Many people live day to day with unnecessary muscle and joint pain. Most of the time you will hear people say, “I’m just getting old!” In many cases it doesn’t have to be that way. The aches and pains that many people feel can be treated fairly easily with a flexibility technique called, “Self Myofascial Release or SMR”.
Self Myofascial Release (SMR) focuses on what is known as the body’s fascial system. The fascial system is a thin sheath that covers the body’s muscles and can often develop adhesions which are often referred to as “knots”. These adhesions can limit the body’s mobility as well as create tightness and tenderness in the muscular system. Adhesions can be caused by chronic overuse or under-use of a muscle. In addition tightness caused by adhesions can pull joints out of alignment and cause an increase in joint pain.
(i.e. – common in medial knee pain)
The technique is performed by rolling a foam roll across the surface of the muscle until a tender spot is found. Simply hold the foam roll on the tender spot until the tenderness dissipates. Holding the foam roll on a tender spot will break up any adhesions and stimulate the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) in the muscle which will cause the muscle to relax and allow better elongation of the soft tissue. SMR is a very effective form of flexibility that has lasting effects when perform consistently.
This technique will rid the body of common muscle aches and allow proper joint alignment which in many cases will relieve joint pain. Using SMR and other flexibility methods one can achieve increase mobility, performance as well as quality of life. It is recommended that you combine SMR with a complete fitness program (resistance training, and aerobic training). If you would like more information about this article and article subjects similar to this one, please e-mail me at craig@fitnessprogramsplus.com or visit us at www.fitnessprogramsplus.com for a step by step printable format with pictures.By Craig LePage, CSCS, NASM-CPT, President of FitnessProgramsPlus.com
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