Rethinking the Foam Roller

Foam rollers are now more common than ever and is something that clients still ask about a lot. One of the most common questions I get about foam rolling is: Should I use a untextured roller or a textured roller? There are many thoughts out there from fitness and physical therapy professionals about foam rolling and to be honest I understand why people ask massage therapists about them too because after all they are spending more time with you as a client then either one of them in those other professions. When it comes down to it (like anything else) go to people who have nothing to gain and have some knowledge base to draw from that you can trust your gut with. 

Let's first get into the generally accepted logic behind the texture and untextured that fitness and medical professionals are taught in school. Foam rolling with flat/untextured roller is supposed to be for beginners to foam rolling and/or those with low muscle mass. The thought process being that people need to work the tissue slowly and less agresstivly to ensure less risk of damage and pain. The textured roller is supposed to be for advanced users with a lot of muscle mass to agressivly tare into the body with almost a shearing effect. 

So here is my take on this topic and why I think people should consider my point of view on this topic in a nutshell. Foam rollers should be (like everything else I talk about in this vain, something you use. If you don’t use it then its worthless so before you buy one, try one) something you use. I think that untextured foam rollers hurt more than the ones with texture (there are different amounts of texture on some but I again am speaking about most you can buy that are not specialized) and that new users have a stronger need to shear and pull apart tissues more than an advanced users because many people what are not extremely physically active tend to have more fascial issues rather than muscle growth issues. When you massage someone you can feel a tactile difference between the two (muscle and fascial tissue). This means I tend to disagree with those that think textured rollers are for advanced users. If you have a lot of muscle and are working out more what I have found is that you use foam rollers more often than a beginner so there is less of a need for working the tissue with a textured foam rollers.