I would not advise using those devices if the burning travels. Irritation and damage can occur as well… I sometimes have to tell people NOT to foam roll so much. If using them causes the burning to travel, set up an appointment with me and we’ll address it further. Sometimes it can be pain referral of a tender muscle point(trigger point), other times it is an irritation of nerve damage. The location matters a great deal in this manner.

If a nerve is damaged you must remove what is causing the damage: This could be training beyond what your technique allows, training intensity that is beyond the available recovery capacity, or simply an excess of damage/dysfunction in the past that must be removed.

For now, my training frequency is based largely on how tight I feel.

-If I feel fine without warming up I go at 100% in WOD’s.

-If I feel a little tight, but fine while warming up, I’ll go 80-90%.

-If I feel pretty tight, like I notice it regularly throughout the day, and am fine after a warm-up I’ll go at 50-70% effort… really not pushing but moving through the activity.

-If I’m tight after the warm-up, I take a rest day.

Notice I never train above 100% or below 50%. My stiffness is directly related to my sleep, diet, mental stressors, and recent training history.

I am FAR more mobile than I used to be and don’t do much yoga or stretching. I DO train through full ranges, and have had quite a bit of manual therapy (to be explained later). When I first started, I ignored the tight muscles and thought it was “cool” to workout while incredibly sore (sore/stiff after the warm-up)… it didn’t get me anywhere.

I’m interested not only in your specific response to Carly. Are there some general rules of thumb to share with us or does this require a highly individualized response?

Regarding the nerve problem such as radial nerve issues, is using a lacrosse ball and foam roller advised even though it burns sharply? And where to apply these up and down the arm? The nerve feels very exposed at the elbow and thus more tender but not at other points on the arm.

tx

It has been a recent lesson learned for me, but has been very helpful in muscle recovery to continue these during the day. I also have recently learned that mobility drills should not be replaced by stretches (supplemented is more correct).

CFA is an incredibly special gym because of the daily access we have to a wonderful teacher and doctor.