To start, let’s review the anatomy of muscle tissue. Working from the largest to the smallest structures of muscle tissue, the whole muscle is composed of many strands of tissue called fascicles. These are what we see when we cut red meat or poultry (apologies to the vegetarians out there). A fascicle is a bundle of muscle fibers, also known as fasciculi. These fibers in turn are made up of thousands of thread-like myofybrils, which can contract, relax, and lengthen. Finally, the myofybrils are composed of millions of bands laid end-to-end called sarcomeres. There is a little more to the structure of muscle tissue, but we will leave it at that.
Fascia is a layer of fibrous connective tissue that surrounds muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, nerves, and blood vessels of the body. It’s like an elastic layer of tissue that helps the body keep shape and move with the different organs. Fascia combined with muscle is referred to as the Myofascia System.
When we contract a muscle, the sarcomere overlap with one another. Harder contractions cause even more of the sarcomere to overlap. As a muscle stretches, this area of overlap decreases, allowing the muscle fiber to elongate. The current length of the entire muscle depends upon the number of stretched fibers. The more fibers that are stretched, the greater the length developed by the muscle in use. Once the muscle fiber is at its maximum resting length, where all the sarcomeres are fully stretched, additional tensile force will place tension on the surrounding connective tissue. As the tension increases, collagen fibers in the connective tissue align themselves along the same line of force as the tension. Therefore, during a stretch, the muscle fiber is pulled out to its full length sarcomere by sarcomere, and then the connective tissue takes up the remaining slack. This can help to realign connective tissue in the direction of the tension, as well as to rehabilitate scarred tissue back to health.
Occasionally, due to muscle overuse, training, lack of stretching, or disuse, the layer of fascia can stick to the muscle and cause “adhesions.” This can result in restricted movement, pain, soreness, and reduced exchange of nutrients due to poor circulation of blood. Using a foam roller to break up adhesions is called “self myofascial release,” which involves the use of continuous pressure on the soft tissue while applying traction to the fascia. When using a foam roller, you can apply the same pressure and traction to your own body that you would receive with a massage. The motion produces a lengthening and release of the fascia along with the breakdown of scar tissue and adhesion to muscle. When the fascia releases, circulation to and from muscle tissue improves. Also, pain and soreness often diminish as the body can process the chemical waste products within the myofascia quicker. In a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, post-exercise fatigue was lower in athletes who foam rolled prior to an athletic activity versus those who didn’t. Another study found greater range of motion in the knee joint after foam rolling after foam rolling the surrounding musculature. When fascia is allowed to release from muscle, there is more room in the muscular compartment for muscular activity and for waste removal, as well as oxygen delivery while the muscle itself begins to relax.
Clinically, the effects and results of myofascial release are seen immediately with improved range of motion, decreased pain, and increased relaxation of myofascia. Concluding this matter, foam rolling works by mobilizing connective tissue, and stretching works primarily to elongate muscle fibers, a process that can take several weeks to achieve permanent improvements in the length of the tissue. I often recommend connective tissue to be worked on first, followed by stretching of the muscle. The reasoning is to allow for as much extensibility as possible to the connective tissue (and to unbind it from the muscle fibers) in order to prevent adhesions from limiting the best possible stretch to the muscle fibers.
John Lathrop, PT, DPT, MBA, PMP, MTC, MDT, CSCS, TPI-CGFI
J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Jan;28(1):61-8. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182956569.The effects of myofascial release with foam rolling on performance.Healey KC, Hatfield DL, Blanpied P, Dorfman LR, Riebe D.
J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Mar;27(3):812-21. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825c2bc1.An acute bout of self-myofascial release increases range of motion without a subsequent decrease in muscle activation or force.MacDonald GZ, Penney MD, Mullaley ME, Cuconato AL, Drake CD, Behm DG, Button DC.
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