Foam Rollers For Your Back Pain
I think the whole thing was started when I began getting a feeling of stiffness in my hip flexors and all my efforts get over it by stretching my body failed to bring any relief. I followed the next logical steps, like reducing my running and cardio workouts, practiced more yoga, and even increased the number of rest days, but no, it wouldn’t go away.
Fast-forward two months. Now, my lower back was talking to me; stiff in the mornings and taking it’s good old’ time loosening up. In no time my hamstrings too followed suit; would get very rigid and bending down to tie my sneakers was painful. I especially felt this in the mornings That really pushed me over the edge.
I take pride in telling that I was quite athletic throughout, without doubt during my adulthood. I like to indulge in anything that makes me sweat. I love running and biking. I had been teaching spinning classes ever since spinning was introduced. Let me tell you that without any formal training, I participated in triathlons and half-marathons, just for kicks. I just would get up, felt like going for a race and joined others, just like that.
Well, I used to be, to say the least. I just can’t bear those irritating limitations. I’m only 45 years old, for criminy sakes (and 45 is the new 29, right?).
My husband (who I met at a 5K road race by the way) would also want me to mention that my personality tightened as well as my hamstrings. Moral of the story is that if I miss my daily workouts, it affects everybody around me at home.
I do believe in divine intervention though and about this time I discovered the foam roller exercises through a fabulous New York City teacher, Susan Hitzmann, owner of Longevity Fitness, Inc. I certainly believe in divine intervention and thru His grace happened to learn of the foam roller exercises through a remarkable New York City teacher named Susan Hitzmann; the owner of Longevity Fitness Inc.. She offers a program called M.E.L.T., which stands for Myofascial Energetic Length Technique. Now, foam roller exercises is all I want to use.
I coincidentally ended up in one of her many workshops about fascia and what to do about it. She suggests tools, and quite a few on foam roller, to add length for relieving muscular discomfort. Then only it dawned upon me that I was being bothered by the fascia surrounding my muscles, and not the muscles themselves.
But what’s fascia? It’s like having a wet web or a net that snugly fits over your muscles Some have it more than others.
She demonstrated the techniques of rolling on a foam roller and how it re-hydrates sheaths of tightness to bring out immediate sense of length, space and release. God! What an intense release; like loosening your belt at the end of a heavy meal.
I was totally hooked after one workshop. I was prompted to purchase an exercising foam roller, akin to a yoga mat with foam in it and slightly bigger.
My muscles melted, which loosened up my lower back, which helped me sleep better. As a result I would wake up feeling more rested and flexible. I was able to resume my daily cardio and strength training routine. In the trickle-down theory, this vastly improved my daily moods. Finally, I retained all my good old affection for my family and life got normal for everybody in the family.
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