Day 11: Thursday
My calendar B and C folks- today is foam rolling day!!! Calendar A folks, you already experienced your first foam rolling adventure- but perhaps this little post will help inspire you to keep up with it!
Tight connective tissue are one of the reasons our bodies hurt so much. I talk about this in the foam rolling video but I want to go a little deeper today and talk specifically about joint pain. You remember that kids song “Your leg bones connected to your hip bone?” Well, I loove that song. Everything in our physical structure is connected by connective tissue- muscles, tendons and ligaments. That’s what makes our body move.
But as we stop moving, or move in ways that are posturally incorrect, our connective tissue, specifically our muscles, have a harder time doing their jobs. They get frozen, stuck if you will- which then makes it hurt to move. The muscles aren’t able to glide fluidly the way they are supposed to, and instead, they pull on the joints, making it painful in the joint area when movement is required. And this has a ripple effect along the body- when muscles are tight, they throw your posture out of whack, and soon, that knee pain affects the hips, which creates pain in the lower back, so your upper back has to overcompensate, leading to shoulder and neck pain… because it’s all connected. This is especially important for people living with chronic conditions because this pain, stiffness and stuckness you are experiencing in your body contributes deeply to the cycle of flare-ups. This chronic physical pain creates chronic heightened stress in the body, which leads to chronic flare-ups. So the more we can decrease the joint and body pain, the fewer flare-ups we will experience.
So as you are foam rolling and it hurts (‘cause it does hurt in the beginning), just remember that this is part of the work of getting you “unstuck”- which also has a ripple effect, in a good way. This is flare-up prevention.
And foam rolling for flare-up recovery? It’s essential. Learn this practice and you will have another tool in your toolbox to help that flare-up pass on by.
Step #1: Check out your foam roller options and make sure you have the right equipment.
Step #2: Practice Day Four: Foam Rolling (B/C) or Core (A)
Accountability: Tell me what areas hurt the most when you foam roll?