Before our athletes do anything, we make sure that they start with foam rolling or lacrosse ball work. This is a very important step in the warm up process. When we foam roll, we are attacking the myofascial, which is simply muscle and fascia. Fascia is a gooey like substance that connects muscle to muscle and has been found to be an energy transfer system. Healthy fascia looks like a perfectly strung spider web and unhealthy fascia looks like a bundled up spider web. When fascia is unhealthy, it will limit range of motion at the nearby joints as well as hinder muscle function. This will also make the transfer of energy almost impossible to move through, causing a leak in power in your golf swing.
The solution is foam rolling those areas of the body that are painful. The pain should be a dull achy sensation. This will allow the fascia to be rehydrated which will help the muscle function better while allowing the joint associated with the muscle to move better as well. Now this doesn’t magically happen, you need to hold on the painful area for about 2 minutes. If you hold it long enough, you will feel the pain subside, once this happens the fascia has released.
Now this new range of motion will only last a short amount of time. This has to be a consistent thing you do every day for your body to make a lasting change. After you release the painful areas of the body, this is a perfect time for you to do your corrective exercises for your body to associate a new tension to. This will help your body move more optimally in everyday life and in your golf swing!
If you are interested in learning more or implementing a solid Myofascial Release and corrective exercise plan for you heading into the offseason reach out to us in the Performance Zone!
