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How to Foam Roll for Lower Back Relief

Are you tired of waking up stiff and sore from yesterday's workout? Are you incorporating proper stretching and muscle massage into your everyday routine? Learn how a speedy recovery through foam rolling can elevate your recovery to the next level.  Using foam roll lower back techniques is an easy and therapeutic way to reduce soreness and bring flexibility back to your stiff muscles.  

Foam Roll Lower Back

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/g19529455/foam-rolling-mistakes/

  

Foam Roll Lower Back - Examining Muscles

Lower back pain is often caused from tension and tightness built up in different muscles around the lumbar spine and tailbone.  A few common areas are; Iliospoas, Gluteus Medius, Gluteus Maximus, Piriformis, Quadratus Lumborum, and TFL (It band) MuscleWhen addressing back pain, it is crucial to accurately identify the root cause by tracing the discomfort to specific muscles. Unlocking one of these muscles could be the missing link between you and a pain-free back.

 

Foam Roll Lower Back QL Muscle

Quadratus Lumborum Muscle (QL)

  

Foam Roll Lower Back - Technique 

Foam rolling for lower back pain and muscle relief does not mean strictly rolling out your lower back.  In fact, rolling out the arch in your lower back can compress your spinal joints in a negative way.  You will most likely experience some cracking which may feel good initially, but is not always beneficial for alleviating lower back pain.  Massaging surrounding muscles will make for a more flexible and healthy low back.  Complimentary muscles to consider when foam rolling for back pain relief include; glute muscles, hamstrings, hip flexors and QL muscle (Quadratus Lumborum), and foam roll TFL

Foam roller lower back - foam roll TFL

  

Foam Roll Lower Back - QL Claw

Some trainers and chiropractors may suggest the option of foam rolling the lower back and other muscles. If you are looking for a deeper, more effective tissue massage, the foam roller is not the answer.  You will need a tool that can reach deeper than just the surface of the muscle.  Pain and tension often build up in Trigger Points.  Trigger Points are irritable contraction knots in muscles that can cause a ton of pain throughout the body [1].  A foam roller or massage stick will not reach the majority of trigger points.

Foam Roll Lower Back QL Claw

A great replacement for foam roll lower back is the QL Claw.  The QL Claw will penetrate trigger points and loosen the muscle better than your typical muscle roller or massage balls for back pain would.  The QL Claw is designed specifically for breaking up tissue and releasing those hard-to-reach trigger points. 

 

 

Check out this video of the QL Claw being used to release the Quadratus Lumborum.

  

QL Claw Testimonial 

The QL Claw has impacted many lives since its release in May 2021.  Check out our Testimonial Page and read why the QL Claw is the most practical and reasonably priced physical therapy tool out there. 

 
If you are serious about your lower back health and want to learn more, check out my flexibility and strengthening programs below.  Keeping mobility in the low back and overall posterior chain is important.  Staying mobile through flexibility exercises will potentially help relieve built-up pain and tightness.  Learning proper stretching techniques mixed with strengthening exercises will have your low back thanking you. 
   
 

 

Sources:

[1] Donnelly, Joseph M. Travell, Simons & Simons Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: the Trigger Point Manual. 3rd ed., Wolters Kluwer Health, 2019.

 

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