As many of us know, there are many benefits of foam rolling for your body and muscles. It can help to maintain healthy muscles and muscle motion. But are there any other benefits to foam rolling?
Lately, there has been talk about the benefits of using a foam roller for cellulite. Can a foam rolling really help with cellulite?
What is cellulite?
Cellulite appears in most people, more commonly women, and is completely harmless. Cellulite is a harmless skin condition that commonly appears as bumpy dimpled skin on the body. There is no real cause as to why most of us have it; it could be genetics, due to age, or even diet related.
It can be frustrating to have but the fact is the majority of adults, particularly women, have it so it’s completely normal! Realistically, you can’t completely get rid of cellulite all together but there are things you can do to minimise the appearance if it’s really getting you down.
Exercise
When combined with a good diet and regular cardio, strength training can be really effective for minimising the appearance of cellulite. Exercise can reduce body fat and tone muscle, which could help erase some of those dimples.
Try reverse lunges or curtsy lunges to target the back of the thighs and glutes. Also, make sure that you’re using an appropriate weight in the form of a barbell, dumbbells, or a kettlebell. Weighted squats are also an effective exercise to tone up and potentially ease the appearance of cellulite.
Foam rolling
The reason that people have started to ask if a foam roller helps with cellulite is that foam rolling uses a technique called myofascial release. This is a technique that involves applying pressure to an area of the body to stimulate the blood flow to the muscle and therefore repairing the damaged tissue otherwise known as fascia. Fascia is the tissue which connects everything in the body. When the fascia is weak, fat protrudes through it which causes the bumpy appearance of cellulite.
Foam rolling increases circulation around the body, meaning your body is constantly pumping fresh blood into the muscles and flushing out any congestion. This is how it can smooth out the appearance of cellulite. The key areas to focus on would be the glutes, hamstrings, and IT band.
You could also try a vibrating foam roller to target these muscle groups. A vibrating roller works like a standard one, but with added vibration technology which gets deep into the muscle tissue without so much physical effort. The technique is to apply pressure and gently lean back and forth and side to side.
Alternative views
There are different arguments as to whether foam rolling can actually do any good in terms of reducing cellulite. There doesn’t seem to be any scientific evidence as to whether it does help, it has also been said it could stretch the skin making the issue appear worse. Many people believe injections and surgery are the only things that would be beneficial to reducing cellulite.
Whatever you decide to try, don’t expect immediate results. You would need to be consistent and make it a regular occurrence. If you already incorporate foam rolling into your daily routine, you might see a reduction in the appearance of cellulite, but it can have different results for each individual person so it is important to bear this in mind.
