Correct use of a roller (for muscle knots)?

Triathlon Forum
1

I have some painful knots on the inside of my calf (they only affect my run) and would like to try to get rid of them myself before consulting a massage therapist or acupuncturist. Rolling seems to help but I’m getting conflicting advice from different professionals:

  1. Do you constantly roll back and forth on the roller over the knot -OR- do you hold still on the knot until it releases?

  2. How much pressure do you put on it? (I’ve been told that enduring hellish pain may actually cause the knot to get worse, that I should go easier)

  3. How long should a rolling session be?

  4. How many days of rolling before I throw in the towel?

  5. Any calf specific exercises (besides squats) that would prevent these in the future? They suck.

Thanks!

2

  1. When I roll, I like to go global to local, so roll from your ankle up to your knee and back a few times, and then on your last couple of passes hit the knots, and roll back and forth over them.

  2. I would put as much pressure as you can comfortably sustain, but going too hard is probably counter productive. Getting borderline to the point where you tap out vs. mild discomfort isn’t going to be the difference in fixing the problem or not (or knot-get it??).

  3. 4-5 min.

  4. Tough to say. I would wager that your calf issues aren’t really a calf problem. What’s your nutrition like pre and post run? How is your ankle mobility? Are you a pronator or supinator? Are your glutes firing correctly? These are just a few things to consider.

  5. For the calves I’d work on some eccentric exercises, like standing on the edge of some stairs on your toes and slowly lowering your heels until they are below the edge of the stairs. But like I said before, your calves may just be the manifestation of a problem elsewhere. I’d try to find a good sports injury chiro/PT/LMT.

3

Personally, when i get to the point of the knot, i stop rolling and start rocking it side to side. hurts so good.

i don’t put on so much pressure that i’m in real pain. just enough so i feel it.

i don’t know how long a rolling session should be, but i go through a little less than ten minutes, usually concentrating on my legs and lower back.

i should roll every day, but usually it’s just 2-3 times a week. i started to do yoga, and that helped a lot in my overall stretching.

This is a good article about different trigger point exercises you can do. http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/06/13/trigger-point-release/