R8 Roller Device

I just got a new massage tool called the R8 Roller. I highly recommend it. http://www.rollrecovery.com/r8/

Over the years I’ve spent (largely wasted) a small fortune on self-massage tools and kept coming back to my good old lacrosse balls. However, this thing is the real deal. If you look at their website, it’s pretty self explanatory as to how it works. What I will tell you that you can’t get from the pictures and video is that the tension springs in this thing apply quite a lot of pressure. It pretty much clamps down like a vise. This device overcomes the primary drawback of all other self-massage tools: the need to apply mechanical pressure yourself or rely on gravity (which can often be a sledgehammer approach). So you’re not robbing Peter to pay Paul.

It was obviously designed with runners in mind and is best suited for appendicular massage (legs and arms), but I did manage to work it up to my glutes/hip flexors and low back (start at the leg and roll it up, you won’t be strong enough to open it wide enough to clamp directly over your hips). I’ve had this thing for about 30 min, so I obviously can’t speak to its durability, but I will definitely put that to the test. It seems pretty sturdy. Even if I had to replace it in a year, I think it would be a good buy (and my next order would be a 10 pack).

Nothing can replace a set of trained hands working on you, but this is the best thing I’ve seen that can fill the gaps between massage sessions for those of us who are not fortunate enough to have someone work on us every day.

Good looking out. I’ll check it out.

Just a quick update. It’s been about a month and the roller is still in one piece. I really like it. Very useful piece of equipment. If money is an issue, I think it’s worth it to skip a couple massages (not necessarily in a row), in order to save the money for the R8 roller. I would definitely spend the money on this before wasting it on supplements.

Do you rate the R8 because it’s gr8??

Definitely. Another thing I forgot to mention is that if you perform a steering wheel type motion with the roller clamped on your thigh you can produce a nice torsion/cross friction type effect. It’s not pin-point, but still pretty neat.

For the calves, do you only use it as the info card/slip designates?..i can’t cover the entire calf using the designated directions for the calves so, i place a 1/2 inch foam directly on shins bone which receives the other half of roller(so no bone damage, to cover the whole outside calf area

Mostly I work around the outside of the calf and over the ant tib. You have to be careful with it to keep it off the shin bone, but I’ve found I can pretty much get most of the calf if I play around with it. Simply squeezing the calf from the sides will help flush the muscle.