Foam! Roller!
February 26, 2010
This big stick here is the best £15 I've spent in a long time. It's a foam roller, and many of you lovely folk were nagging me to try one... about three years ago. I do listen to you, there's just a slight delay in putting things into action.
If you're unfamiliar with foam rollers, they are another cross-over from the world of physiotherapy, like stability balls and exercise bands. They're just a cylinder made of high-density foam. Mine is a metre tall and 15cm in diameter. You can use them for all sort of things like stretching, massage and stability exercises. Just Google "foam roller exercises"; there's gazillions of them. Or if you're immature, you can simply use your roller to whack your loved ones on the arse.
I had to get one after I visited my friend Jillian and was whinging about my "golf ball", this horrid knot of tension that I frequently get below my right shoulder blade. Being a physiotherapist Jillian whipped out her trusty foam roller and gave me a quick tutorial. OH BABY. I could not help letting out a rather guttural moan... it really hit the spot and ironed out the pesky golf ball. I bought from Amazon the next week. Turns out it is also fab on my crappy hamstrings, just like many of you said it would be.
To emphasise my love! of! this! thing! I tried to arrange it with my stability ball into an exclamation mark, but the ball kept rolling away. I flipped the pic in Photoshop instead. It looks more like one of those fancy pepper grinders, but I think next time I get into an argument with Dr G I will assemble my giant exclamation mark on the living room floor. For nothing says SO THERE! quite like an exclamation mark made out of physiotheraphy equipment.
I'm Shauna Reid, Scotland-dwelling Aussie

