Should it hurt this much?! Left calf is agony using it…

It should hurt a bit during the roll if you are tight, but if it hurts after there was underlying damage or you have just done damage I think

Yes and yes (though it gets easier the more you use them)

Based on my experience, if it hurts then it needed to be rolled. Get’s better the more you do it but initial sessions are indeed very painful but it’s a pervesely enjoyable pain.

I think the only time I’ve come close to sobbing in the last 40 years was using a foam roller.

Yes, and real men use a rolling pin (or other solid roller, a tennis ball is good, cricket ball if you really want to make yourself cry).

Really good for pummeling your ITB’s into submission before stretching them out if you suffer from knee problems.

Before I bought a foam roller, I used a catering sized roll of clingfilm. The foam roller has never given me the same satisfying, eye watering feeling of “It hurts like hell, so it must be good” as the clingfilm roll did.

Great bit of kit – gets less painful with use.

WTF are you all using this “roller” for???

“massage”

If you get a proper foam roller it will hurt like hell. Cheaper ones deform after a while and don’t give the same level of pressure.

Yup. Mine is a “66 fit” branded one, which was pretty cheap. I’d avoid them. I’ve used others that are much firmer.

Only for gloss. The furry ones are better for emulsion.

Which roller do the masochist s recommend?

the foam roller really hurts…..in a good way 😆

had some acupuncture into my left quad today…..now that is worse than the roller pain !

I got my roller on Amazon – they come in long and short lengths – short is enough for most leg uses

Relevant…

Which roller do the masochist s recommend?

I use this one. It will make you cry if you have knots 😀

http://www.escapefitness.com/foam-roller-short.html

Much better than the cheaper one it replaced, which deformed after 4 months.

Yes, and real men use a rolling pin (or other solid roller, a tennis ball is good, cricket ball if you really want to make yourself cry).

agree with the tennis ball one – good for the hamstrings…

I use this one. Bit more expensive but it wont deform and should last longer

Have one but never got into it. Good links to various uses?

It really helped my ITB using a foam roller. Mine is a 66Fit one as well but it hasn’t deformed so far. First few times you use it it’s very painful, in fact I could only manage a few seconds before the pain got too much. Now my ITB is looser though, I can do a few minutes on it. Really useful bit of kit.

Here’s a link to a site with the main ‘self myofascial release‘ exercises. Scroll down a bit for diagrams.

Why drink water after?

I got one just the other day to help with my tight ITB. Its really helped but was outrageously painful at first.

Well, I,m glad I asked, I,ll persevere with it. Pain stops when I stop rolling except for my calf. Does that mean somethings buggered? Been super tight for quite a while now.

edit – misread last post.

I’ve tried one but it didn’t seem to hurt as expected, despite being about the most tight person known to man. But then I really quite enjoy a good elbow in the muscles so maybe it’s just im a bit less sensitive.

How long will a cheaper 20 quid one last versus the grid one boardingbob linked to? Is it more sensible to buy a better one at the outset?

Mines is some camping mat wrapped round a section of 4 inch drain pipe. ( after baulking at the price in the shop for a bit of foam )

What a difference it made . Better investment in my legs than the sports massage and physio – things were so bad i could barely walk when off the bike …..