Posted April 25th, 2015 by Sam Friedfeld & filed under Miscellaneous.
Wrestlers push their bodies to the limit in order to achieve their goals. The physical demands of the sport often leave wrestlers with tight and sore shoulders, backs, hips, and necks. While working to improve strength and endurance is an essential part of training, many wrestlers fail to focus on improving their mobility. I myself struggled with tight, overtrained muscles when I began wrestling in college. I fought through the pain and tightness until I implemented flexibility exercises into my daily training routine. I began using foam rollers and lacrosse balls to loosen tight muscles in a process called self-myofascial release (SMR). SMR corrects muscle imbalances and improves joint range of motion. It relieves muscle soreness and joint stress that can nag a wrestler deep into the season.
Muscle tightness restricts the range of motion that a joint may be moved. Because of muscle restriction (tightness, soft tissue adhesions, and neural hyperactivity), joint motion is altered, thus changing normal neural feedback to the central nervous system. Ultimately, neuromuscular efficiency is compromised, which leads to poor movement patterns, inducing premature fatigue and causing injury.