Rolling the Hot Spots

 

Most people wonder why flexibility is important to peak performance. The reason is that as we get older we loose elasticity in our muscles, a component of the muscular makeup that helps prevent athletic injury. Professionals usually treat this with practical stretching which, if properly done, improves flexibility and increases elasticity. There are two important factors that influence or inhibit flexibility: the golgi-tendon organ (GTO) and the muscle spindle. The problem is that it is difficult to stretch or activate the golgi-tendon and the muscle spindle. The golgi tendon takes a stretch that is active static stretch (applied constant force) resistance to the muscle which last longer than 15 seconds, which then causes the GTO receptor to release and increase muscle length. The muscle spindle, on the other hand, is usually activated when tension or pressure is activated from a stretch with pressure to the muscle.

You may be wondering why this is important to you. Your muscle is like a rubber band and the further you stretch it the further it will launch when you let it go. If you can increase your elasticity in the muscle by improving your flexibility, the result will be increased power and improved performance. Foam rolling, also known as self myofascial release, is like getting a massage without the expense of a massage therapist.

In this article you will find a way to roll some of you major muscle groups utilizing a foam roller. The foam roller is one of the most effective, all-around self-maintenance tools you'll find for releasing tension while improving mobility. These exercises will release and organize your musculature, as well as release and align your skeletal system. Once you begin using foam rolling techniques you will wonder how you ever got along without them. Think of these foam rollers as an insurance policy against injury. Muscle pulls, strains, tears, and even the breaking of bones can be avoided by attaining flexibility and skeletal alignment. Working with the foam rollers gives you both of these. You'll feel its effectiveness from the very first time you use a foam roller. Foam rollers usually cost less than the price of a single massage. You will have in your possession something you can use everyday, at your leisure, which will enable you to understand and break your own pain cycle. It's like having your own physical therapist, chiropractor, and masseuse at your beck and call.

We all accumulate tension in our muscles and in our joints from over use, lack of stretching, and the aging process which leads to poor flexibility. The rollers not only release chronic muscular tension and pain, but can actually restructure your skeletal system so that it aligns more positively with gravity. Whether for general fitness or rehab sports performance, foam rollers are used to improve balance. They are also used for Pilates exercises and massage therapy. They enhance balance, body awareness, muscle re-education, muscular flexibility and dynamic strength.