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.