Injury Prevention & Rehab Using A Foam Roller
When my basketball career was winding down I started working in a full time job. After all I didn’t make millions playing basketball and I needed something to fund my lifestyle. My first real full time job was in 2007 when I got into an office IT job.
Office IT jobs like most full time office jobs require sitting in front of a computer for long hours. Boy was this a shock to my body. I’m someone that can’t sit still; it’s in my nature to constantly be moving and I rarely sit for more than 30 minutes in one spot. Unfortunately, the full time office job took a toll on my body. I remember within the first few months of starting this job I started getting niggling injuries. Started with shin splints which got so bad I wasn’t able to train. This then moved on to back and joint pain and before you know it I started breaking down dramatically.
Sitting in one place for extended periods is just suicide for your body. I have the proof! Since 2008 I have had four major surgeries. Yes, I am getting old and it does play a massive part but I cannot explain to you how within 6 months of my first full time job how many times I needed to visit the physio.
While I was training with a trainer for all my plyometric workouts 15 minutes of the session was devoted to rolling on a foam roller. This was the first time I had ever used one; seen it a few times but I thought it was some funky fad people were on. Wow, rolling my ITB on a foam roller was death! The pain was excruciating. But in weeks I felt that a lot of the restriction and pains in my legs had gone. Since then I use the roller every week just to loosen on muscles. I even take this with me to tournaments so I can roll out between games.
I would suggest if you are having a few niggling injuries or just would like to stay loose. Get on a foam roller. Purchasing them is one of the best things you can do for injury prevention and rehabilitation. This is especially a handy tool to have if you have multiple training sessions in day.
I purchased my 30mm foam roller at HART Sport (https://www.hartsport.com.au/categories/fitness—training/foam-rollers?PageProduct=1). I went with the smaller size as it’s so much easier to put it in my basketball bag. The larger rollers are good but not practical for a basketball player, especially if you are travelling from training session to training session. Last thing you want to be doing is carrying a massive foam cylinder around.
If you don’t feel like spending the $30 for a small foam roller a cheaper alternative is to go to a hardware store and get a length of PVC tube. Cut it to the size you want. Please note, PVC tubes are much more painful compared to the foam rollers. If you want to make it a little more bearable you can wrap the PVC tube in an adhesive rubber.
In summary, if you are feeling tight or stiff in your muscles a foam roller is the tool for you. This along with stretching is the best way to stay limber and injury free. Always remember, rehab and injury prevention is just as important and practicing basketball specific skills.
I want to set a challenge for all of you. Now that you have read this article on injury prevention with a foam roller. I’d like for you to go away and buy or make yourself a foam roller. As I mentioned in this article a PVC pipe will do. Use the comment section or social media to share a picture of your foam roller.
