Here’s how foam rollers and other rollers work to help you recover.

It doesn’t help muscle rollers' case that using them can sometimes hurt!

These are key to improving and sustaining optimal performance when exercising because this improves recovery."

PB Elite Firm Foam Roller

PB Elite Firm Foam Roller.Perform Better

It may seem counterintuitive, butrecovery is imperativefor avoiding plateaus and ultimately for achieving your goals.

Muscle Roller vs.

Foam Roller: What’s the Difference?

The Travel Stick

The Travel Stick.The Travel Stick

Foam rollers are simply one form of myofascial release tool.

How Do Muscle Rollers Work?

“Getting blood into the area will help reduce the inflammation and allow it to function more properly.

Using a muscle roller (consistently) will allow you to stay active and pain free.”

Breathing slowly promotes tissue relaxation by incorporating your parasympathetic nervous system."

Foam rolling isn’t something you’re able to do once and expect to see results.

It needs to be done, ideally, every day.

“It doesn’t have to be long,” says Brannigan.

“It can be five minutes.

It’s best to do a little every day rather than an hour of rolling once per week.”

Are There Any Negatives of Using a Muscle Roller?

It’s important not to roll over an area for too long or you might experience bruising.

“Not only will this be less effective, but it will hurt if you apply too much pressure.

Want to try using a muscle roller?

Some foam rollers have grid patterns which are more firm.

And then, there are ball and wand muscle rollers too.

“There is no one size fits all,” says Yu.

That said, traditional foam rollers are great for larger areas of the body like the legs and back.

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