Foam Roller Erector Spinae Roll
What Is the Foam Roller Erector Spinae Roll?
Foam Roller Erector Spinae Roll is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the back, using a foam roller and your own body weight to massage the erector spinae, the long columns of muscle that run up either side of the spine. It is a beginner-level movement that needs no strength base, only the ability to lie on your back with your knees bent and tip your body a few inches from side to side.
The roll is used to ease the stiff, tight feeling along the back that often follows deadlifts, rows, long runs or hours of sitting at a desk. Trainers usually place it at the start of a warm-up, ahead of movement drills such as the Cat Cow Stretch, or in a cool-down before stretching. The looser feeling it brings is short-lived, so it works best when movement follows it.
Unlike most back rolls, the roller lies lengthwise here, running along the back at a slight angle under one side of the spine rather than across it. That lets you work one side at a time and keep the pressure on the band of muscle beside the spine instead of on the bony ridge down its middle. The pressure is firmest through the mid-back, where the rib cage supports the spine, and it should stay light where the roller reaches toward the waist, because rolling directly on the lower spine is commonly advised against. With the arms spread wide and palms up, the position also gives the chest and the fronts of the shoulders a gentle stretch. For rolling across the mid-back instead, use the Foam Roller Upper Back Roll, and for the side of the waist, the Foam Roller Lateral Lower Back Roll.
Lifters, runners, rowers and people who sit for long hours can use it to take the edge off a tight back. It does not build strength, so it belongs alongside back work such as the Superman or the Machine Back Extension, not in place of it. If lying on a roller is uncomfortable, the Child Pose and the Lying Knee to Chest Stretch ease the same area without any pressure.
Muscles Worked
- Erector Spinae
- Primary
- Lower Trapezius
- Medium
- Thoracolumbar Fascia
- Medium
- Gluteus Maximus
- Minimal
- Pectoralis Major
- Minimal
Instructions
- Place a foam roller lengthwise on the floor and sit just in front of its lower end with your knees bent and your feet flat, about hip-width apart.
- Lie back onto the roller, then let your body settle a little to one side so the roller runs under the band of muscle beside your spine, from your upper back toward your waist, rather than under the spine itself.
- Rest your head on the top end of the roller or on a folded towel so your neck stays long and your chin does not tip toward the ceiling.
- Keep your hips resting on the floor and spread your arms out wide on the floor with your palms facing up.
- Pressing lightly through your feet, slowly tip your body a few inches toward the opposite side so the roller travels outward across the muscle, then tip back until it sits just beside the spine again.
- Take about 2 to 3 seconds in each direction, and stop before the roller reaches the ribs at your side or the bony ridge of your spine.
- When you find a tender spot in the muscle, pause on it for 20 to 30 seconds and breathe slowly.
- To work a higher or lower section, lift your hips briefly, shuffle a few inches along the roller and set your hips back down, keeping the firm pressure between the bottom of your shoulder blades and the bottom of your rib cage and only light pressure below that.
- Continue for the set time, then roll off to the side, reposition the roller under the other side of your back and repeat.
Common Mistakes
Rolling on the spine
Letting the roller slide back under the middle of your back presses on the bony points of the vertebrae, so keep it on the muscle just to one side.
Pressing into the lower back
Lifting your hips to add pressure below the rib cage loads the lower spine where no ribs support it, so keep your hips down and the pressure light there.
Letting the head hang back
Dropping the head off the roller with the chin pointing up strains the front of the neck, so rest your head on the roller end or a folded towel.
Tilting onto the ribs
Tipping so far that the roller reaches the side of your rib cage turns the pressure sharp and misses the muscle, so keep each tilt to a few inches.
Rolling too fast
Quick side-to-side rocking skims over the muscle, so slow down to about 2 to 3 seconds in each direction.
Holding your breath
Bracing and holding your breath tenses the back against the roller, so breathe slowly and let your weight settle.
Injuries
Foam Roller Erector Spinae Roll is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The spots that complain are the bony ridge of the spine when the roller drifts onto it, the lower back when too much weight settles on the roller below the rib cage, and the neck when the head hangs back with the chin pointing at the ceiling. Tilting too far to the side can also press the roller into the ribs, which feels sharp rather than tight.
Keep the roller on the band of muscle just beside the spine, never on the spine itself, and keep the tilts small. Do most of the work from the bottom of the shoulder blades to the bottom of the rib cage, where the ribs give the spine support. Below that, keep your hips on the floor and the pressure light, and never lift your hips to press harder into your lower back. Rest your head on the end of the roller or on a folded towel so your neck stays long.
To make it easier, put more weight into your feet, use a softer roller, or skip the pressure and move the back with the Cat Cow Stretch or the Lying Spinal Twist. To make it firmer, use a denser roller or pause longer on tender spots in the mid-back rather than pressing harder into the lower back.
Stop if you feel sharp pain, pain that spreads into the buttock or leg, or numbness or tingling, which point to an irritated joint or nerve rather than a tight muscle. Do not roll a recent back injury or a back that is already painful until a clinician has cleared you, and have back pain that keeps coming back assessed rather than rolling harder. People with osteoporosis or another spinal condition, those on blood thinners or with a clotting or circulation disorder, and people who are pregnant should check with a healthcare provider before rolling.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Foam roller
- Modality
- Stretching
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Is it safe to foam roll the lower back?
Only gently, and only beside the spine. Rolling directly on the lower spine is commonly advised against because it has no rib cage to support it, so in this roll the hips stay on the floor, the firm pressure stays in the mid-back and the roller only brushes the lower back lightly on one side.
- Q: Why does the roller run along my back instead of across it?
Lengthwise, the roller sits under the muscle on one side of the spine, so you can work each side on its own and keep the pressure off the spine itself. Rolling across the back is covered by the Foam Roller Upper Back Roll, which stays in the mid-back.
- Q: How long should I roll each side?
About 30 to 90 seconds of slow tilts per side is enough for one round, with a pause of 20 to 30 seconds on any tender spot. One or two rounds before or after training covers most needs.
- Q: Will this fix my back pain?
It can ease a stiff, tight feeling along the back, but it does not treat the cause of back pain. Pain that keeps returning, or pain with numbness or tingling in the leg, should be assessed by a clinician rather than rolled harder.
- Q: Is it supposed to hurt?
Expect firm pressure and some tenderness in the muscle, roughly a 5 to 7 on a scale of 10, but never sharp pain. Pain on the bone of the spine or a sharp feeling on the ribs means the roller is in the wrong place.