A foam roller can be an athlete's best friends.
"Researchers measured things like muscle soreness, range of motion, and vertical leap 24, 48, and 72 hours after the hard workout.
By all measures, the foam-roller group fared better in the days after their hard workout. They not only had less soreness at all times, but their soreness peaked 24 hours after the workout, while muscle soreness peaked 48 hours after the workout in those who didn't foam roll. The foam-roller group also performed better in tests of vertical leap, range of motion, and muscle contraction.
All of these findings suggest that the post-workout foam rolling helped to speed recovery. In theory, this should allow a higher level of training." (Foam Rolling as a Recovery Tool Following an Intense Bout of Physical Activity)
Foam roller self massaging is quick and easy to do.
"Another great application of the foam roller is on over used quadriceps muscles (quads), hamstrings, and calves. Giving yourself post workout massages through rolling is a great way to facilitate faster recover. As shown in our foam rolling video, don’t over do it. 3 up and 3 down is more than enough for young muscles. Even during therapy, it’s more important to be consist with 3 up and 3 down technique over 30 days, than it is to do 30 up and downs in one day." (GymnastCare.com)
