This is further review of the Addaday Type C roller comparing it to other common massage tools out there.
Warming muscles up or helping with recovery after a workout are important aspects for any athlete. If muscles are not taken care of properly we can experience loss of flexibility and painful movements. During training or in recovery you want to release body muscle tightness or other trigger points usually found in your legs and feet. By applying pressure to specific points, your running or cycling muscles can recover faster and return to normal function ready to perform again as if nothing was wrong. It also complements stretching as well. You are controlling the healing and recovery process, because everyone likes to be in control, right?
Some of the popular options available include the technique called ‘foam rolling’ a method of self-massage where you place a foam roller on the floor and move your legs over it. Coaches and therapists may refer to all massage aids as ways of achieving ‘self-myofascial release (SMR)’, but this is not reserved for just elite athletes. It can be an everyday practice for people at all levels of fitness.
Deep compression with a foam roller helps to break up or relax tight, knotty muscles and stickyness formed between muscle layers and surroundings. The SMR allows normal blood flow to return and the restoration of healthy tissue. However, foam rolling is not the only method, and I have listed other options here.
Foam Roller – Up to 3 ft long and 10 inches across – Hard to carry to work – Best for IT Band/Calf – Feature: Large contact area
Lacrosse Ball (or Tennis ball) – Small. Up to 3 inches across – Easy to carry to work or play –
Best for Legs/Back/Hands – Feature: Small contact area and inexpensive
FlexFixx Balls – Small. Up to 3 inches across – Easy to carry to work or play – Best for Feet – Feature: Small contact area
Theracane – Max 2 feet length, cane-shaped – Harder to pack because of 1 feet width – Best for Back/Neck/Pelvis –
Feature: Good for hard to reach areas
Own hands – Size of your hands – With you already – Good for Legs/Feet – Feature: Free, only if hands get tired
Addaday Roller – Max 2 feet length, walking stick shape – Relatively easy to transport – Best for Legs/Feet – Feature: Multi-purpose
The Addaday C Roller is my choice as a multipurpose massage tool. I tend to have the most issues with my feet because of a lot of running miles both on road and trail.
The Type C Massage Roller is composed of 4 different rollers in one. Three of these rollers are medium density versions of the Surface Skin Technology (SST) with one smaller red gear they call their pinpoint precision gear. The Precision gear is meant to focus on areas such as the shin, soleus and achilles.
This roller helps get blood flowing to the muscles more efficiently and easier. The Surface Skin Technology that wraps around the larger gears is meant to grip your connective tissue to increase chances getting the muscles loosened up.
The exercises I use the most are on my:
Calves
- using the two larger gears first in an up-down motion. Then alternating with one gear repeating back and forth in an up-down, then side-to-side motion several more times.
Shins
- using the two larger gears first for five passes. Then alternating with one gear repeating back and forth in an up-down motion then side-to-side motion several more times.
- Next I use the small red gear ball to massage the
tops and sides on my feet
- as a more targeted exercise for ten passes. The discomfort felt doing this goes away quickly.
Lastly with the addaday preparing my legs and feet nicely, I use my FlexFixx balls to finish the job. I use these balls on the bottom and sides of my feet to flush out all the pain from too much running and cycling over a week. This set of massages should provide stress relief for your achilles, any shin splints, and any plantar fasciitis. Once a day works well.
The size of the Type C roller is small enough to fit in a running pack and easy to take to work or to races. The largest benefit I find is how much better my feet feel. It is well worth your money even if you already have a foam roller and/or trigger point balls from other manufacturers! Remember the goal is stay injury free to perform your best at your next race.
