Use Foam Roller YES or NO

There is a lot of controversy out there about whether or not foam rolling is good. Adding my contribution to the confusion this is where I stand!

Foam Roller Yes! A foam roller can be a great tool when used properly.


A foam roller can be a great mobilisation tool and it can also be used really effectively for Trigger Point and Myofascial release. I use it regularly.


I’ll show you how to use it to mobilise your joints on a different post but this is how I use it to do Trigger Point and Myofascial release.

Here it does matter how we use the roller! 

I’m not a fan of rolling the foam roller up and down like a rolling pin on dough. Here is why!

We know that both the fascia itself and trigger points in the muscles need time to let go. That is a fact! They release much more effectively when we sink into the tissue slowly and wait for a release to happen (if you do this mindfully and while focusing on your breathing you will also increase the effectiveness of what you’re doing).

For this same reason a slow and deep stroke -not painful but deep!- is worth much more than 30 fast painful prodding strokes. 

(*have a look at the previous posts talking about the fascia and trigger points  to understand better how tissue behaves)


So what I recommend you trying instead of rolling is lying on top of the roller and finding a spot that feels tender or/and a spot that refers pain somewhere else, let the roller sink, be patient! Sometimes it takes a while to reach that painful spot.

Once you found one you will know because it hurts and sometimes radiates pain somewhere else in the body.

Stay in it, don’t move the roller, and wait for the tissue to melt underneath it while you focus on your breathing.

Once that happens, lift the weight or pressure off the roller and repeat the process in a different spot.

Work all parts of the muscle and the attachment points at different angles as being precise also matters!

There is an exception where I like to combine the above with a VERY slow rolling and that is on the IT Band.

Hope you find this short post helpful. If you are experiencing injury or pain call us or drop as an email. 

I left an example below! 👇