The best foam roller on the market! A chiropractors perspective.

August 2, 2021

The best foam roller on the market! A chiropractors perspective.

Have you ever impulse purchased a product after watching Shark Tank? This is precisely what happened after my wife and I watched the Chirp Wheel pitch on the show. The Chirp Wheel is a different type of foam roller. Some foam rollers are just flat across the whole surface and others have nodules that stick up from the surface. This foam roller is the only one to have a gap in the middle of it. What’s the importance of the gap? Your spine fits right into it!

When you foam roll, the biggest focus is rolling out tight soft tissues. Putting pressure directly on the spine can cause pain and discomfort. This focuses on the muscles surrounding the spine giving you a better stretch and helping you with whatever pain you are experiencing. I recommend this product to most of my patients! There are certain conditions that it really helps with, and there are certain times where you want to avoid foam rolling. For instance:

When to use:

Pain relief
Tight muscles
Correcting posture

DO NOT use if:

It is causing more pain
If you suspect that you recently pulled or tore a muscle

There are 3 different sizes. The larger wheels cover more surface area, which means you don’t get as deep of a pressure. The smaller wheel covers less surface area, which means it penetrates deeper, give you a bigger pressure.

Let’s take a look at my expert recommendations for the different size wheels.

Large Wheel — For the average person, I would only use this in the low back. Since the wheel is larger, it becomes more unstable as you are rolling. Larger/taller individuals can use this size more frequently.

Medium Wheel — I prefer to use this in the low to mid/upper back. I am bent down most of the day working with patients. One thing I like to do with this wheel is set it between my shoulder blades, stick out my arms, and open up my chest (as pictured below). This stretch would be very beneficial for people who work at at desk or work from home.

Small Wheel — I use this wheel in my neck. I like to recommend this wheel for my patients who experience headaches. Some of you might have heard about a sub occipital release. Basically, it’s a fancy term for relaxing the muscles right at the base of your skull. A lot of times those muscles are very tight when patients are experiencing headaches or migraines. I also use this wheel when I am sitting at a desk. It fits perfect in the low back and forces you to sit up straight. When your low back gets tight, all you have to do is lean back and stretch out those muscles.