It is difficult to explain my reasoning for not considering foam rolling as self-myofascial release without going a bit into the physiology of fascia or how your body remodels tissue. I will try and keep it as straight forward as I can. Without further adieu, allow me to explain:

We have a page here that explains what Myofascial Release (MFR) is, going all the way down to the cells that make up fascia; and how it spider webs around and through most of your body. It can be tricky to work with, but it is even trickier to provide lasting results if you are not properly trained. If done incorrectly you may think and feel that you have gotten benefits, but this was actually another processes or tissues of your body responding positively to the manual therapy treatment. That itself is still very positive, it just is not MFR as the conduit for that response.

As explained in the MFR post, fascia has certain components (namely collagenous) that will not respond to simple mechanical pressure, no matter how hard (physically) that you try to affect change. You must first target the ground substance, which hydrates the tissues and naturally causes the extra cellular matrix to soften. However, in addition to this you must also attract another specific cell to come and remodel the tissues. This cell is called a fibroblast.

In addition to remodeling, a fibroblast can also synthesize and organize collagen. It’s roll is dependent on what I just explained earlier, and it is fascinating that this cell can transform in both function and structure based on the tension-levels of its environment.

There you have it! It may not seem like it, but that is why foam rolling is not a form of MFR. It is a simple mechanical compression, which is not enough to stimulate either the ground substance or ECM change, and by proxy it cannot attract fibroblasts to the area that it is being used on. No fascial remodeling takes place, and as a result this is not MFR.

This is as simplified as I could get it, although I admit that there is much much more that goes into fascial remodeling as there are even different layers or types of fascia that we could be referring too. Each has a different function and quality to it. But that does not change, that simply rolling on foam is not foam rolling.

If you would like to see a lacrosse ball (or similar tool) work with a mechanism that is closer to MFR than foam rolling, checkout this YouTube video: