Back Pain Exercise Guide.
In it, you will learn all the exercises I performed every day to heal my back after I injured it one hot summer day installing a 60-pound air conditioner.
Here is a list of my favorite Top Rated Foam Rollers
