Yes! Do you ever experience discomfort, tightness, soreness, or pain? The answer is likely a resounding yes considering the steadily increasing number of individuals experiencing chronic pain in the world today. With daily stressors like work (physical or not), exercise, kids, outdoor adventures, and many others, we are all but certain to experience physical discomfort of some sort at some point in our lives. My athletic and fitness training experience has shown me that muscle based discomfort often rooted in muscular disfunction is a common source of the chronic pain so many (including myself when I am not foam rolling) deal with on a regular basis. I have come to define muscular based pain and disfunction (short of neural driven muscular disorders) as muscular disruptions.
Muscular disruptions can manifest in the form of shortened muscles, weakened muscles and/or muscle groups, cramping, and muscular pulls - to name a few. While muscular disruptions are technically nervous system related - due to the fact that any and all movements made by our skeletal system start with a signal from the brain, sent through the central nervous system, to all muscles necessary to execute the desired movement, which then pull on the bones in the body, which work against the many joints of the body in a ‘lever’ based system, creating movement action - many people are only familiar with the physical discomfort they create. Over time I have found that foam rolling and other myofascial release (MFR) techniques offer a distinct relief, zen, convenience, sustainability, and effectiveness in treating a vast variety of muscular disruptions.
My heavy sports background (especially the football part of it) offered me a unique combination of pros & cons related to muscular disruption.
PROS:
1) exposure to the newest in sports science technology and practices designed to maximize the performance of my body.
2) five years of lessons from sports science & strength and conditioning experts in the logical application of preparation, performance, and recovery tools and practices.
3) first hand experience in the efficacy of what I and hundreds of my fellow teammates and athletes learned from our coaches and trainers - to name a few.
CONS:
1) hypersensitivity to my body’s state of muscular disruption.
2) hypersensitivity to my body posture.
3) past injuries that require daily attention. - to name a few.
Through it all I believe I learned the most important key to total body health… The truth is muscular disruptions and thus physical discomfort is unavoidable as a direct result of each and every one of our lifestyles (from the 9-5 in the fields to the 9-5 in an office). The key is learning, understanding, and applying daily physical therapy based practices - this will enhance your blood circulation, increase toxic waste removal, improve natural healing abilities, and provide immediate pain alleviation. My favorite and most versatile PT practice is foam rolling as I am in control of pressure, location, and duration. Learn how to foam roll with me at taelogic.com!
~ Coach Tae
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