Have you ever wondered which works best out of a foam roller and a massage gun? It is a question I often get asked in the physio clinic. I feel like most people ask because they want an excuse not to use the foam roller!
It depends partly on which muscles you are targeting, but in general, my opinion is that foam rolling works better and will give you better results, so if you have to choose one, then choose foam rolling.
However, if you have got a massage gun, then you should use it AS WELL AS the foam roller. Doing both will have more chance of helping to ease your aches and pains than doing one or the other.
I think that one of the main reasons that massage guns have become so popular is that they don’t hurt as much as foam rolling, so people are more likely to use them more often. If you do something consistently, it works. Therefore, using a massage gun 7 times a week is probably going to be more effective than using the foam roller only once a week.
Foam rolling can feel very painful if you are rolling tight muscles that haven’t been worked on for a while, so it is easy to talk yourself out of using it.
You will be amazed how much of a difference it makes if you roll your tight muscles consistently. When you first start rolling your quads and ITBs for example, it will probably feel excruciating, and you might struggle to roll for more than 20 seconds, but after a couple of weeks of consistent rolling, you will be able to roll for a full 3 – 4 minutes without stopping, and it will be tolerable, if not enjoyable.
Massage Guns can be useful for focusing on smaller muscle groups, or for releasing particular trigger points. They come with a variety of different attachments, and have various speed settings that allow you to vary the intensity of the massage.
Foam Rolling Videos
We have two running-specific foam rolling workouts you can use to help reduce the muscle tension in various parts of your body. Ideally you also need a massage ball for your glute muscles, as a ball will get in deeper and ultimately be more effective for your glutes.
