Thanks for choosing Recovero.
You've got the tool. This page is the part most people miss - how to actually use it so it works.
How to use your roller
Most people use these wrong. Too fast, too hard, too long. Here's how to do it properly.
Before you start. If you're pregnant, recovering from an injury or surgery, or managing an ongoing medical condition, check with your doctor or physiotherapist before using this. It's a recovery tool, not a treatment.
Find it
Roll slowly until you hit a sore spot. Move a centimetre and try again. Everyone's is in a slightly different place.
Stop there
Most people skip this bit. Stop rolling. Rest your weight there for 20 to 30 seconds. Muscles let go when pressure stays still, not when it keeps moving.
Breathe out
Slow breath into your belly. If you're holding your breath, you're pressing too hard. Then ease off and move on.
Harder is not better
When it hurts too much, your body tenses up. A tense muscle won't let go. So pushing harder gets you the opposite of what you want.
You should feel it. You shouldn't have to grit your teeth.
Before or after
Same tool, two different jobs
Before training and after training are two different jobs. Same tool, different speed, different timing.
per muscle group
Keep moving. Up and down, side to side. Don't stop on any one spot. You're waking the muscle up, not working it over.
Rolling before you lift won't make you weaker. That's a myth.
per muscle group
Slow right down. Find the sore spot, stop, let it settle. You're calming things down, not toughing it out.
Blood flow stays up for around 30 minutes after you finish. Five minutes of work, half an hour of benefit.
Routines
Start with your day
Pick the one that matches your day. Each tells you what to do, in what order, for how long.
Eight routines · 3 to 8 minutes each
After a workoutThe one most people are here for · 8 min
+
Start with the big muscles, then the smaller ones. Do it in this order or you'll be working a tight thigh while the hip above it is still locked up.
Lower back reliefWithout rolling on your lower back · 7 min
+
Do not roll directly on your lower back. Your ribs protect the mid and upper back, but below them the spine sits close to the surface with thin muscle over it.
Most lower back tightness doesn't start in the lower back. Tight hips pull on it from below. A stiff mid-back makes it work harder from above. Loosen those two and it usually settles on its own.
On step 3, start where your lower ribs begin and work upward only. Never below that line.
Deep glute & hip rotatorsWhen tightness refers down the leg · 6 min
+
There's a small muscle underneath your glute. When it gets tight, you often feel it down the back of your leg instead of where it actually is. Most people never work this area.
The crossed-leg position: sit on the roller, cross the ankle of the side you are working over the opposite knee, then lean into that side. This opens the deep rotator and lets the roller reach it.
Desk day resetAfter eight hours in a chair · 7 min
+
If you sit at a screen all day, the mid-back is the most useful thing you can do. Sitting rounds your upper back forward, and your neck then works overtime holding your head up.
Morning feetIf your first step out of bed is the worst one · 5 min
+
If you stand or walk for work, the tissue under your arch stiffens overnight and your first steps take the brunt. Doing this before you put weight through your feet makes more difference than doing it later in the day.
Run recoveryAfter a run or long walk · 7 min
+
Running hits the lower leg and the outside of the thigh hardest. Finish with your feet. They've taken every step and runners skip them most.
Before bedTo wind down · 5 min
+
This one isn't about loosening anything. It's about calming down. Low setting, long breaths, no rush.
Before you trainWarm-up, not recovery · 4 min
+
Different rules before training. Keep moving, stay light, don't stop anywhere. You're getting blood moving, not working anything out.
Lower body: glutes, outer thigh, calves.
Upper body: upper & mid back.
Running: calves, outer thigh, feet.
Technique
Tap where it's tight
The position, the movement, and how long to stay there.
Eleven areas
Tap a muscle group on the body, or choose one below.
Sit on it, then circle the knee slowly
Glutes
90 sec each sideAnd the deep rotator underneath
- Sit on the roller, one side of your backside centred on it, hands behind you.
- Sway gently side to side and let your weight settle before you go looking for anything.
- Lift that leg and draw slow circles with the knee, out to the side then back in.
- For the deep rotator, cross that ankle over the opposite knee and lean into the side. This is the position most people never find.
- Found something tender? Stop moving. Let it settle for 20 to 30 seconds.
Seated, weight through the other leg
Feet
2 min eachArch, heel, ball of the foot
- Sit down, one foot on the roller. Weight through the other leg so you control the pressure.
- Roll the whole foot — heel to ball, slow passes, about a minute.
- Move to the inner line, from the big toe back to the heel. Rock along it.
- Two spots to find: just behind the ball of the big toe, and the top of the arch in front of the heel.
- Finish on the heel, ball of the foot on the floor, small wiggle side to side.
Hips lifted, stay below the knee
Calves
60 sec each sideUpper calf, inner and outer
- Sit with your upper calf on the roller, hands behind you, other foot flat.
- Lift your hips and roll slowly. Stay below the back of the knee.
- Turn your toes outward and roll again for the outer branch, then inward for the inner.
- On a tender spot, stop and point and flex the foot. It moves the deeper muscle while the surface stays pinned.
- More pressure: cross the other leg on top. Less: keep it on the floor.
Seated, roll knee to sit bone
Hamstrings
60 sec each sideBack of the thigh
- Sit with the back of one thigh on the roller, hands behind you for support.
- Lift your hips and roll slowly from just above the knee toward the sit bone.
- Turn the leg slightly in and out to reach the inner and outer hamstring.
- Stay off the back of the knee — stop short of the joint at both ends.
- Hold on anything tender for 20 to 30 seconds, then bend and straighten the knee a few times.
Face down on your forearms
Quads
60 sec each sideFront of the thigh
- Lie face down, forearms on the floor, roller under the front of one thigh.
- Roll slowly between the top of the knee and the hip. Never over the kneecap.
- Bend and straighten the knee while you rest on a tight spot — this does more than rolling.
- Rotate slightly in or out to reach the inner and outer thigh.
- Keep your hips level and your back relaxed. If you are arching hard, take some weight onto your forearms.
On your side — bend and straighten the bottom leg
IT band
60 sec each sideOuter thigh, above the knee to the hip
- Lie on your side, roller under the outer thigh a few inches above the knee, top foot supporting you.
- Slowly bend and straighten the bottom leg, like marching on the spot. For most people this alone is plenty.
- Want more? Stack both legs and bend together.
- Then a small roll — prop onto your forearm, lift the hip, short range only.
- Rotate slightly forward for the outer quad, slightly back for the outer hamstring.
On your side, top leg dropped forward
Hips
60 sec each sideSide of the hip, above the thigh
- Lie on your side with the roller just below the bony point of your hip, not on the bone.
- Let your top leg drop forward onto the floor. This takes weight off and gives you control.
- Rock slowly side to side in a small range — the area is small.
- Find the tender point and rest into it. This one feels sharper than the glute, so ease off sooner.
- Swap sides. Most people are noticeably tighter on one.
Spine in the gap between the two heads
Upper & mid back
3 minEither side of the spine
- Lie back, roller across your mid-back, roughly where your lower ribs start. Spine in the centre gap.
- Too intense? Rest your hips on a cushion so you arch less.
- Stay about a minute, breathing into your belly, head resting back.
- Move up an inch or two, settle, repeat — working upward only.
- Between the shoulder blades, reach up, open wide, then close as if hugging yourself. Five or six times.
- Stop below the neck. Come off slowly, rolling to your side.
Tiny movements — barely a centimetre
Neck
90 secBase of the skull
- Lie on your back with the roller just beneath the base of your skull — not down the neck.
- Check your chin. Pointing at the ceiling means you are too low.
- Vibration off is fine here. The weight of your head alone does plenty.
- Turn your head slightly right, find the thick band of muscle, tiny side-to-side movements.
- Pause, breathe, return to centre, repeat on the left.
No rib protection here
Lower back
Do not rollWork around it, not on it
- Do not roll here. Below the ribs your spine sits close to the surface with thin muscle over it.
- Start below instead — glutes, 90 seconds each side, then the side of the hip, 60 seconds each side.
- Then above — mid back, starting where your lower ribs begin, working upward only.
- Never below the rib line. If the roller is under your waistband, it is too low.
- Reassess afterward. Most people find it feels different without having touched it directly.
Little muscle, a lot of nerves
Chest & shoulders
Do not rollReach it from behind instead
- Do not roll the collarbone or the front of the shoulder. Very little muscle and a lot of nerves.
- Work the upper back instead — it reaches the same tightness from behind.
- Lie back with the roller across the upper back, arms crossed over your chest to spread the shoulder blades.
- Then open up — arms out wide, breathe into the stretch for a few slow breaths.
- If you sit at a screen, this is the pairing that actually helps the front of the shoulders.
If you're curious
Why stopping works better than rolling
Your muscle has pressure sensors
They sit inside the muscle and the tissue around it, and they respond to sustained load — not movement. When they register steady pressure, they signal the muscle that it's safe to let go. That's why holding on a tight spot does more than rolling over it twenty times.
And that's why it stops hurting
Pressure signals and pain signals compete for your brain's attention on the way up. Give it enough steady pressure to process and it registers that instead of the ache. It's why the sensation eases the longer you stay put — nothing has changed in the muscle yet, but the signal has.
Read this once
Where not to use it
Six places to keep the roller away from. None of them are obvious, and getting this wrong is the only way to hurt yourself with a foam roller.
Three habits that keep it safe
- Keep breathing. If you're holding your breath, you're pressing too hard.
- Lay a towel over the roller to soften it if a spot feels too sharp.
- Rotate areas day to day rather than working the same one repeatedly.
It switches off on its own after 15 minutes — press the button again to carry on. That's by design, not a fault.
Quick answers
The questions everyone asks
Anything not right, or just want to tell us how it's going?
Damaged in transit, not what you expected, or a bit of feedback either way — same inbox, real people, Australian based. We read everything.
Recover Smarter, Perform Better.
RECOVERO products are recovery and wellness tools. They are not medical devices. Nothing on this page is medical advice, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.
If you are pregnant, recovering from injury or surgery, or managing a medical condition, speak to your doctor or physiotherapist before use. Stop immediately and seek advice if you feel sharp pain, numbness, or anything travelling down a limb.
© RECOVERO · Australia