Foam rollers?

[Pelephant]

A very kind friend who does half marathons and things so must know what he is talking about has recommened a foam roller. So I just googeled 'foam roller' and have seen that there's all sorts of different sizes and firmness etc. Where do I start? Any recommendations?

[yonnalej]

I've been looking into one myself as well. From what I've read the firmer one's hurt like hell to begin with, so you could go for a softer one and then 'upgrade' to a firmer one when you're ready.

I'm sure there will be people on here who have tried them, I'd like to know more about them too to hear if they're worth the pain!

I started running over a year ago but gave up because I had trouble with my knee. I've given it another go and just finished Week 5, holding up well so far with just a few post-run sessions with a bag of frozen peas, so I'm wondering whether a foam roller could really help prevent my knee from flaring up again.

[thepadre Graduate]

Hi Pelephant.

I bought one of these when I pulled a calf muscle back in W3 and found it really helped. Mine is a '66Fit Elite Foam Roller- Blue, 15 cm X 45 cm' from Amazon at about £14.00. I'd certainly recommend it!