Sitting at the computer a lot lately with your arms forward? Looking for ways to improve your posture? Your mobility? Using a foam roll can be an excellent tool to improve your spinal alignment and stretch the front of your body, which often tightens up with all the sitting, looking down at our phones, and daily life activities that involve having our arms out in front of us. Not too long ago in December, we had some beautiful weather here in Bonney Lake, WA so I decided to seize the opportunity to offer a foam roll class outside to some friends and neighbors. It was wonderful to meet some new people to introduce them to foam roll exercises and teach them how to decrease their pain, stiffness, and improve their stability and flexibility through an assortment of different positions and exercises. We went through an array of exercises targeting mobility of multiple muscle groups and joints, as well as abdominal and low back stability exercises.
Why use a foam roll?
According to research, foam rolling can improve flexibility of muscle tissue, thereby increasing your range of motion(ROM) at a joint. (Scott W Cheatham et al, Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2015 Nov; 10(6): 827–838). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4637917/. Foam rolling combined with prolonged stretching further improves the potential gains for ROM. Oftentimes if a joint is restricted in motion, that can create pain and discomfort as well as limitations in your functional ability such as walking, sitting, and reaching for example. Research from the above article also suggests that foam rolling may help lessen decrements in muscle performance and delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) if performed after intense exercise. In addition, I have found that adding a foam roll to standard mat core stability exercises adds an element of instability, further activating your abdominal/oblique/low back muscles to work harder. Below is a small sample of exercises that target improving your mobility in your thoracic spine (mid back) and pectoral (chest) muscles giving you the opportunity to maintain correct posture and take some stress off your neck and shoulders.
In the video below, you will see a demonstration of exercises using a 36″x 6″ high density foam roll to help you determine if you have areas of tightness and then how you can improve those areas through a series of 7 exercises.
****These exercises are a small sample of how to access and treat for areas of limitation in your body, however this video does not give a complete and accurate diagnosis or treatment protocol for individual restrictions and limitations. A skilled Physical Therapist can provide you with a complete evaluation and examination to pinpoint specific restrictions in your body.****
If you have restrictions, injury, or pain in regards to your sitting posture, back, neck, shoulders and would like further evaluation and treatment, and live in Pierce/King county regions, we would love to speak with you to help you loosen up, get more mobile, and decrease your pain. Please reach out at 253-987-6251 to speak to a Physical Therapist for a FREE phone consultation.
