A lot of people use foam rollers for their backs or other sore muscles. But are foam rollers really the best product for muscle pain relief or training? The truth is they aren’t. Let me tell you why.
Why do so many people like foam rollers?
First, let’s talk about why people like foam rollers so much. The reason is myofascial release. What is that you ask? Well, “Myo” means muscle and “fascia” means connective tissue. Why do you want to release it? Fascia is a thin layer of tissue surrounding your muscles, connecting your muscles and tendons and bones. Think of it as the thin layer of casing around a sausage; it holds your muscles together. Muscle fascia is not pliable, which is why you sometimes feel stiff muscles or less range of motion. Sometimes, trigger points or adhesions form in your muscle fascia. Most people call these trigger points muscles knots. These muscle knots form when the fascia or connective tissue gets stuck together from trauma, injury, inactivity, disease, or inflammation, making the fascia inelastic and causing pain. Rolling on a foam roller can help to release these knots and relieve your pain. On top of that, rolling out your muscles before and after a workout warms up your muscles, making them more elastic, preventing injury, and promoting healing.
Why do foam rollers suck?
1. Innovation brought a better product for back pain relief.
So, what’s the number one reason why foam rollers suck? They’re not the best product out there for myofascial release, especially when you’re dealing with back pain. As the world’s technology improves, the day-to-day things we use improve too.
2. Foam rollers don’t fit in between your shoulder blades.
Using the Chirp Wheel+ can save you pain. The Chirp Wheel+ was designed to reach places on your back that the foam roller can’t. Foam rollers are very wide and span across the whole back, which means that they can’t get to the muscles between your shoulder blades. The Chirp Wheel+ is shaped like a wheel and is 5 inches wide so that it fits perfectly between your shoulder blades and reaches the muscles that are often the most sore.
3. Foam rollers roll directly on your spine and other bones.
The shape of the Chirp Wheel+ allows you to roll out directly on your muscles rather than rolling out your bones or other parts of your body that don’t need it or could be harmed by a foam roller. The Chirp Wheel+ has a spinal canal too so that as you roll over your spine, there is no pressure directly on the bones of your spine, only on the muscles surrounding your spine.
4. Foam rollers put too much pressure on your back.
Another great thing about the wheel is that you can decide how much pressure you put on your muscles. Rolling out with pain is not good for your muscles, but the Chirp Wheel+ comes in 3 different sizes (the 12 inch gentle, the 10 inch medium, and the 6 inch deep tissue wheel) so that you can decide how much pressure is right for you.
Watch this video to see the difference between the Chirp Wheel+ and a foam roller in action.
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