Fascia roller – simply massage away tension

If you’re struggling with a tight back, poor sleep, or neck pain, a self-massage roller may be the solution.

Fascia rollers are practical massage rollers for everyone who regularly suffers from tension.

Such a little helper is also interesting for everyone who sits several hours a day. Here you will learn everything you need to know before choosing a fascia roller.


The essentials in brief:

The fascia (connective tissue in our body) can stick together with too little movement and lead to unpleasant pain.

The back in particular is often affected (in “problems with the intervertebral discs” the fasciae are often the real cause). A fascia roller helps you to massage tension out of the body.

A variant recommended by the Healthy Back – Better Living eV and the Federal Association of German Back Schools (BdR) eV can be found here on Amazon: View fascia roll .


Faszien…was?

Although most of us have never heard of fascia, they are an important part of our body.

 

  • Fascia are connective tissue that envelops all organs and muscles in our body. They give the muscles their shape and provide them with nutrients and water.
  • The fasciae are therefore irreplaceable for the functions of our body. They look like a bundle (lat. “Fascia” – hence the name) and consist of collagen, water and various adhesives.

If they are injured, this usually leads to pain and unpleasant side effects.

The best known is probably the sore muscles after too much sport : Fine cracks appear in the fascia, which we clearly feel.

Bonded fasciae lead to tension

Sore muscles usually heal on their own – however, the fasciae can also be damaged in other ways:

  • Over time, the elastic fasciae can stick together and lead to restricted movement and indefinable pain.
  • In addition, if there is insufficient nutrition and too little fluid, the fasciae harden and unpleasant movement restrictions arise.

Often, back pain or “problems with the intervertebral discs” are actually a result of glued fasciae. They are difficult to spot on x-rays and are therefore often overlooked.

Science has therefore been investigating for a long time how the fasciae affect the rest of your health.

How do glued fasciae develop?

The complaints don’t come overnight – they develop over a longer period of time and usually have the following causes:

Missing or incorrect movement. If you sit for several hours a day, the fasciae stick together over time, resulting in neck tension or back and shoulder pain .

Bruises & Injuries. The fasciae can be injured just like normal muscles, for example during exercise or through other overstretching.

(Chronic) stress. If the body is in a constant state of alarm, it releases hormones that encourage the fasciae to gradually stick together.

Lack of sleep. If you cannot rest during the night (e.g. because of insomnia ), then your body will not find any opportunity to regenerate.

Wrong diet. Unhealthy diet can also limit the function of the fasciae. The hormone release changes and inflammation occurs more easily.

The causes are often more complex. For example, people with a lot of exercise can also suffer from sticky fasciae – namely when their posture is already bad and the connective tissue is incorrectly stressed.

What can I do about aching fascia?

Important: In order to accurately diagnose problems with the fascia, only a visit to the doctor will help. He can help you better in a personal conversation than an advisor on the Internet.

So please consult a specialist if you have serious back pain. To prevent and relieve tension, you can also train your own body:

  • Targeted movements and exercises can relieve tension and reduce the negative side effects of sticky fasciae.
  • Yoga includes numerous stretching exercises and stabilizes the whole body. The spine is less stressed and incorrect postures are corrected.
  • Relaxation techniques & meditation reduce stress and reduce the release of inflammatory substances in the body.
  • Massages of the back or other affected areas relieve tension and improve general well-being.

All of these methods can help – but if you want to specifically release the tension , a so-called fascia roller may be the best way to help.

A massage roller against tension

You may already be familiar with these foam rollers.

 

They are available in different shapes and with different degrees of hardness – depending on the strength of the tension.

  • Most fascia rolls are not only suitable for the back, but can also be used for other parts of the body – from the neck to the lower legs.
  • Fascia training can not only improve the elasticity of the connective tissue, but also promote blood circulation – and thus have a positive effect on physical health.

The self-massage is done in a few minutes and can also be built into existing training, for example to warm up or cool down after running.

But be careful: fascia training is not without it, especially at the beginning! The first couple of times didn’t have much to do with a relaxation massage for me, but felt like “real work”.

If the tension has been resolved, however, the scooters are addicting! The body feels free & incredibly light.

Which fascia roll is the best?

Nowadays there are a variety of different massage rollers – I personally have had good experiences with the original from the Blackroll brand .

  • The workmanship is of high quality and the scope of delivery also includes a DVD with the most important basic exercises. The instructions are of great help and
  • So you certainly won’t go wrong with the standard variant. Due to its shape, the role is suitable for the whole body and the degree of hardness is ideal for relieving tension.

Note: This variant is also recommended by the Association for Healthy Backs – Better Living eV and the Federal Association of German Back Schools (BdR) eV.

Click here for the price & recommended variants .

Are there any other recommended alternatives?

Naturally! In addition to the standard roll, the manufacturer mentioned above also offers other shapes such as balls or double balls.

These are particularly suitable for certain areas – in my experience, a normal massage roller is sufficient for the most important parts of the body (neck, back, legs). As a beginner you don’t necessarily need these variations.

There are now numerous copies from other manufacturers to buy on the Internet – most of them are a bit cheaper, but the quality and durability is not always that high. However, you may find a suitable variant.

 

What should I consider when choosing a fascia roll?

If you have found a few suitable roles and want to compare them, then you should use the following points as a guide:

Degree of hardness

Most important is the degree of hardness of the role.

 

 

The fasciae (and probably you too) have to get used to the training. The harder the material of the roll, the more painful it becomes.

Beginners should choose a soft or medium variant. In the case of untrained connective tissue, they release tension just as well as the very hard professional roles.

Advanced & athletic people can use the harder roles. If the fasciae are already elastic, they can be trained even better with these devices.

In terms of price, there are usually no differences – however, the soft versions for beginners often contain an enclosed book or a DVD with exercises.

Shape & surface

As already mentioned, there are fascia rolls in many different forms – the standard version is suitable for most exercises and can be used in the most diverse ways.

As a beginner, you don’t need any more. Professionals can use balls or mini-rollers that allow additional exercises.

  • There are also differences in the surface finish. Originally there were only fascia rolls with a smooth surface. New variants have grooves, knobs and elevations that are supposed to promote blood circulation.
  • In practice, however, I did not find any differences. Yes, they feel different – but none of them are noticeably better. All variants do a good job and relieve tension reliably.

It’s best not to be confused by the many different variants & shapes: Choose a standard model that suits you and get started.

You can always buy balls or very hard versions later – if you reach your limits with normal scooters (as a beginner, this is certainly not the case, unless you are tougher than Rambo).

The benefits of self-massage

Fascia training works with movement and pressure . Both together relieve tension in the upper layers of the connective tissue and make it more elastic over time. The result:

  • The tension decreases and occurs less often.
  • The body is stretched and thus more flexible while practicing.
  • The body’s own fluids are better distributed in the connective tissue.
  • The increased blood flow promotes regeneration of the body.

Over time, sticky fasciae loosen and the body becomes firmer and stronger. Exercises with the fascia roller are not only suitable for the prevention of back pain, but also as part of the normal warm-up training.

You will notice the effect of a relaxed body everywhere: in everyday life as well as at home in bed. If your back is free from hardening, this also improves the quality of sleep .

This is how the training of the fascia works

The exercises differ depending on the affected body region . The best thing to do is to buy a set with a training manual or DVD that contains a detailed description of the training.

In general, it works like this:

  1. To loosen stuck connective tissue, place the roller under the affected area.
  2. Support your body while applying some pressure to the affected area.
  3. Slowly roll up and down with your body, releasing tension in the tissue.

Training can be a bit uncomfortable, especially at the beginning (the grinning models on the packaging are probably professionals).

However, you should not be discouraged by this – training will be easier after a short time and you will feel the positive effects all over your body.

Note: Fascia training is trendy and that is why numerous fitness studios have their own courses for this. It’s best to stop by there to make your workout professional.

Improve your wellbeing

I hope this article has been useful. Get started today – your body will thank you for it.

In addition to the training itself, you can also take other measures. You may remember: Stress and a lack of rest can also lead to sticky fasciae.

Not only the body but also the mind needs training. Treat yourself to a break from time to time, try out relaxation techniques or, when the weather is nice, just lie on the grass in the fresh air.

When you feel good, it also has a positive effect on the rest of your body.

Improve your sleep

This page is all about sleep – and it’s no coincidence.

We spend one third of our life in bed.

If the night’s sleep is disturbed or if the mattress does not fit, the body can hardly recover. Training suffers and the mood is bad all day.

  • It is therefore important that their own sleep habits quite consciously to observe and improve the quality of sleep.
  • So furnish your bedroom appropriately and make sure you have a pillow + mattress that fits your body.
  • Sleep disorders are common and often go undetected. They may be the reason for the lack of energy.

Take a little time and learn how you can use the night to make the day better.

You can find out how to do this in our Better Sleeping section .

I created Sleep Knowledge to share my interests and experiences on healthy sleeping with others. On this page I am therefore dealing with interesting questions about the optimal night’s sleep & everything else that goes with it.

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