Welcome to the Roll It Out series of massages on EpicSelf! Seeing as I have a love affair with my foam roller and all the sweet tight muscle relief it can offer, I thought I would start posting the best roller massage techniques I have come across so we can all benefit from this incredible tool. All you’ll need is a simple foam roller. If you haven’t purchased one yet, here are some great options. Read on to get a feel for why a foam roller is a must-have tension reducer.
Lets get rolling! The first massage in this series is the all important upper back (thoracic region). This roll out will target all those over worked, tense back extensors, lats, trapezius, and romboids (in between the shoulder blades).
-Place the roller on your mid back. Legs bent in parallel and abdominals engaged to support the low back.
-Arms can straight out in front of the chest, above the head, or placed behind the head.
-Roll up and down the upper spine by pushing from the legs. Make sure not to roll onto your neck or roll lower than the ribs.
-Rock and roll to one side then the other for even more massage goodness.
Bonus Stretch: End your roll out session with the roller sitting below the shoulder blades. Sit on the ground with your pelvis tucked to anchor your low back. With hands behind the head, slowly extend back over the roller and take a couple breaths here. Use your abdominals to bring you back up to vertical. This will help increase flexibility in the thoracic spine and give you an amazing pectoralis stretch. Yeah!
After slouching over a desk all day long this will feel divine. Tune in for more incredible Roll It Out sessions!
