I wanted to take some time to share some information about one of my personal favorite recovery tools.
How it works…
Flossing our muscles works a lot like flossing our teeth. When you compress muscle groups and take them through their range of motion, it creates a 'flossing like' effect between individual muscles. It helps break up adhesions in the fascia that may exist and allowing for a better range of motion and movement.
Sciencey stuff…
The compression from the band causes adhesions to release.
By incorporating movement with this technique, it increases its effectiveness by restoring the sliding surfaces of the muscle fibers and surrounding tissues.
Also, compressing a swollen or inflamed area decreases the swelling by pushing the inflammation back into circulation via the lymphatic system.
I am not a doctor use this mobility tool with caution or have a professional do it for you.
Guidelines when using…
Always wrap joint towards the heart, starting at the furthest part from the heart and working towards it.
Always overlap the band by 50%.
Wrap the band with 50% tension and 75% tension over the targeted area.
Incorporate movement gradually and make sure that you are moving with good form. Mobilizing in a lousy position, only reinforces negative habits.
Don't force the movement. "Floss" the joint through a functional movement pattern and try to increase the range of motion with each repetition.
Make the movement functional. Make a push-up, squat, lunge, or overhead press, but make sure it is correct and through a full range of motion.
To increase your range of motion of a joint, wrap one band above the joint and one below. Go through a movement pattern, squat, do a push-up, lunge, etc.
Only floss for a maximum of two minutes at a time to allow the tissue to recover and re-vascularize.
Here is a link to some awesome videos on how to floss