Foam Rolling Part 2: How Foam Rolling Actually Works
Foam Rolling Part 2: How Foam Rolling Actually Works
Although there isn’t a concrete cause and effects to how foam rolling works, there are some solid theories. The leading one is focused on myofascial release. But what is fascia—and why would you want to “release” it?
According to Polly de Mille, R.N., C.S.C.S., director of performance services at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City puts it like this: “Think of fascia as the sausage casing surrounding every muscle fiber, every organ, every nerve fiber, every bone in the human body.” The analogy isn’t that far off. Have you ever noticed a thin, almost see-through layer of tissue coating your chicken breasts? That’s fascia.
Within the muscle, this fascia exists in multiple layers. First, it wraps around every individual muscle fiber or cell. Then, it wraps around bundles of muscle fibers, called fasciculi. Lastly, it wraps around the entire muscle body. Together, these layers of fascia, apart from helping to give muscle its shape, attach to tendons and bones to help you pull, push, squat, run, bike, whatever it is you want to do.The thing is, all on its own, muscle fascia is pretty solid and not very pliable. That could theoretically limit range of motion, or give you that feeling of stiff, tight muscles.
That’s especially true if the fibers that make up your muscle fascia form what’s called “adhesions” or “trigger points.” Dr. de Mille goes on to say, “Ideally, all of these fibers are sliding by each other with ease as you move, like silky hair, but sometimes these fibers can get like hair that got some ice cream in it and it’s all stuck together.” Experts say that these tangles in fascia can form for a variety of reasons such as muscle injury, inactivity, disease, inflammation, or trauma. For whatever reason, “the tissue binds to each other, loses elasticity, and forms taut bands of tissue that can be painful,” de Mille says. Myofascial release may help separate these fibers and re-establish the integrity of the tissue.
However, Lewis J. Macgregor, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist and lead author of the University of Stirling study, argues that foam rolling isn’t about myofascial release at all, but instead neurological changes within the muscles themselves. He says, “It seems more likely that, when we foam roll, imbedded nerve receptors are being stimulated in that region, rather than any structural alterations occurring. This can still lead to a perceived 'releasing' effect, which is the feeling that people seek when they foam roll.” While he says scientists can still only speculate about the exact mechanisms, it’s possible that foam rolling triggers receptors that talk to the brain, and the brain responds by instructing the muscle cells to more or less loosen the heck up.
Dr. de Mille believes it’s likely that foam rolling benefits come from myofascial release plus neurological changes working together, and adds that foam rolling may work by helping to tell your nervous system to reduce pain signals from the muscle. (That’s the idea behind the popular TheraGun and other similar self-massage tools.)
I’ll reach back next week with Part 3!
Go SMAC!
Julián
