That's How I Roll

Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to be oblivious to trends, fads, and currently-popular-stuff (for confirmation of this, just check out the way I usually dress).  So, not surprisingly, I paid no attention to the "foam rolling" craze that has swept through my long track friends.  Sure, I noticed that an increasing number of people were lugging large foam cylinders (or, in the case of one enterprising and undoubtedly high-pain-threshold blessed fellow, a piece of PVC pipe) around at the ovals, occasionally stopping to drape a body part over the cylinder and roll about while making pain-noises and amusing facial grimaces.  I noticed, but I had no inclination to join them.  In keeping with my strict "I'm only doing the fun stuff" motto, I place foam rolling firmly in the "stuff I should do that would probably benefit my skating but I don't want to and you can't make me" category.  Foam rolling has lots of company in this category, including warming up before skating, doing core exercises, stretching, and resisting the urge to eat another poptart.

But then yesterday I went to a new PT.  I've been having hamstring pain for, um, eight months now, and knee pain for about two.  I've been to a PT for the hamstring, but after my last visit he said that, while he felt that he'd corrected the cause of the hamstring pain (SI joint issues), he didn't understand why the pain had not at least started to improve.  So when, a couple days later, I whined to the Crossfit trainer that I couldn't do the squats in the workout because my hamstring and both knees hurt and he suggested that I pay a visit to the PT who works out of the Crossfit gym, I decided that I would.

My first appointment was yesterday. This particular PT uses a tool called Functional Movement Screening, which means he had me do seven different movements which he scored and entered into a computer program.  The program then gives him workouts tailored to my weaknesses.  Which, based on my 7 out of 21 score, were many.  And the workout I was given consisted mostly of...foam rolling.

So now, I roll.

Well, first I had to get a foam roller.  We actually had one (from The Hubster's long-ago visit to a PT for something or other), but it's only 12 inches long.  A 12 inch foam roller is not nearly as long as some of the body parts that I need to roll are wide, so clearly that wasn't going to work.  So I got a nice new one--24 inches long, plenty of room for "future expansion."

Yeah, that little white one just wasn't going to cut it.

I've only rolled twice so far, but I swear my hamstring feels noticeably better already.  Placebo effect?  I don't care--less pain is less pain!  It seems that this fad,at least, has some merit, so consider me, for now, firmly on the foam rolling bandwagon.

But don't expect me to suddenly start dressing fashionably.  I do have my limits.