Muscle Ball Rolling

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

I've heard a lot of lacrosse ball and foam rolling muscles on this forum, never tried it myself. How do I do it and what are the benefits? Also, the only sports balls I have are golf and tennis balls. Are these okay to use?

[oystergirl]

If you have chronically tight muscles and even in deep relaxation cannot find a place where the muscle feels totally loose, the tennis ball can work wonders to really find your trigger release points and loosen the muscle. Foam rolling is generally used to roll down the big muscles in the legs and also the tight IT band or illiotibiar fascia that connects the hip to the knee. This can get very tight and it is really tough to get it to loosen. Using the foam roller, which you would place on the floor underneath your leg, which would be square to the ground and you slowly put pressure on the band as you move the roller down the length of your leg from hip to knee. Some of the places are excruciating and you stop there and you breathe in and out until you feel some release. I do this consistently and it really relieves pain in my knee and hip that used to occur during walking.

I think either LBR or Laura also foam roll pretty consistently. You can google it and also trigger point release. i use a lax ball but it can leave bruises, I would never use a golf ball but a tennis ball is good. Good luck with it!

[Corbab]

site is pretty much the go-to from what I've found (around here at least) for mobility in general (and using lacrosse balls). Just search for the body part you want to work, and it'll probably be there -- he did a video a day for an entire year, so pretty much everything is covered.

As far as I know, lax balls/rollers do a better job of stretching your muscles than simple static stretches, which is especially great after a heavy workout or on something that's been injured or overworked. I don't know the science too well; basically the word in my gym is "Something not feeling right? Go roll it."

The only advantage of a lacrosse ball over a tennis ball is that it's rigid. I have a feeling that a tennis ball would give too much to give the full effect, but try it anyway. Certainly can't do any harm.

[Waldo]

Whenever my back is sore or feels like it could use a cracking, a few passes over the foam roller fixes it right up.

If you have IT band issues in the leg a foam roller can really help it out, nothing else can really hit the IT band as well. I didn't realize how sore mine was until I rolled it the first time.

A tennis ball worked wonders on my foot muscles when they were tight and crampy.

[Hermione Gainser]

Foam rolling and lacrosse balls rock my world.

I get really tight shoulders on a regular basis. Really, the whole middle to upper part of my back gets tight. Foam rolling helps loosen it up, crack some things, you can use it vertically (instead of horizontally) for some chest opening. I also use it on my hips, low back. So wonderful.

The lacrosse balls are great because you can use them to get more targeted areas. Around my shoulder blades is the number one spot for tightness. Using the lacrosse ball to pinpoint and work it out helps with my mobility and it just feels freaking awesome.

Why? I don't have the technicalities.. but more or less it loosens the muscles, tendons, ligaments... any of that stuff. It's like at home massage.

I think golf ball could work. I'd probably use that before trying the tennis ball.

AND, you can make your own foam roller: pvc pipe + yoga mat + duct tape. If you have a mat and tape already the pvc is cheap.. that's the quick fix. If you don't, then just buy the roller.

[bigm141414]

Step 1) Place ball on floor

Step 2) Place tight spot over ball

Step 3) Roll around

Step 4) Scream and cry

Step 5) Feel better

The five step plan to effective lacross balling.

[Hermione Gainser]

OH! Or you can, if the floor isn't for you, try it against the wall.

(that's what she said)

[bigm141414]

OH! Or you can, if the floor isn't for you, try it against the wall.

(that's what she said)

Door frames work equally well for such activities.....

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Thanks guys. I used the golf ball against the trouble areas and god damn it it hurt! I guess that's the point though, feels fine today.

[bigm141414]

Thanks guys. I used the golf ball against the trouble areas and god damn it it hurt! I guess that's the point though, feels fine today.

You try right above the knee yet? That's my worst spot. It hurts like the dickens but your knees feel great afterwards (side benefit: it lessens the creaky popping sounds).

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Nope, but when I get sore in my quads, its there. I'm using it for my shin splints.

[cline]

I'm a big fan of the foam roller! Do the IT band = awesome. Also, is good to drape over for gentle backbending.

And I'm a huge fan of golf balls - esp for feet. Saw a recent article in Men's Journal (I think) by Laird Hamilton. He stands on golf balls everyday. I can't find a link to the article, but let me know if you want it and i'll scan it in. see http://www.lairdhamilton.com/readblog.aspx?id=329. go to the videos and look at video 3 (I think). He uses the golf balls.

[LRB]

I use a foam roller every time I work out -- otherwise, my IT band starts to put nasty amounts of pressure on my trochanteric bursa (the fluid-filled sac in my hip), and I wind up with awful bursitis that radiates pain down my leg and into my lower back. So . . . I hate the foam roller because it makes my eyes water (okay, FINE. It makes me cry), but I love it because it keeps me mobile.

[notanartmajor]

Thanks guys. I used the golf ball against the trouble areas and god damn it it hurt! I guess that's the point though, feels fine today.

Sounds about right.

[oystergirl]

I hadn't heard about using a golf ball above the knee. Will try that! BigM I am laughing so freaking hard! I do cry and scream... a friend of mine who is an accupunturist said that a lot of people hold anger and pain in the IT and siactic joints and when hitting a trigger point it can trigger pain, but also anger, sadness and fear. I have had instances of hitting a trigger point just above my left knee and had intense pain but also upwellings of intense RAGE...it was freaking weird but she said perfectly normal...go figure!

[katscratch]

Thanks for this thread, Corey! I'd seen reference to this now and again but hadn't really looked into it, read tons last night, and today happened to spot a roller in the corner of the gym.... OW and OH YEAH

[joeyb]

I hadn't heard about using a golf ball above the knee. Will try that! BigM I am laughing so freaking hard! I do cry and scream... a friend of mine who is an accupunturist said that a lot of people hold anger and pain in the IT and siactic joints and when hitting a trigger point it can trigger pain, but also anger, sadness and fear. I have had instances of hitting a trigger point just above my left knee and had intense pain but also upwellings of intense RAGE...it was freaking weird but she said perfectly normal...go figure!

Well, if you are ever in a MMA match, you know what to do then.

[The Tin Man]

Lacrosse ball rolling is magical. I get foot cramps and for years just "dealt with it". Now a lacrosse ball can make that go away. Also fantastic for my tight calves, making my lower back and is tear-inducing on my upper back trigger points.

I really want a foam roller but am suffering a bit of analysis paralysis with deciding which one to get. So many choices, so many prices. Any recommendations?

[LessJos]

Oh I got to try the Lacrosse ball. I have a few rolling around the house. I heard of foam rolling but never really understood what how that works. Lacrosse ball it is!

[andygates]

I really want a foam roller but am suffering a bit of analysis paralysis with deciding which one to get. So many choices, so many prices. Any recommendations?

Cheapie closed-cell roller here (double width because I'm a klutz and will fall off narrow rollers). It's amazing for ITBs.

Something the thread hasn't touched on yet is the performance-enhancing powers. If you roll during your warmup and stretching, allegedly, you get lovely loose strong muscles for things like deep squats and such. Not tried it myself, because I am a wuss.

[K Po]

Lacrosse ball rolling is magical. I get foot cramps and for years just "dealt with it". Now a lacrosse ball can make that go away. Also fantastic for my tight calves, making my lower back and is tear-inducing on my upper back trigger points.

I really want a foam roller but am suffering a bit of analysis paralysis with deciding which one to get. So many choices, so many prices. Any recommendations?

This is the one I got a while back: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040NJOA0/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details?ie=UTF8&redirect=true. It's the 6"x36" one and ran me about $24 total with shipping.

And the lacrosse ball works. Thanks to that and MobilityWOD, my body is feeling nice and loose a lot more consistently.

[Hermione Gainser]

I wouldn't get too crazy. Start with one.... add as necessary. I really want a rumble roller. So bad.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

This is completely off topic, but can someone please photoshop andygates into a santa suit and put snow flurries around him?

[oystergirl]

lmao corey!!!! I was SO thinking he looked like santa!!!

Please explain the golf ball in the knee technique...I tried to do it today and got nothing....but I did discover that a hacky sack under the shoulder blade is like heaven!!!

LOL on the MMA thingie..."touch me there and you will open a can of whooopass!!!"

[msuroo]

I wouldn't get too crazy. Start with one.... add as necessary. I really want a rumble roller. So bad.

<3 my rumble roller.