Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh........!!!!!.........its SORE

Raffles

After my appointment with a biomechanics guy he said i should definitely get a foam roller and he gave me instructions for really loosening up my quads, hamstrings, it band, glutes and hip flexors. When I got home I ordered a sport specific one that is 3ft long and it came today. I followed his instructions for foam rollering quads and it band this afternoon and the results were


AGONY

He said it would hurt for about a couple of weeks but the benefits were so worth it. I wasnt expecting it to hurt THAT much , by but gawd its sore and then some. My thighs feel like they are burning as I sit here, though when I put the roller away I could put my hands on the floor with ease.

It will take me a while to do the exercises smoothly but Ill stick with it. Who is using a foam roller here and how long did it take for it not to be sore ?

I quickly had a go at the hamstrings technique , sat on the roller , moved and landed on the broad of my back ...its not as easy as those girls on the youtube clips make it look

Cleat Eastwood

I've been told this would benefit me - and I've been told it hurts but only by physios who havent tried it - haha it sounds worse than a s&m night out in stoke with anne widdicombe - how long before you feel the benefits, did any one say

Raffles

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

I've been told this would benefit me - and I've been told it hurts but only by physios who havent tried it - haha it sounds worse than a s&m night out in stoke with anne widdicombe - how long before you feel the benefits, did any one say

Q: Does it hurt ?

A: You bet your Ar$e it does mate


The quads and it band as I was rolling up and down were ow..ow..ow..aaaah..ow...ow...eeeeeeh...ow......etc etc, but I have faith in biomechanics dude and he said after about 2 weeks id see a big difference, no pain / no gain I suppose :shock:

Grill

It does hurt, I'd say about the same as a deep tissue (sports) massage. I see results pretty much instantaneously.

superfourben

I have just bought one, IT band is painful for me, plus glutes. I am trying to use it every day and hoping to see a bit of extra flexibility.

animal72

Painful indeed, but proper stretching before and after exercise will help prevent stuff getting so tight in the first place...

slowandsteady

What is one of these you talk of?

Link anybody?

Is it for lower back pain I'm guessing?

Grill

Errr... No. This thread talks about quads, hams, glutes, IT bands, hip flexors, etc., so I'm curious to know how you came up with lower back pain...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/66Fit-Elite-Foam-Roller-Blue/dp/B002IKO2YU

chrisaonabike

Yes, it hurts, but in such a good way

MTFU

slowandsteady

Grill wrote:

Errr... No. This thread talks about quads, hams, glutes, IT bands, hip flexors, etc., so I'm curious to know how you came up with lower back pain...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/66Fit-Elite-Foam-Roller-Blue/dp/B002IKO2YU

Must be because I'm thick.....

ovi

for a cheap optionI use a bit of 6" drainage pipe 2' long with good results,

wishitwasallflat

I'm a physio and I use one and have done for a few years - yes its sore and thats good work on the painful areas - build it up don't go mad when you first start - accompany it with some static stretches for whatever muscle groups are tight. For me its never stopped being sore but now its localised tight spots not general all over the place. I do two short stints - maybe a minute or so - on each leg after every ride - the first stint is sore but the second isn't - makes a huge difference so be sensible build it up.

PS- To coin a phrase it never gets easier you just do it harder :twisted:

philwint

ovi wrote:

for a cheap optionI use a bit of 6" drainage pipe 2' long with good results,

'spose... but £15 is pretty cheep anyway.

I've had mine about 3-4 weeks now and at the start my IT bands were as painful as you describe. Now they are merely uncomfortable :shock:

The benefits seem worth it though. For years I have suffered from excrutiating cramps in my quads late after a ride - but no more

The legs "feel" looser as well.

stueyboy

wishitwasallflat wrote:

I'm a physio and I use one and have done for a few years - yes its sore and thats good work on the painful areas - build it up don't go mad when you first start - accompany it with some static stretches for whatever muscle groups are tight. For me its never stopped being sore but now its localised tight spots not general all over the place. I do two short stints - maybe a minute or so - on each leg after every ride - the first stint is sore but the second isn't - makes a huge difference so be sensible build it up.

PS- To coin a phrase it never gets easier you just do it harder :twisted:

+1

When I started rolling my IT bands, it felt like someone was trying to break my leg. It gets easier to do it and a bit less painful. Remember to breath. Oh and let me know if it gives you the man-sweats

danlikesbikes

Have myself a foam roller and never felt any pain, but some discomfort. But TBF I do use it every other day so my muscles don't tend to get too knotted up.

IT bands can be very painful & as others have said take slow, easy & gently for the first few times. Or alternatively just ask a child to kick you in the plumbs as its gonna hurt a lot less than sort ITB's being massaged

Raffles

what durations do you use when you foam roller ?

say you were doing your quads, how long would you do it for and how many times for each leg ?

a bit of input from the physio guy would be useful here.

danlikesbikes

Raffles wrote:

what durations do you use when you foam roller ?

say you were doing your quads, how long would you do it for and how many times for each leg ?

a bit of input from the physio guy would be useful here.

I tend to do 5 roll ups and 5 down so 10 in total. For a group the size of quads really you need to do set sets one for each side and one for the front, same with hams. Calfs you can get away with two sets due to the size.

slowmart

A little often. I do 10 when I get up, 10 after a shower in the evening and after a ride.

The only thing I would add I was instructed to roll from the knee upwards, never down.

Yes it does hurt but that intensity does diminish over a period of a couple of weeks and it pays to keep on top of the exercises.

Grill

When I do my IT bands I hit each side for about 5 minutes. If they're giving me a lot of trouble I'll roll them out 2-3 times a day. You can also use a tennis ball, but that's a whole different level of torture.

wishitwasallflat

Raffles wrote:

what durations do you use when you foam roller ?

say you were doing your quads, how long would you do it for and how many times for each leg ?

a bit of input from the physio guy would be useful here.

Well AFAIK there is no research evidence to tell us what to do - but - based roughly on the evidence for static stretching and general recieved wisdom for physio type therapies -

After every ride I do my set of stretches - quads, hamstrings, calves, hip rotators and lower back (not in that order and each one more than once) and then I roll on one leg doing ITB 3-4 times and quads 3-4 times (up and down slowly) and then focusing down on any tight/painful spots for 20-30 secs on each area - I repeat that regime on the other leg - I do another set of stretches (just quads, hip rotators and lower back) and then do a simple roll up and down ITB and quads on each side (about 2-3 minutes each leg).

Whole routine - rolling and all the stretching - (interspersed with swearing and cursing) takes about 15-20 minutes and I do it after every ride. On days I don't ride I do nothing as I am a bit lazy and its not good to stretch or roll unless you've warmed up and I can't be arsed warming up if I am not riding.