The 4 Most Useless Rehab MethodsFoam Rolling, Stretching, Taping, and Icingby Dr John Rusin | 07/08/15

Soft-Tissue TechniquesMobility

Here's what you need to know...1. The foam roller may be the single biggest time waster in the fitness industry.2. A majority of studies show that kinesio tape doesn't help with performance.

And unless you're a specialist, it won't help much with injuries.3. It's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to actually add length to a muscle by

performing static stretching.4. The first two letters of the RICE prescription (rest and ice) should be largely

ignored.

People who are trying to heal themselves using self-administered

rehabilitation and regeneration techniques are often doing more harm than

good.

With the mainstream popularity of things like foam rollers, stretching protocols,

and even tape to enhance joint and body position, it's time to set the record

straight.

Here, in order of descending stupidity, are the four most useless rehab

methods that not only have limited carryover in performance and health, but

can actually come back around to bite you in the ass.

#4 Foam Rolling

The foam roller may be the single biggest time waster in the fitness industry.

Soft tissue work including foam rolling, trigger point work, and even my hands-

on self myofascial-release (SMR) techniques need to be focused and goal

oriented processes. If you find yourself rolling the same muscles every single

day, it's safe to say that your "practice" isn't yielding any notable results.

Related: Do-It-Yourself Myofascial Release

Worse yet, flailing around on the foam roller with a smile on your face and

carrying on a passionate conversation about Game of Thrones isn't the way

it's done. Just the term itself, "foam rolling," has you set up for failure. It

sounds soft, fluffy, and enjoyable.

It should be none of those when executed correctly.

You know who has the right idea with self-sufficient soft-tissue work? Mobility

expert Kelly Starrett. He doesn't call this practice foam rolling. Instead it's

referred to as "smashing" and he uses specific tools on select regions of the

body.

Putting yourself into some serious pain in hopes of tissue deformation (and

subsequent remodeling) and muscle tone reduction is what you need to

create long lasting results.

There's a few key things ou can do to manage your soft tissues and enhance

your health and performance. Prioritize your foam rolling on just a few

targeted areas per day until these areas are resolved.

Big, superficial muscles like the quads and lats can be worked very well with

the roller, so don't throw the tube away quite yet.

If you think foam rolling is going to enhance your athletic performance, the

research doesn't support you.

What multiple studies do show, though, is the ability for self-myofascial

release to significantly alleviate muscle soreness and increase muscle

flexibility for short periods and potentially long-term periods when used on

specific areas for more than two weeks.

In other words, the roller can potentially expedite the recovery process.

When dealing with pinpointed soft tissue restrictions and dysfunction, there's

nothing better than getting your hands dirty and literally working on yourself.

Your fingertips provide a much smaller surface area that match the size of

small structures (like the rotator cuff tendons) while also allowing a sensory-

rich environment for you to explore your body.

The more you learn and discover in terms of muscles and structure, the better

you can apply that knowledge to your training by enhancing a mind muscle

connection.

But if this sounds like too much concentrated effort, just keep flailing around

on the roller with nothing to show for it. My recommendation will still be here

when you come to your senses.

Since when has wrapping yourself up like a brightly-colored mummy become

a prerequisite for being an athlete?

Though kinesiotape has been in use in the therapy industry for a while now,

everything went into overdrive after the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic

Games.

You probably remember seeing the Americans kick some major ass on the

beach volleyball sand, where both the men and women teams were noticeably

covered in that mysterious tape.

The initial hypothesis was that the tape was administered to cover up Misty

May Treanor's tramp stamp to keep relations civil with communist China. This

hypothesis was quickly debunked and replaced with a statement from the

American team saying that the tape was a therapeutic aid for pain and

dysfunction.

But was it really? Since that time, there have been countless research articles

published looking into the efficacy of kinesio tape for both pain modulation and

performance enhancement.

Unfortunately, a majority of studies show that the tape is of no more help to an

athlete's performance than any other faddist trend we've seen sputter through

the industry.

White athletic tape has been around for almost 100 years, but too bad it didn't

sport a logo. Johnson and Johnson really missed out on that mega-

opportunity.

The thought is that tape can be strategically placed over the skin in areas that

can either inhibit or facilitate muscular tone, thus enhancing joint positions and

the production of muscular force.

There are rehab experts out there that swear K-tape is the most game-

changing tool they've used for enhancing the performances of their athletes,

but the chances of it working when an amateur with no experience

administrates the tape is about as likely as an ice cube's chance in hell.

Do This Instead

If you're going to go down that rabbit hole just because those jacked and

conditioned athletes throwing around absurd weights in the CrossFit Games

are showing more Rock Tape logos than they are skin, at least do it right.

Look, there's a reason why certified practitioners and movement specialists

get certified in this stuff. There's indeed a science and skill set to properly

administrating a theoretically sound K-tape treatment.

Go see one of those people. They paid thousands of dollars to be a certified

tape specialists and may actually know what they're doing.

That said, you can tape yourself up using nothing but plain athletic tape. It's

not a cure-all, but the treatment can be useful in some circumstances.

#2 Stretching

Do you have tight hamstrings? You must start stretching! Lower back pain and

discomfort? I bet you aren't stretching! Sustained an injury to your hips or

spine? Better do yoga!

These are the kind of insane misconceptions about stretching I deal with on a

daily basis with my clients, some of whom, I may add, are world-class athletes

pushing the limits of physical achievement.

If world-class athletes and well-informed clients who have a passion for

wellness are this confused about stretching, the layperson must be

monumentally screwed when it comes to the subject.

What we have to ask is, what exactly does static stretching do to the human

body, and does it have a place in athletic performance and reducing injury

rates?

It's important to mention that physiologically speaking, it's extremely difficult, if

not impossible, to actually add length to a contractile tissue such as a muscle.

What's essentially happening with any type of mobilization of an area is the

relaxation of that muscle and the reduction of its tone, which are largely

neuromuscular properties, not mechanical.

Now that we got that straight, here's the deal. Static stretching of a tissue over

a 45-second period has been shown to increase muscular flexibility that may

even last more than 24-hours in certain muscle groups.

That increased range of motion may be a double-edged sword, especially

when executed right before an athletic event or workout.

If you're stretching with the intent of reducing likelihood of sustaining an injury

during athletic participation, the verdict is still out. What we do know is

stretching can reduce muscular force and power output in certain muscle

groups, which can potentially decrease the level of performance.

Not exactly what you were thinking when you went down to touch your toes

Static stretching done for long durations has its place in a select population of

people who are literally so tonic (shortened and tightened) that administering

a stretch is the only way to prevent serious and debilitating contractures.

For the rest of us, the use of dynamic stretching and oscillating protocols can

get the job done without adding to the traditional problems posed by

stretching.

Dynamic warm-ups are nothing new by now, and should be programmed

before every type of exercise, training, or athletic event to increase local blood

flow to active tissues, lubricate joints, increase core temperature, and prime

the neural system.

As for adding functional length to problematic tissues, the use of oscillations –

moving in and out of near end-range of motion – for specific tissues can lead

to marked improvements in the tone of tissues without overstressing the

musculotendinous junctions that notoriously take the brunt of a static stretch

hit.

Simply put the muscle you're targeting into an end-range stretched position.

Move back and forth, in and out of an end-range stretch, nice and easy with

an oscillating motion.

This stretch on, stretch off range-of-motion may only be an inch or two, but it

will be far easier on the tendons and non-contractile tissues.

Do this back and fourth like a pumping motion, attempting to get just a little

more range of motion through those tissues each time. Stick to 60-120

seconds per tissue to start with and work your way up to 5 minutes at a time if

you can stomach the tension.

Think it's too simple to work? Try it out for yourself.

#1 Icing

In 1978, The Sports Medicine Book, authored by Dr. Gabe Mirkin,introduced

the concept of RICE – rest, ice, compression, elevation – for the treatment of

athletic injuries. It makes sense to ice down an injury as soon as possible to

limit swelling and maintain function, right?

Not quite.

In 2014, Dr. Mirkin went on record debunking his own work pertaining to the

ice portion of the RICE acronym for acute musculoskeletal injury

management. It takes a special man to admit that countless research articles

and reviews had disproved his life's work, but we're all glad he did.

Not only did the use of cryo-therapy not aid in the healing process, it actually

delayed the healing process altogether.

Related: The Shocking Truth About Inflammation

And while he was at it, Dr. Mirkin also shed some light on his recommendation

for complete rest after sustaining an injury. "With minor injuries, you can

usually begin rehabilitation the next day," said Mirkin.

Hey, if the guy who literally wrote the book on injury management is saying

don't restrict movement or ice an acutely injured area, we damn well better

listen!

It's a good thing there were a few more letters in the RICE acronym that stood

the test of time.

Compression and elevation of acutely injured areas are still highly effective

and should be prioritized after sustaining a low to moderate-level injury. Along

the same lines, you might want to experiment with VooDoo Floss.

But as far as rest and ice (R and I), it's best to rethink those letters.