How to roll away all your sore back blues
We all know that working a 9-5 and sitting all day leads to various health problems. For me personally, it manifests itself through chronic back pain and tight hip flexors.
Fortunately, there's a way for me to soothe these aches and pains from home. I've been using Therabody's Wave Roller for the past week, and my back pain has significantly reduced.
The Wave Roller is a Bluetooth-enabled vibrating foam roller that proposes benefits like increasing blood flow, enhancing mobility, and releasing tension. You can connect the roller to a free Therabody App, where you can find personalised recovery routines targeting all parts of your body, along with instructions and how-tos.
Here are some of my initial thoughts.
My personal favourites are the mid back and upper back routines, which take up to 5 minutes to complete. Since most of the tension is in my upper body, which causes my lower back to overcompensate, I've decided to focus on these areas.
The foam roller comes with a bag and charger and is reasonably lightweight, so you could easily carry it around. The foam itself is a high-density foam, and I like that you can customise the intensity and frequency of the vibrations.
There are five customised vibration settings, with 5 being the highest and most intense. I could only handle up to the third setting or the medium-intensity.
But, the higher the intensity, the more noise it produces, although I didn't mind it so much for the other benefits it provided.
The routines are easy to follow, with pictures demonstrating each move and seamless transitions from one exercise to the next. I also liked that the intensity of the vibrations automatically changes according to what's best for that particular movement.
I would have loved seeing a video demonstration before each routine, as I wasn't sure if I was doing some of the exercises quite correctly.
I also found that the Wave Roller can be slippery to use in some movements, like when I tried it on my rotator cuffs.
Despite this, the Wave Roller is a pleasure to use after a long day, when my muscles are the most tense. I find it a helpful tool in managing pain, soreness, and releasing tension.
Although it is on the higher end of the price range compared to other foam rollers, I think it's worth the investment. The technology is advanced, and you can personalise the areas you want to work on using the step-by-step programs in their app.
It also feels like you're getting a massage, but it's more personalised and customisable.
If using the app seems intimidating or too complicated, you can use the Wave Roller by itself and adjust the intensity using the + and - buttons.
In summary, here are the pros and cons to consider if you're thinking of purchasing one for yourself.
Pros:
- Relieves soreness and muscle tension
- Variety of settings for the vibrations
- App integration
- Personalised programs that are quick and easy to follow
- 3-hour battery life and it doesn’t take too long to charge
Cons:
- The cost (RRP AU$249), but worth every penny!
- Medium to High setting intense and pretty noisy
- Depending on the exercise you do it can be quite slippery
- Video demonstrations before each exercise would be even better
The Wave Roller series is available via the Therabody website.
Images: Rizna Mutmainah & Therabody