Happy Monday Friends!

A little “Mobility Monday: tidbit for you:

I see athletes rolling out their lower back with a foam rolling all the time. While it may seem like the right thing to do in order to relieve lower back soreness and tightness, it’s actually “bad news bears” for the lumbar spine for a few reasons:

1. If you tend to have a tight lower back, this position only reinforces the excessive lumbar extension that is associated with lower back tightness.

2. In order to reap the benefits of a foam roller, your muscles need to be able to relax over the roller. This position isn’t exactly allowing the muscles of the lower back to relax.

3. This position puts way too much pressure on the lumbar discs and their attachments.

If you want to perform some self-myofascial release on the lumbar spine opt instead for something like a “peanut” (2 lacrosse balls taped together). This allows you to massage the muscles on either side of the spine while leaving the lumbar spine out of harms way. It also enables you to keep the spine in a more neutral position rather than extending excessively over a roller.

With that…Happy Rolling!!