It has been a great start to our football program and one aspect I’m really pleased about is the take-up of foam rollers by our students. Using a foam roller is a highly effective way to treat and prevent the most common injuries that footballers experience.
Stretching is very beneficial and cannot be neglected but when it comes to knots in the muscle, stretching alone is not enough. When stretching a muscle with knots, you are only stretching the healthy muscle tissue. The knot remains a knot. A troublesome muscle knot can be relieved with direct pressure and this is where the foam roller is most beneficial.
If your son/daughter has recently acquired a foam roller to use in their training sessions, you’ll know that it is a firm foam log of about 100cm diameter. Your own body weight is used to generate direct pressure against the muscle knots to break them up and provide relief. Matt O’Neil likens it to using a rolling pin to roll out lumps in bread dough. Common trouble spots for football players include the front and back of the thighs, the deep hip region, and the outside of the thigh, known as the IT Band.
Key Points for Foam Roller Exercises
- Roll back and forth across the painful or stiff area for 60 seconds.
- Spend a little more time on knots or trigger points.
- For prevention of injuries, three times a week is a good start.
- Don’t forget to stretch afterwards.
Foam rollers are also reasonably inexpensive. We have some available at the college but you can also make your own with some 100ml PVC wrapped in soft yoga matting. A good hands-on project for the weekend?
matthew buettner says
i like the idea of the foam rollers. It helps me get threw training outside of college and helps me recover for college training
julie says
Love your work, Matt. Keep it up..