Foam rollers are great. But it’s not always just about WHAT you are using to roll out, it’s also about HOW you are performing self myofascial release that is important. If you combine some of our basic understanding of functional anatomy with our understanding of movement, we can really enhance how you perform self myofascial release to get even better results.
Not all foam rollers and self myofascial release tools are the same. It’s really important to choose the right tool for the right need. I’ve tried so many different tools, here are a variety of the best tools that I recommend.
Limited mobility of the thoracic spine is a common finding and something that tends to get worse over time. To me, it’s one of those “use it or lose it” types of mobility in the body. Several issues can occur from limited thoracic mobility, such as shoulder, neck, and even low back pain.
Thoracic mobility drills are common, but only part of the puzzle. I have a new presentation where I’ll be reviewing some of the self mobility, manual therapy techniques, and corrective exercises I use to enhance thoracic mobility.
Limitations in overhead shoulder mobility are common and often a frequent source of nagging shoulder pain and decreased performance. I feel like the mobility trends I am seeing are focused on torquing the shoulder joint to try to improve overhead mobility. Here’s a quick and easy video demo on how to assess the lat and teres during arm elevation.
Overhead shoulder mobility is one of the things that a large majority of people could all improve on if addressed appropriately.
A couple of months ago I wrote an article about the importance of the teres major muscle and how I often find it an area of tightness in my clients. I recommended focusing on that area during manual therapy and some of your self myofascial release techniques. I’ve had a lot of readers ask for […]
A combined approach including self-myofascial exercises, stretching, and ankle mobility exercises to improve dorsiflexion.
Here is a video clip of a technique I use for self-myofascial release of the forearm using a massage stick. Obviously, this is a hard area to get with a foam roll and some of the techniques I have seen using the various trigger point balls don’t seem to apply enough pressure for me.
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