“It’s a cross between a really great massage and being hit by a truck.”
That’s what my gym trainer Christie said about using a foam roller to stimulate blood flow in the outside cover of your muscles – known as “fascia.”
People use these rollers, and other pieces of equipment, in the practice of Myofascial release, which, according to Wikipedia, can “relax contracted muscles, improve blood and lymphatic circulation, and stimulate the stretch reflex in muscles.”
Fascia can “…become restricted due to psychogenic disease, overuse, trauma, infectious agents, or inactivity, often resulting in pain, muscle tension, and corresponding diminished blood flow,” reads the above Wikipedia entry.
But back to the bliss. It’s better than the best massage I’ve ever had and as I write this, the next day, my upper back feels relaxed and not-tense.
Please note I am not getting paid to say this. I’m just curious about the topic and want to learn more about it – though at this early point, I’m still open to the idea that it will turn out BS-ish in some way (healthy skepticism, in other words).
Learn more at tptherapy.com and other places you’ll find via Google when you look for “myofascial release.” That’s what I’ll be doing in the next while, as my curiosity remains on this topic. Overall it seems good for knitting and of course exercising and the rest of life in general.
East Van Stitches 