Foam rollers are relatively cheap, typically ranging from $18 to $40. Performing a foam roller exercise for your thighs may provide relief from muscle soreness, and purportedly helps to eliminate cellulite. Foam rollers may be a good option for you if you work out in other ways and would like a way to alleviate aches from strenuous exercises or to heal sustained injuries. These rollers can be used in many ways to target the quadriceps, or thigh, muscles.
Myofacial Release on Thighs
Use foam rollers to stretch your thigh facia, the connective tissue that can be easily pulled, injured or inflamed. Myofacial release exercises using foam rollers may provide relief. To perform, place the foam roller horizontally on a mat. Lie on top of the foam roller with your thighs pressing into the roller and your elbows holding you up. Use your thighs to help you slowly roll your thighs forward and backward on the roller, gently massaging tender areas. Continue to massage sore areas until the pain lessens.
Cellulite Reduction
Foam roller exercises may reduce cellulite in your thighs, though MayoClinic.com points out that this is probably a myth, and that to get proven results, you should see a dermatologist. However, foam roller exercises increase circulation and stretch connective thigh tissue, factors that could remove toxins and fluid retention that contribute to cellulite. Lie on top of a foam roller with your thighs pressed into the foam, and roll back and forth for 20 minutes daily.
Improve Mobility
Foam roller exercise can improve your mobility and range of motion, and improve your balance and coordination, according to Melissa Enfield, a Toronto-based yoga and Pilates trainer. Enfield suggests using a foam roller to massage your thighs for 10 minutes before going to bed each night. If you find the massage painful, Enfield suggests wrapping the foam roller in a towel or finding a softer form of a foam roller. Enfield says you can use pool noodles, which are thinner and more flexible than traditional foam rollers, for better comfort.
Considerations
Foam rollers provide benefits equal to expensive thigh massage, according to Peter Levidis, an athletic therapist who recommends foam roller exercise to cyclists, runners and those who sit all day at their desks. He says that the pain some people experience when using foam rollers can be alleviated by keeping the roller moving. He also recommends that you initially use the thigh roller for 30 seconds or less, stopping if the massage proves too painful, and gradually building up your massage to 60 or 90 seconds.
References
- "The Globe and Mail"; Rock Away Those Kinks with an Absurdly Simple Foam Roller; Amy Verner; Jan. 31, 2011
- Workoutz.com: Stretches - Thighs with Foam Roller
- Fit Day: How Foam Roller Exercises Reduce Cellulite
- "The Gazette"; Let's Get the Massage Rolling: Foam Roller Can Be an Easy Fix for Tight, Overworked Muscles; Jill Barker; Oct. 2, 2007
- Mayo Clinic: Cellulite: Definition
Member Comments