Soft tissue work for overhead mobility/bodyline work

Hi everybody, 

I could not decide where to post this question, because it's related to everything in GST. But since I'm using it mostly while I work on my overhead and hip flexor mobility for better hs bodyline, I chose this subforum. 

I haven't came across straight answer on this one, so please coaches, if you could... 

What is general GST opinion on using foam rolling, lacrosse balls or peanuts in relation with mobility? Is it worth doing, coz it can be really painfull experience :-) ? If so, how much and how often? 

I'm no expert, obviously, but I kept bumping into these techniques here and there on instagram or facebook... Used by some handbalancers or people from movement culture, so I wanted to give it a try....

For example... I do these stretches daily: pec stretch in doorway or lying prone, elevated cat and bent leg vertical stretch. Before that I use foam roller and lacrosee balls for maybe 1-2min per area. Is that OK to do? Can it actually help to get better cold range of motion? 

Thanks in advance, Petra. 

You're fine. General consensus is that foam rolling is good to do. Yes it can help improve your cold ROM, but only when included with mobility work. Foam rolling is temporary. It improves the quality of the tissue as far as range of motion right now. It's mobility work that makes that added range of motion permanent. Cold flexibility comes from having strength in that end range of motion and that's what mobility work is designed to build.

Foam roller has a great advantageous for improving mobility IMMEDIATELY before activity and it can also be used to promote more blood flow as recovery strategy BUT it does not act directly on the nervous system and on reflexes. this means that for the long-term goal it does not represent a solution for improving stable range of motion.

Thank you guys @Ronnicky Roy and @Alessandro Mainente.

That pretty much sums up what I learned (ehm...googled) about it -> foam roll before activity to get better ROM and then immediately use that ROM -> stretch it/strenghten it. And only paired with that stetching and strenghthening it can improve mobility in a long run. 

So before stretches I do daily and in my HS warmup:

I foam roll or use peanut for lats -> elevated cat -> to help flexion ROM

I use lacrosse ball for pecs -> stretch it -> to help extension ROM

I foam roll quads and try to somehow get to TFL, but I'm not sure I'm doing this right (:-)) -> hip flexor stretch -> to help PPT and get straighter line for PE4 I currently work on. 

Hope this would help... Or is there something more you would recommend me to do? 

Yes it makes sense.