Roll With It: 5 Soft-Tissue Therapy Tools
Keep your muscles healthy with the latest in soft-tissue therapy tools.
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Keep your muscles healthy with the latest in soft-tissue therapy tools.
MuuvSport Stealth Align
$45, Muuvsport.com
It may look like a medieval torture device, but the MuuvSport is no more intimidating (or dense) than your average foam roller. It comes with a handy chart that shows photos of how to use the device to stretch and roll various muscle groups.
RELATED: Post-Run Foam Roller Exercises
Trigger Point Grid X Foam Roller
$50, Tptherapy.com
Twice as firm as its predecessor, the new Grid X roller packs the hurts-so-good pain for your most dense muscle groups (lower back, hamstrings, quads)—or is just a better option for those who prefer a more intense massage.
RELATED: The Modern Art Of Recovery
EvoFit Enso Roller
$89, Evofitforlife.com
The new Enso roller distinguishes itself by offering eight adjustable discs that allow you to either pinpoint specific areas or avoid others. You customize it by simply moving the disks into grooves on the aluminum tube base to determine the placement you want.
Enter code TRIMAG2014 at Evofitforlife.com for 20% off.
RELATED: IT Band Stretches, Treatment And Prevention
SKLZ Massage Bar
$30, Sklz.com (Available in October)
You control the pressure of the SKLZ Massage Bar, so you can roll as hard or as easy as you want across aching muscles. The antibacterial handles were modeled after mountain bike handlebars, so they have a natural, ergonomic grip.
SKLZ AccuBall
$20, Sklz.com (Available in October)
SKLZ noticed that most athletes use one of three balls for spot-treatment massage: tennis, lacrosse or golf. So they combined all three into one tool: As-is, it has the density of a lacrosse ball; take out the middle plastic piece and use it for a golf-ball feel; and without that middle piece intact, it has the firmness of a tennis ball.
RELATED: Calf Massage Exercise
No Pain, No Gain
Chad Wells, D.C., of The League Sports Rehab in San Diego suggests the “less time, more pain” approach to rolling. He recommends spending about 20 seconds per muscle group (each calf, hamstring, quad, IT band, glute, hip flexor, etc.) with whichever product you feel is most effective for that particular area. “Get in there, bust up the scar tissue, then get out and leave it alone,” Wells says. “If you’ve done it correctly, you should feel looser/lighter afterward. If you don’t feel any different, you didn’t get in there aggressively enough. If you feel worse, you over-did it, and need to back off a little bit next time.”