S B Coaches College




		Roll Out! Techniques for Self Myofascial Release *Brijesh Patel, MA, CSCS*

If you didn’t know about the importance of self myofascial release (SFR), I highly recommend that you check out the August 2005 tip of the month. I won’t go into any more details of how SFR works and the benefits of SFR, but you will see particular techniques that you can use.

Note:
The following techniques are all shown with a foam roller, but can be used with a massage stick or tennis ball as well. You may need a partner to assist you when using a massage stick for certain areas of your body. As for using a tennis ball, simply lay on any particular area to cause a release of tension.

Hip External Rotators

Sit on the roller and lie towards one butt check. Roll knot out back and forth. As with all that follow, if a severe pain spot is noticed, hold on the spot for 30-45 seconds or until pain diminishes.

Piriformis

From the position above, simply cross one ankle over the opposite knee and continue to roll.

Hamstrings

Roll from your glute down to the knee. Roll with toe up, toe in and toe out to get all three hamstring muscles.

4. Calves

Roll from back of knee to Achilles tendon. To intensify, stack off leg on top of rolling leg.

5. Glute Medius

Lie on side and roll from top of hip to bottom of butt cheek. Think of rolling the side of your butt.

6. ITBand and TFL

From the above position, roll from top of hip down to knee. To intensify, stack legs on top of each other. Extremely painful for most athletes.

7. Peroneals

From the above position, roll from knees down to ankles. To intensify, stack legs on top of each other.

8. Low Back

Lie on roller, and roll from middle of back to top of hips over the lumbar region.

9. Upper Back

From the above position, roll from middle back to the base of the neck over the shoulder blades and thoracic spine. For the greatest benefits, hands should be behind head and elbows pulled together.

10. Hip Flexors

Lie face down on roller, and roll from top of hip to your hip pocket. Small range of motion over the notoriously tight hip flexors.

11. Quadriceps

From the above position, roll from top of hip down to knee. Roll with toes down, toes out, and toes in to work out all four quadriceps muscles.

12. Adductors/Groin

Open leg up and point roller towards 1 ‘o’ clock for right leg and roll from hip all the way down to the knee. Point roller towards 11 ‘o’ clock for left leg.

13. Anterior Tibialis/Shins

Roll from knee to ankles. To intensify, cross one ankle over the other.

14. Lats/Teres Major

Lie on side, and roll from arm pit to just over the shoulder blade. Turning body more towards the ceiling will get more rotator cuff. This may be the most painful areas in the body for most athletes.

I hope that you can implement these foam roller exercises into your training programs to better serve your athletes or yourselves and ensure that you are getting the most out of your training.
You can purchase foam rollers through Perform Better.