Do you have muscles that feel tight, even though you keep on stretching them? Most of us have muscle imbalances and releasing overactive muscles requires more than stretching. Rolling is key to achieving a better alignment.
The importance of rolling explained.
An example of the importance of releasing a tight calf for example, is that it could affect the way you bend to pick things up. if the calf is tight the foot cannot flex to its capacity because the shin muscle is not able to fully contract. The body will have to adjust and find a way to do the task. In the process however the knee might lose its alignment which overtime could produce pain.
What Elise and other experts recommend for better alignment through rolling.
A lot of studies support the use of rolling to help the release of the muscles. There are other ways to release as well. I like to follow the National Association for Sports Medicine (NASM) protocol in which we follow the release with a stretch of that same muscle.
After that is the perfect moment to get other muscles activated, in this case the front of the leg. After releasing the back of the leg, the muscle in the front can work at a better range, being the ideal moment to reinforce this potential. When we finish doing an isolated exercise, we can finish up by integrating through a global movement that incorporates the body as a whole.
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If you want to find out more about my work as a movement specialist and health coach, you can take look around this website. You can also visit any other of the entries of my blog, such as this one https://www.vivaelise.com/post/why-the-order-of-your-exercises-matters