Can you do a video along the lines of Dr.Hightower hammer and chisel? I'd really love to try that but I'd love more to see what deep effects that and other treatments might have long term or what it's effecting
Hence it's very important to stress physical fitness & limberness from an early age and keep doing so throughout.. so we don't attach our bodies and muscles and fascia in the wrong way that needs fixing because of years of bad movement habits, posture or non-exercise
Thank you for this video!!! I can't wait to see your video about fascia. After a year or 2 now, I am still dumbfounded & curious what happened to me that caused me to have some kind of embolism during one of my myoskeletal alignment therapy session. I stopped seeing her since even though still owe me a few more sessions if not a refund. I'm scared to go back. She was gentle too on the skin as I was laying facing up on the table during the bodywork session so it wasn't like she was being harsh although I can imagine her instructing me to inhale/exhale with her slight push and pull would be the problem. It was my exposure towards the world of interoception (the mind body connection) and exteroception. At first, everything seemed fine, but after my therapist worked around my head/neck a few times as she was instructing me to inhale/exhale specifically accordingly to her push/pull (she claims she created this technique) I felt a bubble rushed from my stomach to my chest and neck. As I was laying on the table facing up, I just shooked and I got off the table immediately because it felt like something strange was happening with my blood flow, blood circulation or whatever it was that was moving in and around my body. It was frightening. That's when I started feeling like their was a bubble floating in the back of my head/neck towards my chest on the left. It was an insane feeling. I couldn't think straight or function correctly because all I can feel was this constant bubble swirling and moving in my body. I couldn't even move slightly without that feeling in. I'm not sure how to describe it so it makes sense and doesn't sound crazy, but it was literally like me being a cup and their is this fluid in my body swirling with every movement I make. Nobody believed me. Thought I was crazy because at the time, I couldn't even stand or lay down without that feeling. Probably people still thinking I'm crazy even till today. But the bubble like fluid feeling started disappearing in me after I got a blood draw multiple times that week. I kept demanding a blood test. That bubble/fluid sensation rushed out of my body to the syringe during one of my blood test. That's when I realize.. ..it has to be something that dealt with my blood flow or blood circulation and not just a psychological thing I made up in my head because it made no sense that this bubble/fluid sensation just intensely sharply traveled from my neck to somewhere in my left chest, then to my right chest and.....straight out to my right arm where I was being blood drawn. .....sounds crazy, but ever since that experience, it changed my whole outlook on western/eastern perspective towards health. It doesn't fit in with the western perspective of traditional healthcare nor does it fit in exactly with what I know about eastern views of health or so I think. I remember, we reference how similar the whole thing like is to tai chi except she's the one during the slightly push and pulling of my fascia muscle. It felt like I had my blood bended in me as she was touching me slightly with every inhale/exhale I make. Avatar reference, but I'm not joking or trolling here. Scary.. Not sure if this is consider malpractice because she doesn't hold a degree other than an Associate in Massage Therapy & a few certs on posture & fasica claiming to be a master of musculoskeletal alighnment, but whatever the case is I can't do anything about it now about, but spread the word and tell people that this whole thing that seem like "hocus pocus" is dead real and it's scary. I don't even know if I want to hold it against her. I'm not sure what to do. The effects of fascia with every inhale/exhale and how it affects every muscle, organ, blood including your neurons in the body needs to be studied in depth. These stuff can kill you. I was lucky to still be alive. If it was an embolism which I have no doubt it has to be if not something else that deals with the blood, then I could of died. On top of that, I think the healthcare profession needs to take in consideration of patient's opinions/feedbacks & studies and research more because they're the one feeling the interoception effects. Tired of being patients being looked at as crazy. I have studied multiple disciplines and I grew up in a household where my father trains doctors for a living growing up. I'm pretty sure I know a thing or two about healthcare.
I've had back issues for many years, and to the point that I could barely walk and almost had a spinal operation. What has saved me is the humble foam roller. I roll out my back every day and it smoothes away any tension which may be there. Now aged 75 years, I have a happy back! 😊
Rolling is the best and easiest way to treat pain, even better than any pain killer. Back pain has normally two reason: either abs too tight or hip flexors too short, or vice versa on the back. Stretch and use e.g. a tennis ball for rolling your abs, and you will feel how back pain will disappear or will feel better.
@@ロース-z7m Thanks for the explanation! It's certainly helpful in my situation! In fact I'm planning an international trip next month and have already packed a roller as an essential item! 🙃!
Born too late to explore the seas, born too early to get a definitive answer on foam rolling, but born just in time for Institute of Human Anatomy videos
Born to loose but built to win,, Invest in some good superfoods and intense exersizes along with cold water therephy to unlock your full potential. Its never too late!
24 Y/O here! This might be controversial, but rolling my back, tight hips, inner thighs, glutes, calves, and feet out with a hard foam roller or lacrosse ball has drastically reduced MY recovery time for running, and biking. I find that when I’m lazy and don’t roll out, my recovery time is longer, and I’m a lot more sore. I have also found foam rolling my back (with breathing) has been one of the only things that really lowers my back pain. It might take us a while to get quality information on this topic for future suggested uses, but I will probably continue to use rollers as long as I’m not feeling lazy.
Not controversial, I truly physically feel the benefit after changing to a harder roller with peaks vs the flatter one I was using. I will admit that the smoother ones didn't really do much for me
I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, connective tissue / collagen disorder, and this fascia explanation FINALLY explains to me clearly why my body has so many challenges due to faulty connective tissue and what that actually means. Wow, THANK YOU!
Hey, hey! hEDS right here! Not surprised to see another EDSer here. I think we tend to really research the body as and our condition in a major way, since so few doctors know much about EDS (or even the fascia throughout our bodies). Anyway, cheers!
I have EDS..this is great info. I do Full Body work/ strength and mobility together not separate. I feel so much more stable and balanced and rolling is great for me. Love Feldenkreis!!
First I will say this was extremely informative, and I understand your point. With that said, I feel like there is enough anecdotal evidence that can't be ignored. I think we just don't fully understand what is happening with our muscular system when we do things like massage, stretching, and foam rolling. Foam rolling may not provide benefits in the way that we commonly think, but we can't deny the benefits because they are clearly there. I will tell you first hand that I can feel a physical difference in fatigue levels and recovery time depending on if I foam roll immediately after a heavy leg day versus when I don't. Improved blood flow means faster recovery. That's all anyone needs to know. And the possible increase in inflammation is likely due to that increased blood flow. Sometimes acute inflammation can be good if it prevents long term inflammation. Foam rolling can also provide assisted stretching (i.e. stretching out calves, lats, triceps, etc). I swear by foam rollers and will continue to preach their place in fitness and recovery.
As a Myotherapy Practitioner I love this! I have found that people with any lower body pain, working out all the hip muscles, especially the glutes, is the first place I start and often results are immediate. Rarely does relief come from working right on the IT band except to free up adhesions that might be actually lateral quad muscles.
Possibly off topic but i can absolutely attest to this. I went to PT for severe leg and knee pain. Come to find out my legs were doing all the support work of my lower body with little glute engagement thus wearing the whole leg down.
Stabilise the foot and lower back, mobilise the hips and ankle, then see how your knee feels. Most of the time after mobilising the hips and foot you will require movement under load through full ranges of motion to keep that mobility and keep your motor patterns happy.
Yes! Rolling is to relieve the pain one is experiencing. To concentrate on the trigger point that needs releasing. It’s not indicated if there is no “pain”. Foam rolling is a therapeutic modality. Not an everyday workout. It was never meant to be used “willy nilly” as a warm-up or warm-down excercise.
I’m a runner. My left leg was killing me last year and into this one. I tried a foam roller and it released some knot I had in my left gluteus maximus that relieved my pain immediately. Now I think it was more that I needed a sports massage rather than a foam roller but the pain is gone all the same. 7+ mile runs get some muscles tight and it does feel good to massage those muscles. I’m not certain it's what my muscles need most but it does FEEL good.
@@playerforty4621 it was. I was forcing it with "runner's knee" and some time off and massaging that IT band area sure helped a ton. I’m running great again. Now whether it was the foam roller, the 4 weeks off, the combination or just the massaging of the hip, thigh and calf muscles is what fixed it. Either way, form has been corrected and the problem was gone, sort of. After adjusting my stride it was like installing a tonka toy car part into my sports suspension and it took time to build back.
In my experience in working with physios, you don't actually want to roll, you want to sit on a spot until it starts to release, then stop and stretch. But only do any of this after you've warmed up the muscles and tendons.
100%. I believe this too. I see often people running these foam rollers up and down their legs at such a rapid pace, and they even do it with those knobbly rollers which im not a fan about at all. I much prefer the harder and smooth rollers where i can pin point specific pressure on a site, rather than pinpoint specific pressure on a site, but also have other pressures applied elsewhere where i dont want because of the roller design. If i want to apply more specific pressure, which is possibly what garnered the development of the knobblies, i would use a hard ball. And still, i wouldnt be running it up and down. I did do this in the past, and it worked for a bit, and felt nice, but over time i realised i was doing more foam rolling to relieve pain than actually training, so i switched things up, slowed things down, and im much better for it. Only foam roll once every so often now. But i think that would be a good study. Have patients be instructed to foam roll in a particular fashion, and then have a control group whereby instructions would only be to foam roll, indicating toward a experiment on a certain technique for example. The patients would in fact be blinded to the technique, as they would simply imagine that they are being treated by foam rolling, not the technique. Many things would need to be done to convince the jury and the ethical reviewers on this, but im sure it wouldnt be difficult.
also i think an important aspect of both groups, particularly the control, is that both interventions are recorded very precisely, such as the individuals must in fact be ok with themselves and their treatments based on their grouping, be videoed for example to be shown to public scrutiny. As many aspects as possibly must be controlled for to allow for replication of the intervention. Would be very interesting to dive into the research that has been done already.
@@nissadiantina7091 any hard ball around the size of a tennis ball would do. Tennis balls go soft, so you can get a hockey ball for cheap, but they are slippery and very hard. I have this rubber like ball, similar to a dog's chew toy, but not slippery in any way. I'm not sure of the name, but any physiotherapist or sport shop should have similar. And they're not expensive at all.
I was taught in high school that rolling's primary purpose was to loosen the fascia and allow better blood flow into the deep tissue. But we were also taught to roll slow and focus on certain muscles.
As a massage therapist, I'm of the belief that most people use foam rollers wrong. They roll too fast. Slow rolling and focus on small areas is better than just quickly rolling up and down. Warming is what helps release fascia. I'd still take cupping over foam rolling
@@cristina8868 think about dough. If you heat it, yes it will get soft but you still need to stretch it. When fascia gets tight it restricts blood flow so heating then stretching or foam rolling will ease the restrictions. If you don't like foam rollers they have handheld rollers. I like those better personally. Also if you heat, use moist heat. Wet a med size towel, wringe it out then microwave it for 1-2 mins. Repeat as it cools.
@@racer7007 actually quite the opposite. Cupping helps with collagen production. Some people actually use cupping to tighten loose skin around mid section after weight loss. Some even say it can be used for weight loss. Those last 2 are not in my scope of practice so I can't make any claims to whether it works or not.
Fascinating video. It raised a couple of questions for me that you may want to address in the future. The first is, “What are trigger points, and what happens when you put pressure on them to release them?” Also, “Other than feeling good, what does massage do for the body and what does it mean when they say it loosens tight muscles?” Thanks!
Massage degrees are around 1,000 classroom hours and upwards of $10k because the answers to these questions aren't simple enough to answer on youtube. Good questions
In my experience, releasing the hip adductors and hip flexors helps a lot with IT band related pain. If you think about it, hip adductors being overly activated means the IT band is stretched. Most people have weakened hip extensors and hip abductors. Foam rolling these would make the problem worse
Yeah, most people really don’t understand how much the feet, legs, and hips directly affect the back… especially the lower back. The hip is the keystone of the body and it’s center of of gravity, not an isolated component.
@@undeadpresident As a 54 year old I can tell you, you stiffen up a LOT faster as you get older. You gotta do some exercise & stretching every day to maintain flexibility and function. Even a little is better than nothing. E.g A couple rounds of Salute to the Sun.
You’ll be like me, you will go in to your first day and will always remember what you saw and the smells, but by the end of the semester you will be able to do your work and studies in lab while eating a hamburger and fries with the other hand ! Best time of your life !
As a licensed massage therapist I always love your videos, near the end of this one when you mentioned foam rolls being able to damage the blood vessels is one of the many reasons why I frequently refuse to use what I consider excessive pressure on clients.
@@ロース-z7m I'm aware it will support the vein direction and flow. But superficial veins, such as those to the skin, can still be ruptured even following that method. All my techniques are fairly slow to decrease the risk of breaking a blood vessel. That said, natural vein circulation doesn't mean to much with massage therapy as a 60 minute massage has the same benefit as a 5 minute walk on the blood circulator system.
@@nathantanner9433 For sure, this could be a problem especially for people with certain risk factors. Although am pretty sure if that happens it will hurt, and I'd expect visibly injured tissue. I hadn't thad that problem so far. Rolling is great for decreasing tension in the tissue, and also perfect for reducing pain
@@ロース-z7m I've had blood vessels rupture from someone doing a poor job drawing blood. It didn't hurt anymore than a typical blood draw except the area became more tender. I'm not apposed to rolling, I foam roll fairly regularly, my comment was about massage therapy and why I don't work the IT bands directly or use excessive pressure.
This videos argument against foam rolling is based on a false premise. The problem is not fascia, the actual problem is oxalates (mostly calcium oxalates), which are like microscopic rocks that damage tissue. If people would only use the right electrolytes (bicarbonates from mineral water - especially magnesium) and replace inorganic minerals with organic minerals (by supplementing with fulvic acid and orthosilicic acid. Note: try to avoid mixing acidic stuff with alkaline and start off with the pH regulating electrolyte salts), these oxalates can be broken up by foam rolling and removed from the body, and then the body can actually repair itself from said oxalates and their breaking up. I hope this wasn't too convoluted.
In my experience, as a professional classical ballet dancer, IT Band rolling is extremely beneficial; and even more specifically, trigger point release of the TFL and piriformus appears to improve active and passive range of the hip, muscle activation quality of the entire glute and hip flexor area and even releave symptoms of patellar tendopathy.
This is my entire issue with my left patella which doesn't track properly and causes knee clicking and pain. How do you personally do trigger point release on the TFL and piriformis? With a massage therapist?
As a massage therapist this is really interesting information! There's so many conflicting opinions and pseudo science surrounding health and wellness that getting the results of studies is fantastic. Thank you as always for the video, this channel is fantastic
@@adamgrimsley6455 Funny you say that. I somewhat agree. When I was getting my paramedic certification, and working in the ER. It was amazing to see how it seemed like doctors a lot of times just really did not know what they were doing. But on the flip side of that, I've seen some pretty incredible treatments and complicated surgeries that have saved lives.
To follow up with that, my son would not be alive today, or at least not nearly as functional, if it wasn't for the incredible advancements of NICU care.
I’m a massage therapist and these videos are so helpful. I sometimes get clients that think massage will “fix” their muscles and I have to explain to them what exactly massage and myofascial release can definitively do for them and that massage is not a fix it is a treatment, and if you want permanent relief you have to do some work yourself, similar to how instead of foam rolling after every workout to help with pain it would be more beneficial to simply improve their form so issues don’t happen in the first place. Great video as always!
What do you recommend for beyond tight psoas and ilopsoas? It’s ruining my well being. They will not loosen up. What type of doctor should I see please? I would so appreciate an answer, it would help me so much.
Foam rolling works amazing for me. Back when I ran 5-10 miles daily, best recovery came from foam rolling right after. So whatever the science, it kept me training hard and consistent. I work too hard as a construction worker to run alot anymore, but that roller still helps amazing.
i pulled a back muscle a few years ago.. it was painful, it was either foam roll it or have the doctor give me pain meds.. i don't want meds! so i foam rolled the hell out of it.. after the first foam roll bam.. 3 days later that muscle was good 2 go!
As someone who had to get a fasciotomy from chronic compartment syndrome I really enjoyed all the info on fascia. Even through my own research I still was left with a lot of questions. Loved the video!
Thanks for a great video. I am a Physical Therapist (old and opinionated). Thru past experience treating patients and thru my own experience I do not recommend rolling. Time spent stretching (long prolonged stretching) in conjunction with movement (increased blood flow to all tissues) is my recommended practice. Of course identifying muscle balance or imbalance and focusing on proper movement is another piece of the puzzle. A consistent stretching routine (at least 30 minute a day) will make believers out of "foam rollers addicts", time well spent and long term benefits compared to perching on top of a roller (the stage in a gym to get attention),
i think if you don't overdo it foamrolling can be extremely pleasuring. it's great for relaxation. when i'm really sore i will foamroll to get rid of pain and relax my tense, sore muscles followed by very light mobility work. it feels like taking out that tension is already benefitial in itself.
@@SoulDelSol You're right, it could well be a scam. That's why it would be so interesting. Lots of athletes use the precession guns for warm up and recovery. The top of the range Theragun is very expensive about £500 but there are hundreds of different makes avalible.
Little tricks for you to release tightness. 1. Put a comfortable (just to be a little bit uncomfortable) pressure on the muscle that you want to work or stretch. 2. Go slowly, very slowly for 1cm-1sec in the sense of the fiber. Yeah it take times, but it's worth it. 3. You can hold positions sometimes too (for about 30sec to 1min) and adding more pressure while time passes and your muscles are stretching. 4. If it hurts, it would be more likely to damage you more than you already are, so be aware of yourself and don't act ''tough''. 5. Rest and do that 2-3 times a week until satisfaction on every part you feel tightness. Oh, I forgot to mention, I did 6500hours + of massage as a massage therapist in like 5 years, so I've been practicing A LOT. So feel free to adapt that to yourself. Have a good day, may your pain be released.
I use it to help me alleviate some back tightness especially in my spinal cord by causing it to crack up and down the column as I roll out my back. Similar to how you crack your knuckles. I don’t do this all the time but sometimes I feel like I have a knot in my back and this definitely helps. So this just seems like a long winded video about something that’s either going to help you or not but it’s not really going to hurt you. I was just scrolling through looking for the TLDR.
I think the disconnect between the strong anecdotes and inconsistent research results stems from the fact that most of the effects we experience with foam rolling come from modulating nervous system activity. Thus, environmental factors, psychological factors, and possibly even sociological factors could play a role in how foam rolling affects the tissues it's targeting.
@@Asiansxsymbol how do you think massaging the muscles works? It provokes a response from the nerves, which are connected to the brain. The psychology can't be separated from the physiology in this case.
Please please do a video about the sinuses. 🙏🏻 I am a chronic sinusitis sufferer and would like to learn more about the anatomy of it. Thanks and more power to your channel!
Same. Chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, and mutant polyps that all returned just 30 days after surgery. I didnt always have sinus problems, it's something that developed and ENT docs and allergists do not know why. Super expensive biologic treatment Dupixent helps, but even with financial aid isn't affordable. I have completely lost m sense of smell for several years now. HELP!!
My sinuses were stuffed up year round my whole first 25 years of life cause of allergies....seemingly seasonal allergies...I got my blood tested and quit dairy, gluten, and soy and miraculously the allergies went away and only come back if I eat those foods. Going on allergy free for the last 10 years.
I use a foam roller to alleviate spine problems I have from surviving being hit by a car doing approx. 45mph while riding my skateboard. I call it ironing my bone shirt and it sounds like a stick running across a picket fence when I do it and it helps to relieve the pain I live with everyday.
As a practicing pt I can say: Very good video. I don’t have a problem with foam rollers at all. I even use them with patients myself. BUT most people (and some of my colleagues) tend to forget that there is no evidence at all for foam rollers helping with tight fascias, like you are pointed out. For me, they are a great tool for increasing bloodflow and release tension in MUSCLES which is supported by actual evidence. But you will use a foam roll in a different way and intention when focusing on muscles. Using them for fascial release is, at least for now, scientifically bullshit.
My pt recommended I pick up a foam roller recently. Back in August my neighbor's dog pulled me over, I landed on my outstretched arm and ended up with an avulsion fracture of the greater tuberosity that almost needed surgery. I avoided surgery but my shoulder stiffened up horrendously. Laying on the foam roller, letting my back muscles relax, and the shoulder stretch feels amazing.
@@markpommett5712 have you even read my comment? I lit said that you can use them for muscles (fe your hamstrings..) and that they can help there - just not by the mechanics they promote while selling foam rollers. You can achieve similar things with the same outcome without foam rollers but if they work best for someone, using them will work. I even said that i use them myself sometimes?
Great video! Wish you’d ask the big question: “can anyone actually feel myofascial restrictions?” As opposed to, “are myofibrils responsible for restrictions.” Let us define “stiffness” or “tightness!”
I have an IT Band issue that hurts my knee. Had it for years and thought it was just arthritis. Watched a Jeff Cavalier on using a foam roller to treat it, and the pain went away for a long time. I don't roll it often now, but it definitely helps me.
@@114avataraang when I’ve had IT band tightness it specifically hurts under the knee, but sometimes the side. I have definitely felt relief with both foam rollers and manual pressure, followed by some form correction, like making sure you’re not torquing your knee inwards as you bend and making sure that you’re engaging your quads and glutes as as you push off like when going up a step.
Yes, more data please! My two cents: never roll the IT band directly. Instead, massage/release the muscles around it, esp the TFL if you have ITBS, but don't rely solely on rollers. Consider hands, balls, rollers, theragun, cupping, and other options. I use a plethora of techniques to stay supple.
Thanks for giving us options to skip through to certain points! I love watching your videos beginning to end but I love to link people certain parts of your videos during conversations. And this makes it so helpful for me to find certain points. Love your channel
The issue with foam rolling is that it's directing the pressure directly "down" into the tissue. Rolfing or skilled fascial release can contact/move the tissue in different directions and specifically parallel with the direction of fibers almost lifting it instead of just pushing down directly into it.
I actually quit a PT and Kinesiology major because of the large amt of BS/pseudoscience they were teaching. So many “techniques” are based on nothing but anecdotal evidence. Drugs and surgery typically either work or don’t but therapy is a large pile of opinions based on very little evidence and in many cases is simply placebo.
As someone who suffered from extreme acute ITB syndrome for years as a collegiate athlete and afterwards, this type of information is invaluable. If only we had known this 15 years ago.
Foam rolling has been a lifesaver for me & my family, especially my mother, I've taught family members how to use it & have helped them heal various body parts that had tendinitis & other ailments such as plantar fascistis, frozen shoulder, costochondritis, headaches caused by stiff muscles, tight psoas muscles which were causing hip issues, aching quads, tennis elbow, sciatica pain, tight pelvic floor etc. Some of these things may have even required surrgery as what the Dr. was prescribing was NOT working. I myself was hunched over at one point from a new job i started, i caught my reflection & it scared me, I wound up using the roller as I hadnt used it in a long time & had instant results. Its helped me a lot with chronic pain as well, I had headaches for my entire life until one day I figured out it was caused by tight muscles aroiund my core, what a relief that was.
hey IHA, as a personal trainer and a student of anatomy and physiology I wanted to say thank you.... I love the depth that you guys take your topic to; also videos like this are perfect right now because there are a plethora of fitness influencers and non-reputable people that clients are blindly following advice from. This little dose of scientifically backed discussion is perfect for the fitness community!
So nice you mentioned Feldenkrais! The interesting things for me as a practitioner, is that mostly I haven't seen other practitioners use it as a massage tool in this way, but rather as a support for different parts of the body, guide for mobility, and sensory tool.
The way I always used foam rollers was to make stretching easier, and get deeper more effective stretches with less discomfort. Which actually fits pretty well with what the research seems to support. It increases flexibility and reduces pain for a little while, making it easier to stretch those muscles. I have no idea if that stretching is actually more effective for recovery, I just know it feels better lol.
Ay a physiotherapist i barely ever do stretching with patients. Its just not what we thought. Training the muscle is far more important than stretching.
@@NocholasP like I said lol it feels good to stretch sometimes, and in my own experience, when I stopped stretching regularly, I lost range of motion in my hamstrings. You can do whatever you want with your patients I didn't even say it helps recovery long-term, I just like it.
This is what I've been doing and I think it helps. I foam roll slowly for just a couple minutes on each muscle that I'm going to stretch, and I feel like it helps get the blood flowing in parts of of the muscle that normally feel cold if that makes sense. Like squeezing the capillaries that haven't been getting much stimulation. Obviously doing warmup exercises helps with circulation too. Been doing the Hyperbolic Stretching program which I stumbled across, it's a PNF style stretching, which is new to me but I actually feel like I'm making progress now instead of just kind of aimlessly stretching.
This was extremely well done! You covered something quite complex. Would love to see an exploration of pudental nerve and potential injuries (i.e., cyclist's syndrome). Such an important structure, few know about it.
This was really interesting. I have never foam-rolled with the intent to break up facial restrictions. I use my various foam rollers the way someone might use a massage ball , but it's convenient because it ...rolls...and is easier to use with larger muscle groups. When I feel muscular tightness or knots I spend time on that area to release the knot. I think it's important to know enough about your body to determine what is actually muscular tightness and what could be tendinitis or an injury, or simply a sore muscle from a workout. Without a doubt they can be very helpful , but I still don't roll my IT band
Great video. But frustrating that we don't have more info on this yet since the anecdotes frequently suggest the opposite. When I was triathlon training I noticed consistently in my journalling that when I rolled before bed after a training day, I'd be recovered enough the next day to train again, and if I forgot, I'd be far too sore the next day to train. I assume it had something to do with forcing out blood so that new blood could come in and speed up my recovery (as you said, "improve blood flow, oxygen saturation, and inflammation"). But of course I can never cancel out placebo. But that coaches and YT videos continue to tell me not to do it, certainly feels frustrating. And as a person that usually tries to live a life as best informed by science as I can, I definitely feel some dissonance between this answer, and the fact that I'm probably going to keep doing it for now.
I suspect what may be happening is that the science hasn't yet "caught up" to the beneficial effects you have noticed in your own experience. Sometimes that is the case. Studies are very specific in their focus. They may miss something if they're not looking for it. Just how it is.
Conspiracy theory here. They keep saying foamrollers doesn't work so you'd just get a massage or a painreliever. Or surgery! Lmfao. But seriously though, if it works for you, it works for you. Keep doing it. It works for other people, and it works for you, so what is out there for you not to believe in it? See the logic in things instead of just blindly believing what other people consider "science". You'll feel better
Unbiased? He’s literally speaking antithetical to an entire sector of chiropractic medicine called A.R.T. And he’s doing so without any interviews or evidence. Talk to doctors who actually know what they’re talking about.
@@WhatDoesEvilMean I guess they are biased as they don't come from a chiropractic or physiotherapy background, but I don't think they dismissed any of the possible benefits (just unprovable from a modern science perspective?). I also listen to other specialists with an open mind too
Some ideas for future videos: 1- How does acupuncture work? 2- What are the types of disc displacements and what do they look like on a cadaver? 3- What is traction therapy and does it work? What does the science say? 4- More diverse ppl in B-roll footage :)
Acupuncture manipulates electrical currents running along chemical potential lines and reservoirs that mostly trace the edges of myofascial bands throughout the body. It behaves within the physics and chemistry of induction and capacitance within the entire spectrum of biological structures. The process is synergistic with the healing of both body and mind simultaneously. Benefits tend to be cumulative and are increased by frequency of treatment. It's radically superior to other forms of medicine for a wide variety of treatments in a wide variety of situations and it's rarely employed without a spectrum of supporting diagnosis and alternate therapies. As a complex and yet generally low-risk intervention, there are a wide spectrum of levels of mastery amongst practitioners and lengthy apprenticeships are traditionally followed, including intensive training for ethical standards. People who are extremely ill will often have an overpowering sense of radical healing during the first treatment. People who tend to be generally healthy and ambitious often will avoid slowing their thoughts sufficiently to acknowledge the effects and will usually forget any benefits derived. Patients tend to be at various points along this spectrum of reflection and will take an interest based on their recollection of the experience.
44 (almost 45) y/o runner here and my ITB screams at me once my training hits 20+ mile long runs. I have found foam rolling in the days after to help me get back out running sooner. It’s true that there’s tons of anecdotal evidence. So much so, that it might just be a matter of time before a conclusive scientific study taps into the reason why. I also agree that many do it wrong...usually by doing too much. If all I’m actually doing is stimulating blood flow to my tired muscles, then even that can help speed recovery .
I was dancing ballet as at a pre-professional level in my late teens, 20 years ago, and I was told to use a foam roller for this purpose. I’m now suffering from permanent nerve damage that they can’t do anything for. The pain goes from my hip to my knee, down the side of both of my legs and it is exactly where you describe the facia to be. I wake up in excruciating pain and many doctors say “well, it’s just nerve damage.” I’m fairly sure it’s from excessive rolling after dance rehearsals.
That is sad to hear I use combination of Foam Roller Hot Baths Natural Calm Magnesium and foot baths up to my calf. I have a big foam roller which I never use anymore it has aggresive bumps on it so I store it in the basement.
I use my foam roller for my back and hamstrings, not really my IT band. It helps relax the tightness in my lower back especially, but I believe it's from relaxing the muscles and doesn't really have much to do with fascia.
I always learned so much from Doctor Oz’s cadaver demonstrations & am thrilled to discover your channel visually helping me understand the aches & pains of my body!
Me too, and I think a big part of its effectiveness is due to just getting us to move and relax at angles we don't often achieve, but which we probably should, like relieving that hump me get from staring down all day. :)
I really appreciate these types of videos and information. I am naturally more skeptical of things (especially with money involved), so hearing the facts is so important! Thank you for what you do!
all i can say is that after a latissimus dorsi flap surgery my PT's goal of releasing the fascia helped me SOOO much!! gave me range of motion and feeling back
Foam rolling has done wonders for me in keeping away back pain, since an intense episode 5 years ago. I rarely use it, but it's enough, I do not know what it is doing to me, but it has definitely worked.
Anyone else have immediate, measurable, objective effects when foam rolling? Even when doing it 'wrong' (i.e. fast) I can decrease muscle tension an increase flexibility in my hamstrings within 10-20 seconds.
Same, I get immediate positive effects to the point I think this video is horse shit. I do lots of pull ups, push ups, planks, mountain climbers blah blah blah, because I do the Navy rescue swimmer pt for exercise. All the tension in my back is released immediately
@@BenJaminLongTime Exactly! You can't objectively measure 'Oh, I 'm feeling more relaxed than before'. But you can objectively measure how far you can bend for example. Or the angle of your relaxed posture, before and after.
Over the past few years, rolling of the IT band has been prescribed to me by various exercise physiologists. However, I have found it of no benefit, and have always been a bit skeptical. I find myself in more pain. The regular mobility exercises I find much more beneficial. Thanks for the video. It clarifies the thinking behind this. I too would love to see some evidence based research on this. Great channel by the way. I am a high school science teacher, and I was directed to a video by a colleague a few weeks ago. Now I am hooked!
Bring on the science, but in the meantime, here's my story.....400 yoga classes helped relieve my discomfort and pain, but 2 weeks of foam rolling cured the pain. After a few months of regular foam rolling, I"m running again, pain free.
I’ve found that very light touching of muscles around painful areas help my mind almost locate the problem issue. This allows me to focus on it and do exercises to promote elongation of my tendons and create space between my joints where needed
Before watching this video. I am a drill instructor who does more than 30 miles a day running in boots. I am telling you foam rolling works. I am up for learning something new though.
My leg always hurts. Foam rolling is as effective as message, but more tolerable. I always roll in the direction of vein flow and go very slowly. However, I’d rather have a tennis ball in a sock.
For me, I totally attribute my 21-years of injury-free Ironman triathlon to foam rolling. I barely stretch or weight train. I don't have super genetics. It's not about the fascia or tendons, I feel it's all about releasing knotted/contracted fibers of the muscles. Don't forget, keep those muscles relaxed when rolling! I hope to create a series of videos on this topic soon. ☮️❤️🤝
I’ve been a personal trainer for 10 years and foam rolling the IT band along with calves, glutes and lats has been a great approach with many clients. Maybe it’s all in my head 🤷🏻
It sounds like the more advanced and or in shape u are the more u benefit, kinda like he said surprisingly and strangely fast ; I know I get some benefits from it .
As with all of these trendy health and wellness things, if it works for your body and you see positive results, go for it. If it causes pain and discomfort or doesn't produce results, then it's just not for you. Don't feel bad or feel like you're doing something wrong if a particular wellness activity doesn't work for you. These things aren't one size fits all. It's not "supposed" to work for you. Give it a try with an open mind knowing that it may not be an avenue that suites your particular body. Take what works and leave what doesn't.
I had IT Band syndrome from running and kickboxing i meant to foam roller before bjj class and forgot then ended up straining my IT. Did not visit a Doc or therapist…. I picked up a book on myofascial therapy and fixed it myself.
I’m 53 and led a very athletic life (Ice hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, martial arts, triathlon, rock climbing). Foam rolling wasn’t a thing when I was young, but gained traction as I got older…I tried it…didn’t really get anything from it…
I always had doubts if massaging a really tender, sore muscle or tendon was actually good. What about deep tissue massage? The "knots" they can find in my shoulders/ traps, can feel like tumors under my skin! Love your channel!
Massage can be very good, but the biggest thing is to not have muscle imbalances. Often times people do the exact opposite of what they should. Upper back and shoulder strain is more often caused by having tight pecs and anterior deltoids and biceps, coupled with underdeveloped posterior deltoids, traps, and rhomboids. People then stretch their upper back which is already getting overstretched, and keep working their anterior side hard, further exacerbating the problem. Similar thing with back problems. Bad to overstretch the lower back. More often caused by tight abs and hip flexors and lack of exercise than simply tight lower back muscles.
Also, from a mechanical standpoint, the act of foam rolling your IT band will widen the tissues perpendicularly to the TFL and insertion. It's plausible to speculate that this will increase tension in the TFL and exacerbate TFL tightness as widening the IT band will shorten it. Additionally, the TFL is known to become over-active if the gluteal complex is underactive, to assist in pelvic stabilization. Lastly, I have been told by a physical therapist (that I was being treated by) that a hyper-active TFL can promote chronic hip external rotation, which will weaken the gluteal complex further by restricting internal rotation
As a 28 y/o who played football 🏈 continuously for 18 years and multiple other sports recreationally, I continued to lift weights as if I was still playing football and felt with injuries that I just figured I had from wear and tear. I was studying and being trained to direct a specific functional training/strength and conditioning program. It was there when I was introduced to all the proper ways to train and rehab. Foam rolling played a major roll in helping me rid those “injuries” that I assumed would never go away, gain range of motion and improve mobility. The problem is, there are so many people that just start doing something that they see and now things become a trend on Social Media but those people never learn the proper techniques or even try and understand the levels. I could go on forever about this but I’ll assume (which I’ve learned you should never do) but since whoever is reading this is also watching this video, that you get what I’m saying. Also I’d like to say that I found this video helpful and a tad frustrating as you seam to have talked in circles a bunch of times. Solid video overall though. Thanks
I've always suspected that the reason "myofascial release" worked was not that it removed pain, but gave my body a different pain to focus on, long enough to finish the workout.
As Spock said, "even speculation require some facts..." Great video and work. I'm a biomedical engineer and can really appreciate and love your content and the way you express and convey complicated concepts. There's something beautiful to be said about simplicity. Oh and I've also had a bowel obstruction that required surgery with that awful NG tube...by far, the most awful experience I've ever had as well. Glad u made it through ok!
I'd love to see a comparison of healthy vs defective connective tissues. I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and it would be interesting to see what my tissues might be doing in here.
I have EDS and tall. Foam rolling my quads helps me stand straighter using my anterior muscles better. Doing Feldenkrais helps a lot. Also yoga. Have to keep muscles activated and lubricated.
Rolling the IT band is the one band you shouldn't be rolling because the studies indicate no change occurs. Muscle bellies are a completely different animal. The IT band is not a muscle, it attaches to muscles. You won't do any good rolling the IT band, but we know for a fact routine and consistent massage on muscle bellies will dramatically improve flexibility and function of the muscle. This is only if you lack flexibility and you are losing function. This happens in high volume training, running every day, playing sports you've played for several years. So yes you should definitely be rolling your muscle bellies, probably under the guidance of a trainer and probably not if you barely train.
guys, foam rolling was never intended for tendons, ligaments etc.. use them on muscles.. tense muscles, like if it's just really overactive for some reason you can tell it to calm the f down
I noticed an exceptional difference in my flexibility. I had been doing daily stretching for flexibility. One day I remembered my nubby foam rollers and right after I noticed significant gains in my flexibility. I went from consistently being a few inches off the ground due to tight hamstrings to having my splits. Not just that day but ever since then(but just from that one session. I don't use them that often). It just sounds like there isn't a lot of information out there to be so conclusive they don't work. But they were the thing that loosened my hamstrings. I also don't think you can say they don't work but also acknowledge that Myofascial and muscle work is powerful. The results that chiropractors get from incorporating mastered myofasical theory is unparalleled. Rolled out leg muscles move notably differently. There is no way to get that benefit without a massage from some instrument sooo.
In my experience, foam rolling is not worth the time involved. However, there are some very effective uses of foam rollers. In this video, in every example of somebody using a foam roller, they are misusing it. An example of an effective use of foam rollers is for thoracic spine extension. In that technique, the roller is used as pivot point and the user does not roll back and forth. The only time that the foam actually rolls is when the user is moving from releasing one area of the spine to another. It does not move during the release process.
The type of foam roller used is what makes the difference in my opinion. I use the Rumble Roller and the Hyper Ice: Viper 2 vibration foam roller on myself and my patients in physical therapy during exercise rehab sessions. Their recovery time from injury is greatly improved with the application of these small apparatuses. Also, for me, using these specific foam rollers personally helped me get rid of sciatic pain in just 4 days. However, improper use of a foam roller can cause more harm than good as it's more than just plopping down on it and rolling back and forth. Foam rolling has to be done in specific ways to get the full benefit of using it.
Personal Anecdote: I am a 6 year military vet, have been through a ton of beat-me-up training, and currently have a high impact job. In the past, I have been slammed on the ground and tossed around like a doll, where I've had to go to a chiropractor to have them put all my Lego pieces back together. Since all of that, I have a morning routine involving my foam roller, and a specific set of stretches to get my sacrum, hips, and neck mobile. I'm telling you, before these stretches, after periods of dishevelment, I feel so unathletic and out of whack. If I don't get my morning stretches in, I don't undo the buildup of damage I do to my body. Slouching on the couch, sitting in a car lopsided because of my gun or the canted seats, skipping gym days, etcetera twists me up. and rolling with stretching lays me flat again. I know it's anecdotal, but when I do my stretches and rolling I literally feel the pieces get put back into alignment.
The fact you made it for us to skip around chapters deserves you a full watch straight through. That and the fact it's high quality info/video. Good job
What about the people who believe what the text books from the national academy of sports medicine tell them? Or the people with physiology degrees? Or the people with 30+ years of clinical experience, all saying the same thing that Mayofascial release works and is a reccomended part of a biomechanical correcting exercise program? Are they all not scientific enough for you as this random youtuber???? Man, talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
I’ve heard about this. My advice is to do short gentle sessions. Like massage, there are benefits to the circulatory system and the short term flexibility element helps me safely get into stretching routines. I think people just go to hard. It shouldn’t be painful.
Thanks for making this video available to the general public. As a manual massage therapist with more than 20 years of working experience, I always recommend my clients not to use foam roller on the IT band because it will make the entire upper legs tighter instead. I usually recommend them to use different techniques to release IT band with a better result.
I tried numerous highly recommended exercises to prevent hip bursitis. Foam rolling turned out to be the ONLY thing that worked. Not because I believed it would work. I had no such belief! Just a determination to keep trying every possibility to prevent the need for hip replacement surgery. I never travel anywhere without my short 12" foam roller.
Thanks for this video. I'm a PT and see so many using the foam roller. I love the links you've added and I'll be sure to read up on your research so I can provide facts to clients. Super interesting. Thank you!
According to a legend, two anatomists once pulled a truck with an IT-band. Point being, that it’s function is to be tight. If you experience pain on the outside of the knee, it might be caused by the IT-band rubbing over the epycondyle, which is caused by an overly active TFl and a weak gluteus medius. Therefore, strengthening the abductors and stretching/foam roalling the TFl may be a solution.
The fact that it's strong enough to pull a truck has nothing to do with tightness. When it's referred to as "Tight" it refers to the restriction of normal motion, which is definitely not it's function.
I’m always open to well-conducted current research and enjoy continuing to expand my knowledge base. That being said, I brought a small foam roller with me on a long hike and it was the only way I could get down the mountain with out serious knee pain. But I rolled my glutes, quads and ITBs. As a personal trainer and massage therapist, I swear by them for myself and my clients (when used correctly).
I've been in practice as an LMT for 6 years now and had to click on this video. As with anything, you can definitely overdo foam rolling. There's controlled inflammation like from a deep tissue massage and there's excessive inflammation that makes things worse. I like what you mentioned about damaging blood vessels. Fascia is such an interesting piece of the puzzle that is the musculoskeletal structure. It's made of a lot of the same stuff you'd find in gelatin and loosens with heat, assuming it's not already inflamed. As I get older I'm seeing the importance of holistic approach with the muscles, that is to say tackling the root problems as a whole rather than just the surface issue. Yes, the client may be having IT band pain, but what's causing it could be bad gait and the surrounding muscles causing that IT band pain. Form follows function with the body as well as use it or lose it. I recommend my clients to follow up with a physical therapist, their MD, and get into a good body movement routine - like yoga, Tai Chi, Xi Gong, or even just simple stretching.
I had a bad left IT band few years ago. So bad I had to stop running. I rested for two weeks with no improvement. Got me really scared because I couldn’t afford a doctor/physio. Made some research and foam rolled religiously for a week. Pain went away. Left leg felt good as new. Every time I feel stiff now, foam running relieves it and makes my legs feel lighter. I will forever preach the gospel of the foam roller!
Thanks to YOGABODY Teachers College www.yogabody.com/iha for sponsoring this video. Check out their science-based, online yoga certification courses.
Can you do a video along the lines of Dr.Hightower hammer and chisel? I'd really love to try that but I'd love more to see what deep effects that and other treatments might have long term or what it's effecting
Can you please do a video on myositis ossificans...
Is there a way I can participate in research like this?
Hence it's very important to stress physical fitness & limberness from an early age and keep doing so throughout.. so we don't attach our bodies and muscles and fascia in the wrong way that needs fixing because of years of bad movement habits, posture or non-exercise
Thank you for this video!!!
I can't wait to see your video about fascia.
After a year or 2 now, I am still dumbfounded & curious what happened to me that caused me to have some kind of embolism during one of my myoskeletal alignment therapy session. I stopped seeing her since even though still owe me a few more sessions if not a refund. I'm scared to go back.
She was gentle too on the skin as I was laying facing up on the table during the bodywork session so it wasn't like she was being harsh although I can imagine her instructing me to inhale/exhale with her slight push and pull would be the problem.
It was my exposure towards the world of interoception (the mind body connection) and exteroception.
At first, everything seemed fine, but after my therapist worked around my head/neck a few times as she was instructing me to inhale/exhale specifically accordingly to her push/pull (she claims she created this technique) I felt a bubble rushed from my stomach to my chest and neck.
As I was laying on the table facing up, I just shooked and I got off the table immediately because it felt like something strange was happening with my blood flow, blood circulation or whatever it was that was moving in and around my body.
It was frightening.
That's when I started feeling like their was a bubble floating in the back of my head/neck towards my chest on the left.
It was an insane feeling. I couldn't think straight or function correctly because all I can feel was this constant bubble swirling and moving in my body.
I couldn't even move slightly without that feeling in.
I'm not sure how to describe it so it makes sense and doesn't sound crazy, but it was literally like me being a cup and their is this fluid in my body swirling with every movement I make.
Nobody believed me. Thought I was crazy because at the time, I couldn't even stand or lay down without that feeling.
Probably people still thinking I'm crazy even till today.
But the bubble like fluid feeling started disappearing in me after I got a blood draw multiple times that week.
I kept demanding a blood test.
That bubble/fluid sensation rushed out of my body to the syringe during one of my blood test.
That's when I realize..
..it has to be something that dealt with my blood flow or blood circulation and not just a psychological thing I made up in my head because it made no sense that this bubble/fluid sensation just intensely sharply traveled from my neck to somewhere in my left chest, then to my right chest and.....straight out to my right arm where I was being blood drawn.
.....sounds crazy, but ever since that experience, it changed my whole outlook on western/eastern perspective towards health. It doesn't fit in with the western perspective of traditional healthcare nor does it fit in exactly with what I know about eastern views of health or so I think. I remember, we reference how similar the whole thing like is to tai chi except she's the one during the slightly push and pulling of my fascia muscle.
It felt like I had my blood bended in me as she was touching me slightly with every inhale/exhale I make.
Avatar reference, but I'm not joking or trolling here. Scary..
Not sure if this is consider malpractice because she doesn't hold a degree other than an Associate in Massage Therapy & a few certs on posture & fasica claiming to be a master of musculoskeletal alighnment, but whatever the case is I can't do anything about it now about, but spread the word and tell people that this whole thing that seem like "hocus pocus" is dead real and it's scary. I don't even know if I want to hold it against her. I'm not sure what to do.
The effects of fascia with every inhale/exhale and how it affects every muscle, organ, blood including your neurons in the body needs to be studied in depth. These stuff can kill you.
I was lucky to still be alive. If it was an embolism which I have no doubt it has to be if not something else that deals with the blood, then I could of died.
On top of that, I think the healthcare profession needs to take in consideration of patient's opinions/feedbacks & studies and research more because they're the one feeling the interoception effects. Tired of being patients being looked at as crazy. I have studied multiple disciplines and I grew up in a household where my father trains doctors for a living growing up. I'm pretty sure I know a thing or two about healthcare.
I've had back issues for many years, and to the point that I could barely walk and almost had a spinal operation. What has saved me is the humble foam roller. I roll out my back every day and it smoothes away any tension which may be there. Now aged 75 years, I have a happy back! 😊
That is good to know !
What spine condition did you have?
@@thevoidisshining Stenosis! I'm happy I did not go ahead with the surgery when I see family members struggling after their failed back surgeries. 😕!
Rolling is the best and easiest way to treat pain, even better than any pain killer. Back pain has normally two reason: either abs too tight or hip flexors too short, or vice versa on the back. Stretch and use e.g. a tennis ball for rolling your abs, and you will feel how back pain will disappear or will feel better.
@@ロース-z7m Thanks for the explanation! It's certainly helpful in my situation! In fact I'm planning an international trip next month and have already packed a roller as an essential item! 🙃!
Born too late to explore the seas, born too early to get a definitive answer on foam rolling, but born just in time for Institute of Human Anatomy videos
Born to loose but built to win,, Invest in some good superfoods and intense exersizes along with cold water therephy to unlock your full potential. Its never too late!
Born to late to live an enjoyable life 😵💫
😂
Born to be wild.
you can explore the sea depths, instead of the surface.😁
24 Y/O here! This might be controversial, but rolling my back, tight hips, inner thighs, glutes, calves, and feet out with a hard foam roller or lacrosse ball has drastically reduced MY recovery time for running, and biking. I find that when I’m lazy and don’t roll out, my recovery time is longer, and I’m a lot more sore. I have also found foam rolling my back (with breathing) has been one of the only things that really lowers my back pain. It might take us a while to get quality information on this topic for future suggested uses, but I will probably continue to use rollers as long as I’m not feeling lazy.
Arnica could do amazing things. Mid 80s Nan put it on right after a drastic fall, not 1 visible bruise arose
Not controversial, I truly physically feel the benefit after changing to a harder roller with peaks vs the flatter one I was using. I will admit that the smoother ones didn't really do much for me
That is because of the increased blood flow from rolling out your body. It decreases doms(delayed onset muscle soreness).
taking a walk could give you the same benefits and doesn’t require aggressive stretching of the fascia
*Its all mentality. You're thinking that it helps you recover so it will. But that may not really be the case long term*
I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, connective tissue / collagen disorder, and this fascia explanation FINALLY explains to me clearly why my body has so many challenges due to faulty connective tissue and what that actually means. Wow, THANK YOU!
Yeah this guy is such a great teacher!
Hey, hey! hEDS right here! Not surprised to see another EDSer here. I think we tend to really research the body as and our condition in a major way, since so few doctors know much about EDS (or even the fascia throughout our bodies). Anyway, cheers!
I have EDS..this is great info. I do Full Body work/ strength and mobility together not separate. I feel so much more stable and balanced and rolling is great for me. Love Feldenkreis!!
Me too! EDS I mean
Ayy, hello fellow EDS gang!
First I will say this was extremely informative, and I understand your point. With that said, I feel like there is enough anecdotal evidence that can't be ignored. I think we just don't fully understand what is happening with our muscular system when we do things like massage, stretching, and foam rolling. Foam rolling may not provide benefits in the way that we commonly think, but we can't deny the benefits because they are clearly there.
I will tell you first hand that I can feel a physical difference in fatigue levels and recovery time depending on if I foam roll immediately after a heavy leg day versus when I don't. Improved blood flow means faster recovery. That's all anyone needs to know. And the possible increase in inflammation is likely due to that increased blood flow. Sometimes acute inflammation can be good if it prevents long term inflammation.
Foam rolling can also provide assisted stretching (i.e. stretching out calves, lats, triceps, etc). I swear by foam rollers and will continue to preach their place in fitness and recovery.
As a Myotherapy Practitioner I love this! I have found that people with any lower body pain, working out all the hip muscles, especially the glutes, is the first place I start and often results are immediate. Rarely does relief come from working right on the IT band except to free up adhesions that might be actually lateral quad muscles.
Possibly off topic but i can absolutely attest to this. I went to PT for severe leg and knee pain. Come to find out my legs were doing all the support work of my lower body with little glute engagement thus wearing the whole leg down.
Stabilise the foot and lower back, mobilise the hips and ankle, then see how your knee feels.
Most of the time after mobilising the hips and foot you will require movement under load through full ranges of motion to keep that mobility and keep your motor patterns happy.
Yes! Rolling is to relieve the pain one is experiencing. To concentrate on the trigger point that needs releasing. It’s not indicated if there is no “pain”. Foam rolling is a therapeutic modality. Not an everyday workout. It was never meant to be used “willy nilly” as a warm-up or warm-down excercise.
I’m a runner. My left leg was killing me last year and into this one. I tried a foam roller and it released some knot I had in my left gluteus maximus that relieved my pain immediately. Now I think it was more that I needed a sports massage rather than a foam roller but the pain is gone all the same. 7+ mile runs get some muscles tight and it does feel good to massage those muscles. I’m not certain it's what my muscles need most but it does FEEL good.
Fascinating!
@@theanatomylab I liken it to popping my knuckles, might get yelled at by an orthopedic doctor but it feels good.
@@theanatomylab more like fascia-nating
Sounds like your left foot in the landing inward.
@@playerforty4621 it was. I was forcing it with "runner's knee" and some time off and massaging that IT band area sure helped a ton. I’m running great again. Now whether it was the foam roller, the 4 weeks off, the combination or just the massaging of the hip, thigh and calf muscles is what fixed it. Either way, form has been corrected and the problem was gone, sort of. After adjusting my stride it was like installing a tonka toy car part into my sports suspension and it took time to build back.
In my experience in working with physios, you don't actually want to roll, you want to sit on a spot until it starts to release, then stop and stretch. But only do any of this after you've warmed up the muscles and tendons.
100%. I believe this too. I see often people running these foam rollers up and down their legs at such a rapid pace, and they even do it with those knobbly rollers which im not a fan about at all. I much prefer the harder and smooth rollers where i can pin point specific pressure on a site, rather than pinpoint specific pressure on a site, but also have other pressures applied elsewhere where i dont want because of the roller design. If i want to apply more specific pressure, which is possibly what garnered the development of the knobblies, i would use a hard ball. And still, i wouldnt be running it up and down. I did do this in the past, and it worked for a bit, and felt nice, but over time i realised i was doing more foam rolling to relieve pain than actually training, so i switched things up, slowed things down, and im much better for it. Only foam roll once every so often now. But i think that would be a good study. Have patients be instructed to foam roll in a particular fashion, and then have a control group whereby instructions would only be to foam roll, indicating toward a experiment on a certain technique for example. The patients would in fact be blinded to the technique, as they would simply imagine that they are being treated by foam rolling, not the technique. Many things would need to be done to convince the jury and the ethical reviewers on this, but im sure it wouldnt be difficult.
also i think an important aspect of both groups, particularly the control, is that both interventions are recorded very precisely, such as the individuals must in fact be ok with themselves and their treatments based on their grouping, be videoed for example to be shown to public scrutiny. As many aspects as possibly must be controlled for to allow for replication of the intervention. Would be very interesting to dive into the research that has been done already.
I figured rolling was part of warm up.
Do you use yoga/tenía balls to do so? I found from my experience that as you mentioned, focusing on one point without movement is best.
@@nissadiantina7091 any hard ball around the size of a tennis ball would do. Tennis balls go soft, so you can get a hockey ball for cheap, but they are slippery and very hard. I have this rubber like ball, similar to a dog's chew toy, but not slippery in any way. I'm not sure of the name, but any physiotherapist or sport shop should have similar. And they're not expensive at all.
I was taught in high school that rolling's primary purpose was to loosen the fascia and allow better blood flow into the deep tissue. But we were also taught to roll slow and focus on certain muscles.
same here and I was taught do not roll the band
As a massage therapist, I'm of the belief that most people use foam rollers wrong. They roll too fast. Slow rolling and focus on small areas is better than just quickly rolling up and down. Warming is what helps release fascia. I'd still take cupping over foam rolling
@@cristina8868 think about dough. If you heat it, yes it will get soft but you still need to stretch it. When fascia gets tight it restricts blood flow so heating then stretching or foam rolling will ease the restrictions. If you don't like foam rollers they have handheld rollers. I like those better personally. Also if you heat, use moist heat. Wet a med size towel, wringe it out then microwave it for 1-2 mins. Repeat as it cools.
I wanted to add hydration is also key to keeping fascia loose.
@@brianp942 doesn’t cupping make you skin loose? Id be willing to do it but thats the only side effect that I know of
@@racer7007 actually quite the opposite. Cupping helps with collagen production. Some people actually use cupping to tighten loose skin around mid section after weight loss. Some even say it can be used for weight loss. Those last 2 are not in my scope of practice so I can't make any claims to whether it works or not.
@@racer7007 i personally do facial cupping on myself to help with collagen production and reduce wrinkles
Fascinating video. It raised a couple of questions for me that you may want to address in the future. The first is, “What are trigger points, and what happens when you put pressure on them to release them?” Also, “Other than feeling good, what does massage do for the body and what does it mean when they say it loosens tight muscles?” Thanks!
Fascia-nating lmao
You can Google all your?’s.
@@fitnessbabe7958 can someone do it for us and post it tho 🤣
Massage degrees are around 1,000 classroom hours and upwards of $10k because the answers to these questions aren't simple enough to answer on youtube. Good questions
@@nathanhyde2079 Love it
In my experience, releasing the hip adductors and hip flexors helps a lot with IT band related pain. If you think about it, hip adductors being overly activated means the IT band is stretched. Most people have weakened hip extensors and hip abductors. Foam rolling these would make the problem worse
How do you release the adductors?
Weak = need to be worked on in order to make strong.
What is your expertise in this field?
Yeah, most people really don’t understand how much the feet, legs, and hips directly affect the back… especially the lower back. The hip is the keystone of the body and it’s center of of gravity, not an isolated component.
In other words lots of people aren't exercising properly, neglecting to do simple stretches and exercises and going for foam rolling instead.
@@undeadpresident As a 54 year old I can tell you, you stiffen up a LOT faster as you get older. You gotta do some exercise & stretching every day to maintain flexibility and function. Even a little is better than nothing. E.g A couple rounds of Salute to the Sun.
Im just 14 and this Channel will help me Advanced when I get to college And I'll dominate my Class!
Yes!
GOOD LUCK YOUNG ONE!!!!
By far, knowledge is the best gift you can give yourself as a youngster. Keep that brain active big dawg!!!
You’re 14 and can barely form a sentence.
So, I doubt it.
Good for you buddy. 👍
You’ll be like me, you will go in to your first day and will always remember what you saw and the smells, but by the end of the semester you will be able to do your work and studies in lab while eating a hamburger and fries with the other hand ! Best time of your life !
As a licensed massage therapist I always love your videos, near the end of this one when you mentioned foam rolls being able to damage the blood vessels is one of the many reasons why I frequently refuse to use what I consider excessive pressure on clients.
Simply roll very slowly from the hand or feet direction to the heart, and it will support natural veins circulation.
@@ロース-z7m I'm aware it will support the vein direction and flow. But superficial veins, such as those to the skin, can still be ruptured even following that method. All my techniques are fairly slow to decrease the risk of breaking a blood vessel. That said, natural vein circulation doesn't mean to much with massage therapy as a 60 minute massage has the same benefit as a 5 minute walk on the blood circulator system.
@@nathantanner9433 For sure, this could be a problem especially for people with certain risk factors. Although am pretty sure if that happens it will hurt, and I'd expect visibly injured tissue. I hadn't thad that problem so far. Rolling is great for decreasing tension in the tissue, and also perfect for reducing pain
@@ロース-z7m I've had blood vessels rupture from someone doing a poor job drawing blood. It didn't hurt anymore than a typical blood draw except the area became more tender. I'm not apposed to rolling, I foam roll fairly regularly, my comment was about massage therapy and why I don't work the IT bands directly or use excessive pressure.
This videos argument against foam rolling is based on a false premise. The problem is not fascia, the actual problem is oxalates (mostly calcium oxalates), which are like microscopic rocks that damage tissue. If people would only use the right electrolytes (bicarbonates from mineral water - especially magnesium) and replace inorganic minerals with organic minerals (by supplementing with fulvic acid and orthosilicic acid. Note: try to avoid mixing acidic stuff with alkaline and start off with the pH regulating electrolyte salts), these oxalates can be broken up by foam rolling and removed from the body, and then the body can actually repair itself from said oxalates and their breaking up. I hope this wasn't too convoluted.
In my experience, as a professional classical ballet dancer, IT Band rolling is extremely beneficial; and even more specifically, trigger point release of the TFL and piriformus appears to improve active and passive range of the hip, muscle activation quality of the entire glute and hip flexor area and even releave symptoms of patellar tendopathy.
This is my entire issue with my left patella which doesn't track properly and causes knee clicking and pain. How do you personally do trigger point release on the TFL and piriformis? With a massage therapist?
As a massage therapist this is really interesting information! There's so many conflicting opinions and pseudo science surrounding health and wellness that getting the results of studies is fantastic. Thank you as always for the video, this channel is fantastic
No difference for surgery and doctors
@@adamgrimsley6455 yup
We need more massage therapists like you. There's so much misinformation or there from/within your industry.
@@adamgrimsley6455 Funny you say that. I somewhat agree. When I was getting my paramedic certification, and working in the ER. It was amazing to see how it seemed like doctors a lot of times just really did not know what they were doing. But on the flip side of that, I've seen some pretty incredible treatments and complicated surgeries that have saved lives.
To follow up with that, my son would not be alive today, or at least not nearly as functional, if it wasn't for the incredible advancements of NICU care.
I’m a massage therapist and these videos are so helpful. I sometimes get clients that think massage will “fix” their muscles and I have to explain to them what exactly massage and myofascial release can definitively do for them and that massage is not a fix it is a treatment, and if you want permanent relief you have to do some work yourself, similar to how instead of foam rolling after every workout to help with pain it would be more beneficial to simply improve their form so issues don’t happen in the first place. Great video as always!
do you perform massage with your balls?
What do you recommend for beyond tight psoas and ilopsoas? It’s ruining my well being. They will not loosen up. What type of doctor should I see please? I would so appreciate an answer, it would help me so much.
Foam rolling works amazing for me. Back when I ran 5-10 miles daily, best recovery came from foam rolling right after. So whatever the science, it kept me training hard and consistent. I work too hard as a construction worker to run alot anymore, but that roller still helps amazing.
i pulled a back muscle a few years ago.. it was painful, it was either foam roll it or have the doctor give me pain meds.. i don't want meds! so i foam rolled the hell out of it.. after the first foam roll bam.. 3 days later that muscle was good 2 go!
@@dirkdiggler2379 The question is though, would that muscle have been fine 3 days later without the foam roller.
@@stevenclark5173 nope! It would have taken a week or longer lol
You really didn't give your body some rest huh?
@@stevenclark5173nope! have you ever run long distance?
As someone who had to get a fasciotomy from chronic compartment syndrome I really enjoyed all the info on fascia. Even through my own research I still was left with a lot of questions. Loved the video!
Thanks for a great video. I am a Physical Therapist (old and opinionated). Thru past experience treating patients and thru my own experience I do not recommend rolling. Time spent stretching (long prolonged stretching) in conjunction with movement (increased blood flow to all tissues) is my recommended practice. Of course identifying muscle balance or imbalance and focusing on proper movement is another piece of the puzzle. A consistent stretching routine (at least 30 minute a day) will make believers out of "foam rollers addicts", time well spent and long term benefits compared to perching on top of a roller (the stage in a gym to get attention),
But what about doing both
@@dreamjackson5483 totally. I do both. I would not give up either.
i think if you don't overdo it foamrolling can be extremely pleasuring. it's great for relaxation. when i'm really sore i will foamroll to get rid of pain and relax my tense, sore muscles followed by very light mobility work. it feels like taking out that tension is already benefitial in itself.
Really interesting. Would be fascinated to see similar videos around other 'post exercise aids' like percussion guns, vibrating balls, peanuts, etc.
Oooh yeah! That would be really interesting. Some of these products cost hundreds!
oh no... those sound wrong
Cupping too
@@Tara_Masika never heard of any of them. Sounds like scams
@@SoulDelSol You're right, it could well be a scam. That's why it would be so interesting. Lots of athletes use the precession guns for warm up and recovery. The top of the range Theragun is very expensive about £500 but there are hundreds of different makes avalible.
I don’t know why,but the roller does work for me,I have years of bodybuilding,and roller literally helped me with almost all muscle tension problems.
Little tricks for you to release tightness.
1. Put a comfortable (just to be a little bit uncomfortable) pressure on the muscle that you want to work or stretch.
2. Go slowly, very slowly for 1cm-1sec in the sense of the fiber. Yeah it take times, but it's worth it.
3. You can hold positions sometimes too (for about 30sec to 1min) and adding more pressure while time passes and your muscles are stretching.
4. If it hurts, it would be more likely to damage you more than you already are, so be aware of yourself and don't act ''tough''.
5. Rest and do that 2-3 times a week until satisfaction on every part you feel tightness.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I did 6500hours + of massage as a massage therapist in like 5 years, so I've been practicing A LOT. So feel free to adapt that to yourself.
Have a good day, may your pain be released.
I use it to help me alleviate some back tightness especially in my spinal cord by causing it to crack up and down the column as I roll out my back. Similar to how you crack your knuckles. I don’t do this all the time but sometimes I feel like I have a knot in my back and this definitely helps. So this just seems like a long winded video about something that’s either going to help you or not but it’s not really going to hurt you. I was just scrolling through looking for the TLDR.
thank you for the summary!
@@BuffaloWill your welcome
I think you meant vertebral column, not spinal cord.
Your doing the lords work!
Actually he mentioned that it could cause more damage in some cases based on the information he was providing
I LOVE the reference list idea!!! I am obsessed with reading the research
Glad to see a fellow nerd!
Yes! Thank you from another nerd!
@@theanatomylab oh you know it
I think the disconnect between the strong anecdotes and inconsistent research results stems from the fact that most of the effects we experience with foam rolling come from modulating nervous system activity. Thus, environmental factors, psychological factors, and possibly even sociological factors could play a role in how foam rolling affects the tissues it's targeting.
Absolutely agree!! Fantastic point!
The high degree of innervation of fascia has always been the x-factor, in my eyes.
Lol, yea, if ur body is cold and stiff the foam rolling will feel different than if the body is warm
Psychological and sociological factors? Ahahahaha...
It's just a simple of massaging the muscle tissue to relieve pressure and pain. Nothing more, nothing less!
@@Asiansxsymbol how do you think massaging the muscles works? It provokes a response from the nerves, which are connected to the brain. The psychology can't be separated from the physiology in this case.
Please please do a video about the sinuses. 🙏🏻 I am a chronic sinusitis sufferer and would like to learn more about the anatomy of it. Thanks and more power to your channel!
Same. Chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, and mutant polyps that all returned just 30 days after surgery. I didnt always have sinus problems, it's something that developed and ENT docs and allergists do not know why. Super expensive biologic treatment Dupixent helps, but even with financial aid isn't affordable. I have completely lost m sense of smell for several years now. HELP!!
It's caused by candida overgrowth
Iodine deficiency.
My sinuses were stuffed up year round my whole first 25 years of life cause of allergies....seemingly seasonal allergies...I got my blood tested and quit dairy, gluten, and soy and miraculously the allergies went away and only come back if I eat those foods. Going on allergy free for the last 10 years.
@@jaym9858 visit Institute for Taste and Smell in Philadelphia. They specialize in this.
I use a foam roller to alleviate spine problems I have from surviving being hit by a car doing approx. 45mph while riding my skateboard. I call it ironing my bone shirt and it sounds like a stick running across a picket fence when I do it and it helps to relieve the pain I live with everyday.
The crunch! I totally relate
As a practicing pt I can say: Very good video. I don’t have a problem with foam rollers at all. I even use them with patients myself. BUT most people (and some of my colleagues) tend to forget that there is no evidence at all for foam rollers helping with tight fascias, like you are pointed out. For me, they are a great tool for increasing bloodflow and release tension in MUSCLES which is supported by actual evidence. But you will use a foam roll in a different way and intention when focusing on muscles. Using them for fascial release is, at least for now, scientifically bullshit.
My pt recommended I pick up a foam roller recently. Back in August my neighbor's dog pulled me over, I landed on my outstretched arm and ended up with an avulsion fracture of the greater tuberosity that almost needed surgery. I avoided surgery but my shoulder stiffened up horrendously. Laying on the foam roller, letting my back muscles relax, and the shoulder stretch feels amazing.
@@angel66136 physical therapist
Nope. I've used them and they fixed all the tightness in my back and hamstrings better than other form of PT.
@@markpommett5712 have you even read my comment? I lit said that you can use them for muscles (fe your hamstrings..) and that they can help there - just not by the mechanics they promote while selling foam rollers. You can achieve similar things with the same outcome without foam rollers but if they work best for someone, using them will work. I even said that i use them myself sometimes?
This channel will attract more booming biological scientist from young age then anything else in current world. 👍
We hope so!
@@theanatomylab that’s the spirit!
Great video!
Wish you’d ask the big question: “can anyone actually feel myofascial restrictions?” As opposed to, “are myofibrils responsible for restrictions.”
Let us define “stiffness” or “tightness!”
I have an IT Band issue that hurts my knee. Had it for years and thought it was just arthritis. Watched a Jeff Cavalier on using a foam roller to treat it, and the pain went away for a long time. I don't roll it often now, but it definitely helps me.
Do you know if this IT band issue is causing your patella to be pulled outward? Cuz that’s what I’m dealing with right now and it sucks.
@@114avataraang don't think it's pulled outward, just hurts
@@114avataraang when I’ve had IT band tightness it specifically hurts under the knee, but sometimes the side. I have definitely felt relief with both foam rollers and manual pressure, followed by some form correction, like making sure you’re not torquing your knee inwards as you bend and making sure that you’re engaging your quads and glutes as as you push off like when going up a step.
Yes, more data please! My two cents: never roll the IT band directly. Instead, massage/release the muscles around it, esp the TFL if you have ITBS, but don't rely solely on rollers. Consider hands, balls, rollers, theragun, cupping, and other options. I use a plethora of techniques to stay supple.
Agree, should be common sense, but....
My teacher told me this years ago. He was so on point with everything he taught the class
Thanks for giving us options to skip through to certain points! I love watching your videos beginning to end but I love to link people certain parts of your videos during conversations. And this makes it so helpful for me to find certain points. Love your channel
The issue with foam rolling is that it's directing the pressure directly "down" into the tissue. Rolfing or skilled fascial release can contact/move the tissue in different directions and specifically parallel with the direction of fibers almost lifting it instead of just pushing down directly into it.
that energy field!
I was debating remaining a kinesiology major and honestly, this channel kept me fascinated by the body! Thank you
Happy to help!
That sounds like a really interesting major! What made you interested in the first place, out of curiosity? 😊
I actually quit a PT and Kinesiology major because of the large amt of BS/pseudoscience they were teaching. So many “techniques” are based on nothing but anecdotal evidence. Drugs and surgery typically either work or don’t but therapy is a large pile of opinions based on very little evidence and in many cases is simply placebo.
As someone who suffered from extreme acute ITB syndrome for years as a collegiate athlete and afterwards, this type of information is invaluable. If only we had known this 15 years ago.
Foam rolling has been a lifesaver for me & my family, especially my mother, I've taught family members how to use it & have helped them heal various body parts that had tendinitis & other ailments such as plantar fascistis, frozen shoulder, costochondritis, headaches caused by stiff muscles, tight psoas muscles which were causing hip issues, aching quads, tennis elbow, sciatica pain, tight pelvic floor etc. Some of these things may have even required surrgery as what the Dr. was prescribing was NOT working. I myself was hunched over at one point from a new job i started, i caught my reflection & it scared me, I wound up using the roller as I hadnt used it in a long time & had instant results. Its helped me a lot with chronic pain as well, I had headaches for my entire life until one day I figured out it was caused by tight muscles aroiund my core, what a relief that was.
I have Ehlos Danlos Syndrome. My fascia is always so painful. It would be an interesting video on EDS and how this affects the collagen.
We have a video in the works on EDS!
Oh yes please! I have been waiting forever for and EDS vid! When do you think it will be up?
@@theanatomylab amazing, thank you!! I also have EDS and was about to ask 😁
My daughter and a granddaughter have both been diagnosed with EDS. I don't know if I have it, but I'm in the genetic "chain".
I'm wondering the same for lipedema.
I love to foam roll my back like lower back period pain or general soreness from workouts. It feels so good and I feel instantly better. 🙌
Have u tried intercourse ?
hey IHA, as a personal trainer and a student of anatomy and physiology I wanted to say thank you.... I love the depth that you guys take your topic to; also videos like this are perfect right now because there are a plethora of fitness influencers and non-reputable people that clients are blindly following advice from. This little dose of scientifically backed discussion is perfect for the fitness community!
So nice you mentioned Feldenkrais! The interesting things for me as a practitioner, is that mostly I haven't seen other practitioners use it as a massage tool in this way, but rather as a support for different parts of the body, guide for mobility, and sensory tool.
The way I always used foam rollers was to make stretching easier, and get deeper more effective stretches with less discomfort. Which actually fits pretty well with what the research seems to support. It increases flexibility and reduces pain for a little while, making it easier to stretch those muscles. I have no idea if that stretching is actually more effective for recovery, I just know it feels better lol.
Ay a physiotherapist i barely ever do stretching with patients. Its just not what we thought. Training the muscle is far more important than stretching.
@@NocholasP like I said lol it feels good to stretch sometimes, and in my own experience, when I stopped stretching regularly, I lost range of motion in my hamstrings. You can do whatever you want with your patients I didn't even say it helps recovery long-term, I just like it.
@@NocholasPhuh lol if you do strength training then stretching is key…
@@NocholasPI'll stay in my lane, but please do some research. 🤦♀️
This is what I've been doing and I think it helps. I foam roll slowly for just a couple minutes on each muscle that I'm going to stretch, and I feel like it helps get the blood flowing in parts of of the muscle that normally feel cold if that makes sense. Like squeezing the capillaries that haven't been getting much stimulation. Obviously doing warmup exercises helps with circulation too. Been doing the Hyperbolic Stretching program which I stumbled across, it's a PNF style stretching, which is new to me but I actually feel like I'm making progress now instead of just kind of aimlessly stretching.
This was extremely well done! You covered something quite complex. Would love to see an exploration of pudental nerve and potential injuries (i.e., cyclist's syndrome). Such an important structure, few know about it.
Great video. And awesome explanation about why form rolling does not do as much as people believe that it does.
Lovee dr Chris Reynor…..
Wish someone could explain/figure out my 7 years of groin pain
This was really interesting. I have never foam-rolled with the intent to break up facial restrictions. I use my various foam rollers the way someone might use a massage ball , but it's convenient because it ...rolls...and is easier to use with larger muscle groups. When I feel muscular tightness or knots I spend time on that area to release the knot. I think it's important to know enough about your body to determine what is actually muscular tightness and what could be tendinitis or an injury, or simply a sore muscle from a workout. Without a doubt they can be very helpful , but I still don't roll my IT band
Great video. But frustrating that we don't have more info on this yet since the anecdotes frequently suggest the opposite. When I was triathlon training I noticed consistently in my journalling that when I rolled before bed after a training day, I'd be recovered enough the next day to train again, and if I forgot, I'd be far too sore the next day to train. I assume it had something to do with forcing out blood so that new blood could come in and speed up my recovery (as you said, "improve blood flow, oxygen saturation, and inflammation"). But of course I can never cancel out placebo. But that coaches and YT videos continue to tell me not to do it, certainly feels frustrating. And as a person that usually tries to live a life as best informed by science as I can, I definitely feel some dissonance between this answer, and the fact that I'm probably going to keep doing it for now.
Check out the Melt method from Sue Hitzman.
But… unless it’s a bruise, isn’t blood constantly being pumped around the body? How is it ‘new blood’?🤔
I suspect what may be happening is that the science hasn't yet "caught up" to the beneficial effects you have noticed in your own experience. Sometimes that is the case. Studies are very specific in their focus. They may miss something if they're not looking for it. Just how it is.
Conspiracy theory here.
They keep saying foamrollers doesn't work so you'd just get a massage or a painreliever. Or surgery! Lmfao.
But seriously though, if it works for you, it works for you. Keep doing it. It works for other people, and it works for you, so what is out there for you not to believe in it?
See the logic in things instead of just blindly believing what other people consider "science". You'll feel better
Love the unbiased information! I'm learning so much from this channel, greatly appreciate it
Glad to hear it!
Unbiased? He’s literally speaking antithetical to an entire sector of chiropractic medicine called A.R.T. And he’s doing so without any interviews or evidence.
Talk to doctors who actually know what they’re talking about.
@@WhatDoesEvilMean I guess they are biased as they don't come from a chiropractic or physiotherapy background, but I don't think they dismissed any of the possible benefits (just unprovable from a modern science perspective?). I also listen to other specialists with an open mind too
@@WhatDoesEvilMean Aka : doctors who are shills.
Love when youtubers splat plenty of shots of young chicks in their videos so that people think they are learning so much, greatly appreciate it.
I was in my way to the gym but this CHANGED EVERYTHING
Hopefully a change for the better!
Any excuse will do? 🤪🤣🤣
Some ideas for future videos:
1- How does acupuncture work?
2- What are the types of disc displacements and what do they look like on a cadaver?
3- What is traction therapy and does it work? What does the science say?
4- More diverse ppl in B-roll footage :)
Considering acupuncture runs on the meridian lines I don’t think you will get a good reply from this video
Acupuncture manipulates electrical currents running along chemical potential lines and reservoirs that mostly trace the edges of myofascial bands throughout the body. It behaves within the physics and chemistry of induction and capacitance within the entire spectrum of biological structures. The process is synergistic with the healing of both body and mind simultaneously. Benefits tend to be cumulative and are increased by frequency of treatment.
It's radically superior to other forms of medicine for a wide variety of treatments in a wide variety of situations and it's rarely employed without a spectrum of supporting diagnosis and alternate therapies. As a complex and yet generally low-risk intervention, there are a wide spectrum of levels of mastery amongst practitioners and lengthy apprenticeships are traditionally followed, including intensive training for ethical standards.
People who are extremely ill will often have an overpowering sense of radical healing during the first treatment. People who tend to be generally healthy and ambitious often will avoid slowing their thoughts sufficiently to acknowledge the effects and will usually forget any benefits derived. Patients tend to be at various points along this spectrum of reflection and will take an interest based on their recollection of the experience.
gotta puncture my meng mein to unclog my chakra to see how it works I suppose
Ah yes, the racist background footage
@@HummingbirdPneumonia You're doing fine, you just have to remember to capitalize your sentences!
44 (almost 45) y/o runner here and my ITB screams at me once my training hits 20+ mile long runs. I have found foam rolling in the days after to help me get back out running sooner.
It’s true that there’s tons of anecdotal evidence. So much so, that it might just be a matter of time before a conclusive scientific study taps into the reason why.
I also agree that many do it wrong...usually by doing too much. If all I’m actually doing is stimulating blood flow to my tired muscles, then even that can help speed recovery .
I was dancing ballet as at a pre-professional level in my late teens, 20 years ago, and I was told to use a foam roller for this purpose. I’m now suffering from permanent nerve damage that they can’t do anything for. The pain goes from my hip to my knee, down the side of both of my legs and it is exactly where you describe the facia to be. I wake up in excruciating pain and many doctors say “well, it’s just nerve damage.” I’m fairly sure it’s from excessive rolling after dance rehearsals.
That is sad to hear I use combination of Foam Roller Hot Baths Natural Calm Magnesium and foot baths up to my calf. I have a big foam roller which I never use anymore it has aggresive bumps on it so I store it in the basement.
At what point did your damage come? After how many weeks/months/years?
I use my foam roller for my back and hamstrings, not really my IT band. It helps relax the tightness in my lower back especially, but I believe it's from relaxing the muscles and doesn't really have much to do with fascia.
I always learned so much from Doctor Oz’s cadaver demonstrations & am thrilled to discover your channel visually helping me understand the aches & pains of my body!
my physical therapist recommended i get a foam roller to help with back pain at home and it definitely helps for my case.
That's great to hear!
Me too, and I think a big part of its effectiveness is due to just getting us to move and relax at angles we don't often achieve, but which we probably should, like relieving that hump me get from staring down all day. :)
I really appreciate these types of videos and information. I am naturally more skeptical of things (especially with money involved), so hearing the facts is so important! Thank you for what you do!
all i can say is that after a latissimus dorsi flap surgery my PT's goal of releasing the fascia helped me SOOO much!! gave me range of motion and feeling back
Foam rolling has done wonders for me in keeping away back pain, since an intense episode 5 years ago. I rarely use it, but it's enough, I do not know what it is doing to me, but it has definitely worked.
Anyone else have immediate, measurable, objective effects when foam rolling? Even when doing it 'wrong' (i.e. fast) I can decrease muscle tension an increase flexibility in my hamstrings within 10-20 seconds.
im not sure you can call it objective when it is related to how you feel
@@BenJaminLongTime The body is a physical object is it not?
Same, I get immediate positive effects to the point I think this video is horse shit.
I do lots of pull ups, push ups, planks, mountain climbers blah blah blah, because I do the Navy rescue swimmer pt for exercise.
All the tension in my back is released immediately
Yeah, I also thought: 'Did they even try foam rolling or just read papers?'
But maybe it's different for everyone? I don't know.
@@BenJaminLongTime Exactly! You can't objectively measure 'Oh, I 'm feeling more relaxed than before'. But you can objectively measure how far you can bend for example. Or the angle of your relaxed posture, before and after.
Over the past few years, rolling of the IT band has been prescribed to me by various exercise physiologists. However, I have found it of no benefit, and have always been a bit skeptical. I find myself in more pain. The regular mobility exercises I find much more beneficial. Thanks for the video. It clarifies the thinking behind this. I too would love to see some evidence based research on this. Great channel by the way. I am a high school science teacher, and I was directed to a video by a colleague a few weeks ago. Now I am hooked!
Glad to have you here!
Try rolling your hips and calves instead of the it bands themselves.
Love how you advertise yoga at the end. Something that was dismissed by science up until around 2010 as "woo".
Are u the person who types woo ?
The way that this video popped up right as I’m on day 2 of trying out foam rolling to help crack my back
Really helps my back
I love my foam rollers and I will never give them up. It’s like having a masseuse and a chiropractor all in one. They have been a lifesaver for me.
Same here! I basically never have to go to the chiropractor anymore, and I used to require a visit once or twice a month.
"Despite that they might be detrimental to my health (or possibly really great for it) I'm gonna keep using them"
@@thehammurabichode7994 I think it REALLY matters how you use it, so if you're getting benefit I doubt you're doing anything wrong.
Just wait till you learn the chiropractor is a bunch of pseudoscientific hooey too!
Considering chiropractors are quacks and a waste of money, so I'm gonna assume a foam roller is gonna be very similar lol
Being that "we need more data" guy is a great thing, so you should enjoy it rather than hate it🙂
I'm glad you're on my side!
Bring on the science, but in the meantime, here's my story.....400 yoga classes helped relieve my discomfort and pain, but 2 weeks of foam rolling cured the pain. After a few months of regular foam rolling, I"m running again, pain free.
Are you rolling after or before running?
I’ve found that very light touching of muscles around painful areas help my mind almost locate the problem issue. This allows me to focus on it and do exercises to promote elongation of my tendons and create space between my joints where needed
Before watching this video. I am a drill instructor who does more than 30 miles a day running in boots. I am telling you foam rolling works.
I am up for learning something new though.
My leg always hurts. Foam rolling is as effective as message, but more tolerable. I always roll in the direction of vein flow and go very slowly. However, I’d rather have a tennis ball in a sock.
Try the little black Yamuna inflatable yoga balls.
Why in a sock though?
@@xshavox less friction
For me, I totally attribute my 21-years of injury-free Ironman triathlon to foam rolling. I barely stretch or weight train. I don't have super genetics. It's not about the fascia or tendons, I feel it's all about releasing knotted/contracted fibers of the muscles. Don't forget, keep those muscles relaxed when rolling! I hope to create a series of videos on this topic soon. ☮️❤️🤝
I just bought one so I thought I'd have to return it from watching the video. now I'll just keep it
@@Jess1234 Stay tuned to my channel. I'll make rolling videos soon enough!
I’ve been a personal trainer for 10 years and foam rolling the IT band along with calves, glutes and lats has been a great approach with many clients. Maybe it’s all in my head 🤷🏻
It sounds like the more advanced and or in shape u are the more u benefit, kinda like he said surprisingly and strangely fast ; I know I get some benefits from it .
As with all of these trendy health and wellness things, if it works for your body and you see positive results, go for it. If it causes pain and discomfort or doesn't produce results, then it's just not for you. Don't feel bad or feel like you're doing something wrong if a particular wellness activity doesn't work for you. These things aren't one size fits all. It's not "supposed" to work for you. Give it a try with an open mind knowing that it may not be an avenue that suites your particular body. Take what works and leave what doesn't.
I had IT Band syndrome from running and kickboxing i meant to foam roller before bjj class and forgot then ended up straining my IT. Did not visit a Doc or therapist…. I picked up a book on myofascial therapy and fixed it myself.
I’m 53 and led a very athletic life (Ice hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, martial arts, triathlon, rock climbing). Foam rolling wasn’t a thing when I was young, but gained traction as I got older…I tried it…didn’t really get anything from it…
Try it with a pvc pipe, alot of people in mma swear by it
This is really interesting, and leads me to wonder if the benefits are more likely from the rolling of the muscles themselves.
I always had doubts if massaging a really tender, sore muscle or tendon was actually good. What about deep tissue massage? The "knots" they can find in my shoulders/ traps, can feel like tumors under my skin! Love your channel!
Massage can be very good, but the biggest thing is to not have muscle imbalances. Often times people do the exact opposite of what they should. Upper back and shoulder strain is more often caused by having tight pecs and anterior deltoids and biceps, coupled with underdeveloped posterior deltoids, traps, and rhomboids. People then stretch their upper back which is already getting overstretched, and keep working their anterior side hard, further exacerbating the problem.
Similar thing with back problems. Bad to overstretch the lower back. More often caused by tight abs and hip flexors and lack of exercise than simply tight lower back muscles.
Also, from a mechanical standpoint, the act of foam rolling your IT band will widen the tissues perpendicularly to the TFL and insertion. It's plausible to speculate that this will increase tension in the TFL and exacerbate TFL tightness as widening the IT band will shorten it. Additionally, the TFL is known to become over-active if the gluteal complex is underactive, to assist in pelvic stabilization. Lastly, I have been told by a physical therapist (that I was being treated by) that a hyper-active TFL can promote chronic hip external rotation, which will weaken the gluteal complex further by restricting internal rotation
As a 28 y/o who played football 🏈 continuously for 18 years and multiple other sports recreationally, I continued to lift weights as if I was still playing football and felt with injuries that I just figured I had from wear and tear. I was studying and being trained to direct a specific functional training/strength and conditioning program. It was there when I was introduced to all the proper ways to train and rehab. Foam rolling played a major roll in helping me rid those “injuries” that I assumed would never go away, gain range of motion and improve mobility.
The problem is, there are so many people that just start doing something that they see and now things become a trend on Social Media but those people never learn the proper techniques or even try and understand the levels.
I could go on forever about this but I’ll assume (which I’ve learned you should never do) but since whoever is reading this is also watching this video, that you get what I’m saying.
Also I’d like to say that I found this video helpful and a tad frustrating as you seam to have talked in circles a bunch of times.
Solid video overall though. Thanks
I've always suspected that the reason "myofascial release" worked was not that it removed pain, but gave my body a different pain to focus on, long enough to finish the workout.
As Spock said, "even speculation require some facts..." Great video and work. I'm a biomedical engineer and can really appreciate and love your content and the way you express and convey complicated concepts. There's something beautiful to be said about simplicity. Oh and I've also had a bowel obstruction that required surgery with that awful NG tube...by far, the most awful experience I've ever had as well. Glad u made it through ok!
I'd love to see a comparison of healthy vs defective connective tissues. I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and it would be interesting to see what my tissues might be doing in here.
I have EDS and tall. Foam rolling my quads helps me stand straighter using my anterior muscles better. Doing Feldenkrais helps a lot. Also yoga. Have to keep muscles activated and lubricated.
The IHA mentioned in a reply to another comment that they have an Ehlers-Danlos syndrome video in the works!
I’d love to see this too
Rolling the IT band is the one band you shouldn't be rolling because the studies indicate no change occurs. Muscle bellies are a completely different animal. The IT band is not a muscle, it attaches to muscles. You won't do any good rolling the IT band, but we know for a fact routine and consistent massage on muscle bellies will dramatically improve flexibility and function of the muscle. This is only if you lack flexibility and you are losing function. This happens in high volume training, running every day, playing sports you've played for several years. So yes you should definitely be rolling your muscle bellies, probably under the guidance of a trainer and probably not if you barely train.
guys, foam rolling was never intended for tendons, ligaments etc.. use them on muscles.. tense muscles, like if it's just really overactive for some reason you can tell it to calm the f down
I noticed an exceptional difference in my flexibility. I had been doing daily stretching for flexibility. One day I remembered my nubby foam rollers and right after I noticed significant gains in my flexibility. I went from consistently being a few inches off the ground due to tight hamstrings to having my splits. Not just that day but ever since then(but just from that one session. I don't use them that often). It just sounds like there isn't a lot of information out there to be so conclusive they don't work. But they were the thing that loosened my hamstrings. I also don't think you can say they don't work but also acknowledge that Myofascial and muscle work is powerful. The results that chiropractors get from incorporating mastered myofasical theory is unparalleled. Rolled out leg muscles move notably differently. There is no way to get that benefit without a massage from some instrument sooo.
In my experience, foam rolling is not worth the time involved. However, there are some very effective uses of foam rollers. In this video, in every example of somebody using a foam roller, they are misusing it. An example of an effective use of foam rollers is for thoracic spine extension. In that technique, the roller is used as pivot point and the user does not roll back and forth. The only time that the foam actually rolls is when the user is moving from releasing one area of the spine to another. It does not move during the release process.
I hated the IT band foam roller in PT. I told them it was greater trochanter bursitis. Why oh why? Pointless pain. No more.
The type of foam roller used is what makes the difference in my opinion. I use the Rumble Roller and the Hyper Ice: Viper 2 vibration foam roller on myself and my patients in physical therapy during exercise rehab sessions. Their recovery time from injury is greatly improved with the application of these small apparatuses. Also, for me, using these specific foam rollers personally helped me get rid of sciatic pain in just 4 days.
However, improper use of a foam roller can cause more harm than good as it's more than just plopping down on it and rolling back and forth. Foam rolling has to be done in specific ways to get the full benefit of using it.
@@Puppalump The placebo effect is very well documented in general. But the data on foam rollers do not support simply calling it placebo at this time.
Personal Anecdote: I am a 6 year military vet, have been through a ton of beat-me-up training, and currently have a high impact job. In the past, I have been slammed on the ground and tossed around like a doll, where I've had to go to a chiropractor to have them put all my Lego pieces back together. Since all of that, I have a morning routine involving my foam roller, and a specific set of stretches to get my sacrum, hips, and neck mobile.
I'm telling you, before these stretches, after periods of dishevelment, I feel so unathletic and out of whack. If I don't get my morning stretches in, I don't undo the buildup of damage I do to my body. Slouching on the couch, sitting in a car lopsided because of my gun or the canted seats, skipping gym days, etcetera twists me up. and rolling with stretching lays me flat again. I know it's anecdotal, but when I do my stretches and rolling I literally feel the pieces get put back into alignment.
The fact you made it for us to skip around chapters deserves you a full watch straight through. That and the fact it's high quality info/video. Good job
I didn’t even know what foam rolling was until I saw this video. 🤣
I love your scientific approach. So refreshing in the sports world, where people accept anything some UA-cam athlete tells them.
What about the people who believe what the text books from the national academy of sports medicine tell them? Or the people with physiology degrees? Or the people with 30+ years of clinical experience, all saying the same thing that
Mayofascial release works and is a reccomended part of a biomechanical correcting exercise program? Are they all not scientific enough for you as this random youtuber???? Man, talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
I’ve heard about this. My advice is to do short gentle sessions. Like massage, there are benefits to the circulatory system and the short term flexibility element helps me safely get into stretching routines. I think people just go to hard. It shouldn’t be painful.
Please show me the vidence that it has benefits for circulation
Thanks for making this video available to the general public. As a manual massage therapist with more than 20 years of working experience, I always recommend my clients not to use foam roller on the IT band because it will make the entire upper legs tighter instead. I usually recommend them to use different techniques to release IT band with a better result.
Like what ?
I tried numerous highly recommended exercises to prevent hip bursitis. Foam rolling turned out to be the ONLY thing that worked. Not because I believed it would work. I had no such belief! Just a determination to keep trying every possibility to prevent the need for hip replacement surgery. I never travel anywhere without my short 12" foam roller.
Thanks for this video. I'm a PT and see so many using the foam roller. I love the links you've added and I'll be sure to read up on your research so I can provide facts to clients. Super interesting. Thank you!
According to a legend, two anatomists once pulled a truck with an IT-band. Point being, that it’s function is to be tight.
If you experience pain on the outside of the knee, it might be caused by the IT-band rubbing over the epycondyle, which is caused by an overly active TFl and a weak gluteus medius. Therefore, strengthening the abductors and stretching/foam roalling the TFl may be a solution.
NKT practioner?
The fact that it's strong enough to pull a truck has nothing to do with tightness. When it's referred to as "Tight" it refers to the restriction of normal motion, which is definitely not it's function.
I’m always open to well-conducted current research and enjoy continuing to expand my knowledge base. That being said, I brought a small foam roller with me on a long hike and it was the only way I could get down the mountain with out serious knee pain. But I rolled my glutes, quads and ITBs. As a personal trainer and massage therapist, I swear by them for myself and my clients (when used correctly).
but what is the correct way to use it? how did you do that?
@@A-Wa rolled along the length of the ITB, along and across the glutes, hamstrings and quads. I roll with the muscle fibers and across the fibers.
I've been in practice as an LMT for 6 years now and had to click on this video.
As with anything, you can definitely overdo foam rolling. There's controlled inflammation like from a deep tissue massage and there's excessive inflammation that makes things worse.
I like what you mentioned about damaging blood vessels.
Fascia is such an interesting piece of the puzzle that is the musculoskeletal structure. It's made of a lot of the same stuff you'd find in gelatin and loosens with heat, assuming it's not already inflamed.
As I get older I'm seeing the importance of holistic approach with the muscles, that is to say tackling the root problems as a whole rather than just the surface issue. Yes, the client may be having IT band pain, but what's causing it could be bad gait and the surrounding muscles causing that IT band pain.
Form follows function with the body as well as use it or lose it. I recommend my clients to follow up with a physical therapist, their MD, and get into a good body movement routine - like yoga, Tai Chi, Xi Gong, or even just simple stretching.
I had a bad left IT band few years ago. So bad I had to stop running. I rested for two weeks with no improvement. Got me really scared because I couldn’t afford a doctor/physio. Made some research and foam rolled religiously for a week. Pain went away. Left leg felt good as new. Every time I feel stiff now, foam running relieves it and makes my legs feel lighter. I will forever preach the gospel of the foam roller!
Im with you Furry! Been a true blessing for me as well. They endorse YOGA which for many causes MANY injuries due to hyper-mobility