Hello again! In this post we’re going to be continuing what we started talking about yesterday– the R8 roller. In particular, we’re going to be diving into how to best use the R8 to unlock common problem areas. Up first? The calf.
Before we dive right into the techniques, let’s talk anatomy for a moment. One of the most common complaints I hear from athletes starts like this: “my calves are so tight! They just won’t release!” The athlete goes on to say that they are on top of their self treatment in terms of massage and stretching, but they just aren’t getting anywhere despite daily work. Sound familiar?
The thing to remember about your muscles is that they don’t work in isolation. Instead of one big superficial muscle, you actually have layers of muscles. The lower leg is a prime example of this. Buried under the larger gastroc and soleus muscles are smaller muscles like the posterior tibialis and toe flexors. In endurance activities where the big muscles are prone to fatigue, these smaller muscles get called in to work as well. The problem with that is that they are smaller and less capable of handling the workload so they are prone to stiffening up as well. Since these smaller muscles cross the ankle joint as tendons, they can lock up the joint pretty dramatically. Here’s a visual:
Make a little more sense? If you’re working strictly on the back of the calf, you’re really only getting the gastroc and if you work deep enough maybe the soleus. To truly get to those deeper muscles, you need to work off the bone where they actually sit. Use the red 1/2 point line to help visualize it by breaking up the shin bone in two pieces. On the top half you have soleus and bottom half you have the toe flexors.
Here’s a quick test to see how tight the different layers of the muscles are in the back of the calf:
1) Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you. Using your ankle, pull your foot up as far as you can towards you.
The picture above is normal. You should be able to get that foot back 10-20 degrees past vertical.
2) Next, we’re going to do the same thing but we’re going to pull the last four toes back first. Grab the toes at the base and then try to bring the ankle back again.
Does it move as far??
3) How about when you do it with just the big toe pulled back first like this:
If those smaller muscles have any kind of restrictions or tightness, chances are when you pull those toes back first it’s going to keep you from moving your ankle as far. If the ankle doesn’t move it’s impossible to truly stretch out the larger gastroc/soleus muscles.
Another thing to think about is this: if the back of your leg is tight and that ankle is at all limited in it’s movement, the shin is getting jammed up as well trying to help shock absorb. That means you need to release the front of the lower leg as well so that it’s moving well and not blocking your ankle from the front side.
Just like the back of the calf- if you break the tibia bone up in half, on the top half you have the anterior tib and then on the bottom half you have the toe extensors. Use that outer ankle bone as your measure from there to your knee. You can even do the same kind of self assessment we did for the back of the leg.
1) Start with just moving the ankle by itself and see how far you can point your foot down.
2) Then try by moving the toes first (note- use the base of the toe versus the furthest bendy joint).
3) Lastly, trying moving just the big toe first.
Did moving the toes first (whether it was the little ones or the big one alone) change how that ankle moved??
So what do you need to know from all of that?
- The lower leg has two sides- front and back.
- Each of those sides has layers of muscles (the bigger superficial ones and the deeper ones).
- To truly release the lower leg and restore mobility and function, you need to address both sides and both layers.
Now… onto the good stuff. Actually releasing all of these areas! In the video demo below, you’re going to see three techniques using the R8. An easy way to visualize this is to think about how many wheels you’re using.
Technique one: warm up to increase blood flow and flush the area out.
Number of wheels used: all of them.
How: This is your most basic technique. Simply position the roller and then roll away. You can use your hands to pull the spring apart to start lightly and add more compression as you go.
Technique Two: Deeper massage/friction
Number of wheels used: Two (and only on one side)
How: After using all four wheels to warm up, you’ll have a good idea of where you want/need to work deeper. For this, I lock one side down and then focus on using just the two middle wheels of the other side. This will give you a much smaller area to work with and the ability to do a little friction as well. To friction, I apply compression using my hands and work the area without actually rolling. Think of it this way- you’re pinning that spot down. The movement is very small and deep. Sink in first, compress and then small movement over that spot (maybe an inch of actual rolling).
Technique Three: Deepest/Most specific work.
Number of wheels used: 1
How: Think of this as specific work. Narrow down what you’re working on to the width of one wheel. From there you can roll or you can use the friction technique above. Simply lock one side down and work with the other side.
Key areas/Protocol
- Break the shin bone in half. You then have a top half and a bottom half like the pictures above. (The video will also show this).
- Start using all four wheels and work both halves for a minute each.
- Think of that warm up as your chance to loosen things up and start looking for specific sore spots. After the warm up, go down to the two wheel/one side approach on those spots. 15-30 seconds per spot.
- Lastly, go down to the one wheel approach.
Video Demo