Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Introducing...... My New Best Friend


What is that, you ask?

Well, if you ask James, its his new very odd toy.

But no, it belongs to Mommy.  Its a foam roller.  Have you ever used one?

I hadn't, but remember about a month ago when I said my knee was being kind of tweaky?   Well, it still comes and goes, and when it comes, it comes with a vengeance, punishing me for the work I demand from it.

On Saturday night at church, our pastor was talking about spiritual alignment, and he used a chiropractor from the congregation in some of his analogies, which got me thinking about my visits to a chiropractor when I lived in Virginia and how she really helped my chronic IT band issues.  So on Monday, I sucked it up and found a chiropractor.

Now, yes, I could visit an orthopedic doctor as well, and I'm sure there are a lot of great ones out there, but I have had two lousy experiences on separate occasions that involved the doctors talking to me like I was 4 and knew nothing about my own body.

Anyway, the chiropractor I visited on Monday showed me how VERY, VERY tight my right IT band is and recommended E-Stim therapy (similar to ultrasound, but not the same) and foam rolling.  He promised me that his goal is for me NOT to need him very much after a few visits, if at all, so I'm on board with that.

If you have never used a foam roller, I would highly recommend it.  I bought one yesterday from a local running store (not pricey, $25), and oh.  my.  goodness..... The ironic thing about foam rolling your muscles is that if they are SUPER tight like my right IT band, rolling is going to hurt a little bit.  Or a LOT.  Let me emphasize A LOT.  But, while its not an overnight fix, but rather something great to add to your daily stretching routine, I can tell such a difference already.  I did work out last night and experienced some knee pain, but my recovery was so much faster and this morning I don't have a lot of pain.  So for now, I'm taking it easy and foam rolling.

And in case you're wondering, you can also use a foam roller to practice your BodyPump push presses, as James is demonstrating:


Or, he might be getting ready to go into squats with it.  I'm not sure.

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