David Beckham was recently snapped holding a Grid Foam Roller which delivers new Trigger Point Therapy to tired and sore muscles. We found out what it was all about
David Beckham was recently photographed stepping onto a plane with a strange cylindrical object under his arm. The contraption wasn’t a new toy to rev things up with Mrs B but a Grid Roller, which delivers new Trigger Point Therapy to tired or overworked muscles. It’s set to be one of the big things in fitness for 2015. We found out what it was all about.
What exactly are Trigger Points?
All over your body is a type of tissue called fascia and the type of fascia that covers your muscles is called myofascia. The soreness you get from exercise is from the tiny tears and trauma that result in your muscles post-workout. This is a good thing mind and makes you stronger in the long run. But the myofascia can also adhere together and these adhesions are called Trigger Points and usually translate into the little stabs of pain you get when you press into a sore muscle. Trigger points over time lead to stiffness and soreness and can also result in a decreased range of motion, so your body becomes less mobile – not a good result.
What are these Trigger Point Therapy Roller thingies then?
Beckham was holding a Trigger Point Performance Grid Foam Roller £32.99 from Amazon). They’re made with lots of little nodules in the foam that mimic human fingers – flat bits to mimic palms, pointy bits to mimic fingers and square bits to mimic knuckles – the idea being, you roll your body over it and experience a massaging effect.
You sit or lie over one of these with the roller against a specific muscle and then move backwards and forwards, letting it do its work.
At Healthista Towers, we recently tried the Escape Fitness Ridge Foam Roller (£29.40 from Amazon). It’s built on the same concept but with more variety in the types of ‘massage’ it provides. Well, the groans of ecstasy as each member of the team had their respective rolls must have made our neighbours wonder what exactly is the nature of the online content we produce around here.
What do trainers think of Trigger Point Therapy?
Healthista spoke to Matt Roberts, trainer to David Cameron, Tom Ford and Amanda Holden. Roberts called Trigger Point Therapy ‘amazing’ and went on to explain the best ways to get it into your routine:
‘Trigger Point Therapy is like having a very intensive massage and really gets blood flowing to sore muscles. This makes the tissue more flexible and helps mobilise your body. It’s particularly good on certain parts of the body that always carry tension, such as your Iliotibial band (ITB) which is on the outside of the thigh and gets shorter in people who run, cycle, weight train, sit down a lot or wear heels often. It’s also great on the quads (front of thighs),as well as the calf muscles and the glutes (butt muscles).
‘TPT releases the tissue and makes the blood pump into it which allows the muscle sheath to relax so you’ll be able to stretch more post-exercise. This means the muscle becomes far more mobile and woken up as a tissue and allows you to get more out of your workouts as your mobility is increased and your soreness is decreased.’ Matt Roberts makes a Foam Roller which utilises TPT and is available from Argos from £14.99.
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