Foam Rolling Your Low Back (Safely!)
Foam Rolling Your Low Back (Safely!)
*Generic disclaimer: I am not a doctor or physical therapist, nor do I play one on TV. If you have any kind of back pain, see a professional!
Image credit (with modification): PineAndFeatherSVG on Etsy
Are you guilty of taking your foam roller to your back like it’s a rolling pin? While it may feel good at the time, using a foam roller on a floppy spine can cause more harm than good - especially if you’re trying to alleviate back pain.
First things first: if you are experiencing back pain beyond normal muscle soreness, do not foam roll. It’s easy to make the problem worse, you’re better off taking a rest day (or two, or three…).
But if you’re looking to roll out as part of a cool down or to release some tension in sore back muscles the day after a backbending practice, read on!
Back Foam Rolling Best Practices
The two things you want to keep in mind when foam rolling your back are:
Roll your muscles not the bone - that means leaning slightly to the side so the foam roller is pressing the meaty bits that run up and down the side of your spine, and not pressing directly on top of your erector spinae (the little bony protrusions of your spine that you can feel running down your back)
Keep your spine “supported” while you roll - no floppy low back rolling! Engage your core to help support your low back - you don’t have ribs or any other bones here to help distribute weight onto the foam roller, so you want to be extra careful
Foam Rolling Your Low Back
Start lying on your back, propped up on your arms, with your foam roller down by your tailbone
Suck in your abs to engage your core (you can imagine you’re doing a mini crunch) and tilt your torso slightly to one side so that the roller is now “aligned” with the muscles on the outside of one side of your spine
Keeping your abs sucked in and leaning into your hands/arms for support, gently start rolling up and down your low back, from the top of your hips to the bottom of your rib cage. Remember - you’re aiming for the “meaty bits” not the bone (if you were a cow, you’d be aiming for the sirloin or top loin)
Do a couple of slow passes up and down. If you find an area with some extra tension, hold the (supported!) pressure of the foam roller against that muscle for 30-60 seconds until you feel the muscle start to relax/release
Repeat on the other side
Image credit (with modification): OpenStax, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Does foam rolling really “work?”
The science behind foam rolling is inconclusive - right now there are no great studies or literature reviews that show compelling evidence that foam rolling reduces soreness or increases flexibility (dang science!).
That said, I enjoy foam rolling and I like how it makes me feel. It may be a little intense, but I certainly feel relaxed after - I like to think of it as a “budget” deep tissue massage ;)
So when students ask “should I foam roll?” my answer is: if you like it - go for it! But don’t worry that you’re missing out on some recovery guru magic if you don’t include it in your routine.
