MFR training: what it is, benefits for the body, exercises

Muscle strain can be caused by exercise, as well as sedentary work or even incorrect posture during sleep. In turn, this leads not just to discomfort, but even pain. To get rid of the discomfort, you need to take some time to do some relaxation exercises, one effective way would be MFR training.

Trener fitnesa

“Working on correcting posture and reducing pain syndrome, more and more often I meet people who complain of pain in the lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine. I share with you the basics of the MFR methodology that I use in my work.”

Kazalo vsebine

What is MFR?

Perhaps we should start by deciphering the three mysterious letters before moving on to the practice. MFR is myofascial release, in other words, self-massage to speed up the repair processes in soft tissues and improve blood flow.

“Myo” stands for muscle and “fascia” is the film of collagen, elastin and connective tissue that covers the muscle. Fascia must be moistened, glide, move well along the muscle fibers, otherwise painful places, “trigger points” are formed, mobility is impaired, spasms, pain and overstrain appear, reducing the effectiveness of training and quality of life.

Why should I do MFR training?

The exercises have a fairly extensive list of positive effects:

relieving muscle tension;
improved joint mobility;
increased flexibility and functionality of the body;
decreased muscle pain;
improved control of body movement;
increased lymph and blood flow;
improvement of proprioception, i.e. the feeling of parts of the body in relation to each other and in space;
improved posture;
reduction of swelling;
reduction of stiffness and “clamps”.

How to perform MFR training?

The more regularly you exercise, the better. Try doing the complex three times a week or a few exercises each day as exercise. You can also add MFR to the warm-up before your workout, this increases its effectiveness.

Exercises can be done with a special ball for MFR, if you want to replace it with a hard tennis ball, and a roll for MFR. As for the latter, they are different: choose a smooth one if you are a beginner and have a lot of tension in your body, or a hard and embossed one if you are ready for a deeper workout. There are also MFR techniques that can be performed without any equipment at all. In this article we’ll look at exercises with a roll and a ball.

Each zone is worked at a slow pace for 30-60 seconds. Breathe evenly and deeply, do not hold your breath. Remember that the sensations should be acceptable, do not tolerate severe pain, reduce the intensity of exposure or move on to the next exercise.

Exercise complex

MFR of the thoracic spine

Tehnika izvedbe

Sit on the mat, legs bent, feet rest on the floor, feet shoulder width apart.
Lower your body onto the mat, position the MFR roll so that it is at the level of your shoulder blades when you lie down on it.
Tuck your pelvis, hands interlocked behind your head, but don’t put pressure on the back of your head. Point your elbows towards each other, you don’t have to close them, they should just be in sight.
Raise your pelvis and, slightly pushing yourself with your legs, on exhalation slowly roll the thoracic spine (the thoracic spine ends where the ribs are).
Do not help the movement with the lumbar and cervical spine, for this purpose do not pull your head as on twists, look at the ceiling, the back of the head presses into the hands, and the lumbar spine is smoothed due to the twisted pelvis.

Lumbar MFR

It is worth considering this exercise separately and showing how not to do it, because such a performance is often found on the Internet, and meanwhile it can lead to injuries, not to relax the lumbar region.

In the lower back we all have lordosis – a natural curve of the spine. But, if you have tension or pain, it’s not a good idea to put a roll under it, increasing the curve and creating spinal compression on the intervertebral discs even more. Better to do MFR of the areas around – the thoracic spine and buttocks.

You can safely roll the lumbar region by smoothing the curve, tucking the pelvis and rolling a little on the sides of the vertebrae – the quadratus lumborum muscle on the right and left, but in no way on the spine itself.

MFR of the buttocks with a roll.

Tehnika

Sit on the mat, one leg bend and rest it on the floor, the second leg is stretched out. Place your hands behind your back.
Raise the body and place the roll under the buttock of the extended leg.
Leaning on your arms and bent leg, roll the gluteal muscle of the extended leg.
After a few movements, bend the extended leg at the knee and place the toe on the thigh of the supporting leg, shifting the position of the buttock on the roll slightly to the side. Repeat the rolling motion.
Do the exercise on the other side.

MFR glutes with a ball

Tehnika

Sit on the mat, bend your legs, put your feet together, put your hands behind your back at shoulder width.
Place the ball under the left buttock. Take your left knee to the side, opening your legs.
Push off the floor with the supporting (right) leg, shift your weight to the left buttock and start rolling the muscle.
Pay separate attention and linger where there is discomfort, roll that area a little longer.
Repeat on the second side.

MFR of the back of the thigh

Tehnika

Sit on the mat, one leg bent and pressed to the floor, the second leg extended. Place your hands behind your back. Place the roll under the thigh of the extended leg.
Leaning on your hands and bent leg, lift your pelvis off the floor and roll the thigh of the extended leg, without stopping the movement, rotate the leg, shifting the emphasis on the inner and outer part of the thigh.
Make sure the roll is not rolled too close to the knee.
Repeat the exercise on the other side.

MFR of the lower leg muscles

Tehnika

Sit on the mat, one leg bend and rest it on the floor, the second leg is stretched out. Place your hands behind your back. Put the roll under the shin of the extended leg.
Leaning on your hands and bent leg, lift your pelvis off the floor and roll the shin of the extended leg, without stopping the movement, rotate the leg, shifting the emphasis then on the inside and then on the outside of the shin.
Make sure the roll is not rolled too close to the knee.
Repeat the exercise on the other side.

MFR of the inner thigh

Tehnika izvedbe

Lie on your side, place the roll parallel to the body in front of you, lower leg extended. The upper leg is bent at the knee and hip joint, in both cases the angle is 90 degrees, this leg rests on the roll.
The lower arm can be placed under the head and the upper arm can be fixed on the waist or hip.
Roll the inner thigh, guiding the leg back and forth.
Do not roll in the groin area where the lymph nodes are located.
Repeat the exercise on the other side.

MFR of the anterior thigh

Tehnika

Stand on all fours with support on the forearms.
Bend the right leg slightly more, place it close to the elbow and slightly to the side – this is the supporting leg.
Extend your left leg and place an MFR roll under your hip.
Roll the front of your thigh in a down-and-up motion, creating movement through the push of the bent leg.
Watch the body, tense the abs, do not sag in the lumbar spine.
Repeat the exercise for the other leg.

MFR of pectoral muscles with a ball

Tehnika

Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart or sit with your back straight.
Take the ball in your right hand, fix it under your collarbone. Keep your shoulder turned out, do not point it inward.
Now roll the ball with a slight pressure, avoiding the mammary gland.
Pay special attention and linger where there is discomfort, roll that area a little longer.
After you finish working the left side, switch hands and repeat on the right side.

MFR foot ball

Tehnika

Stand up straight, feet shoulder width apart. The ball is under one of the feet, the body weight is transferred to the same foot.
First, roll the entire surface of the foot quickly for 30-40 seconds.
Then the movements become slower and more deliberate. Imagine that you have three lines drawn on your foot: from the base of the heel to the little finger, from the base of the heel to the base of the middle toe and from the base of the heel to the base of the big toe. Roll these three lines while breathing deeply.
Linger and work the areas where the more sensitive points are located.

Kontraindikacije

Avoid classes should be avoided in the presence of injuries, open wounds and infectious diseases accompanied by high fever. Also in the risk group are people with oncology, hemophilia, thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, varicose veins of the 3-4th degree. If you have doubts, it is better to consult a doctor.

Take care of your body, do not forget that in addition to the load, your muscles need relaxation. Warm up, try yoga and, of course, practice MFR exercises.