Foam rollers

For many young dancers just a few weeks into their first term of their new year studying, the going will be tough. Even without attending vocational dance college or higher education to study dance or the performing arts, many dancers will have gone back to dance classes after a short break over the summer months. It is only natural that their bodies will be required to readjust to the increased exercise regime and may need some additional help to make this a smooth transition. Many professional dancers, and now an increasing number of younger dance students, rely heavily on what is known as foam rolling: a foam cylinder of varying lengths and widths used to treat sore muscles and literally iron out any problems. Foam rollers can be used on many parts of the body, most commonly for the Iliotibial Band between the outer hamstring and the Quadriceps muscle, but can also be used for the quads alone, calves (gastrocnemius) and Gluteus Maximus. Foam rollers can be used in a variety of ways. For the IT band, for example, dancers tend to lie on their side with the foam roller underneath their hip, positioned so it is at the top of the IT band. The IT band is then 'rolled over', massaged onto the foam roller, which can give way to improved alignment and turn out of the hips as space has been created between the muscles of the leg. Aside from general day-to-day use of foam rollers to keep the body moving and performing sufficiently, they can also be used for rehabilitating the body back to its peak before injury, for example. By treating the muscles in this way, foam rollers can act as an aid in rejuvenating the feeling within the muscles and working towards a swifter recovery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkjJTNZVFU4