A torture instrument worth conquering

OPINION: Just as many people have a love-hate relationship with running, many runners have a love-hate relationship with foam rollers.

Oh, boy, I know I sure do.

And sports massages. Far out. Stretching? Ah, less so – I don’t hate it as much, but then again I don’t love it as much, either.

When your muscles are tired or a bit sore, sometimes it’s a relief to jump on the foam roller and … well, roll around.

If you haven’t experienced the pleasure and pain of a foam roller, let me try to explain it. A foam roller is a cylinder covered in squishy foam, or made of a solid polystyrene-like substance.

You can get ones that look like big, soft Lego pieces, some that come from fancy studios, or you can get the variety I’ve got, which I think came from The

Warehouse.

Whatever, your weapon of choice is, they basically all do the same thing: you put it on the floor and then roll it underneath your muscles.

Calves, hamstrings, quads, and the lower back are my favourite parts to hit. But I’ve seen people use them all sorts of places. I’m sure you could even foam roll your forehead, if you wanted to.

Whatever helps to work the stress out of your body.

This is not a science column, so I won’t even try to pretend I could explain the biomedical complexities of what’s happening inside your muscles and tendons when you do it.

What it feels like, though, is that you’re squeezing all the bad stuff out, like when you push on a tube of toothpaste (not that toothpaste is bad, of course, and neither do your legs end up flat like an empty toothpaste tube … I’m regretting using this analogy).

Sometimes, too, you come across really tight little bunchedup bits of angry fibre called trigger points. Hitting them with a foam roller seems to make them let go somehow.

So, yeah, those are the things I love about jumping on the foam roller.

But sometimes, oh jeez, it hurts. When you hit particularly sore spots (and, yes, I’m looking at you, my calves), wowser.

That’s when the hate bit of the love-hate relationship kicks in.

Previously, I used to just think that was part of foam rolling. You had to just grit your teeth and push through. No pain, no gain, right?

But then my friend Luke, a sports massage therapist, told me that, actually, no, you shouldn’t be doing that. Foam rolling or massage shouldn’t be about making you feel like you’re about to sweat blood.

It can be uncomfortable, yes, but it should not be hurting.

That’s like traumatising muscles that are already suffering.

I really wish I’d known that years ago. It’s flipped my attitude.

Now, when I get to those really gnarly bits in my calves, rather than doubling down and really trying to force them to relent, I back off. Think of it as just trying to gently squeeze that toothpaste tube rather than thinking, ‘‘right, time to get out the vice grip’’.

Doing these sorts of extracurricular running-related activities is something I’ve had to focus on more as I’ve got older.

I used to think doing that kind of stuff – foam rolling, massage, stretching – was just wasting time that I could be running.

Cut my run short, so I can fit in some stretching? Are you crazy?

But now I see it as part of my training. If I want to keep running, and to keep enjoying myself, these maintenance routines are part of the package.

I wouldn’t drive my car without thinking that, from time to time, I need to refuel, keep the tyres inflated and get it serviced – so why should I think it’s any different for my body?

Especially when I intend to keep running, even when the body has been around the clock a few times.

❚ Eugene Bingham and Matt Rayment are hosts of the trail running podcast Dirt Church Radio. Learn more at dirtchurchradio.com or get in touch via email dirtchurchradio@gmail.com

Not everyone smiles when they are using a foam roller – but it’s worth persevering.