This new mobility tool called Voodoo Bands is relatively new to the fitness world. From personal experience I can tell you that this tool has helped me improve my mobility, and helped improve my performance. So what is this new mobility tool? Voodoo Bands are two rubber bands that are about seven feet in length and about two inches wide, that an athletes wraps and compresses the injured or hindered body part.
The basic principle is that in healthy tissues, tendons, ligaments, fascia and muscles slide against one another freely. In tissues that have been inflamed by injury or by chronic misuse/underuse/overuse, the connective tissues tend to mat together somewhat. This limits range of motion and can cause a little to a lot of pain, depending on how bad and where.2 So what do the Voodoo Bands do? Voodoo Bands help break up intramuscular junk to allow for greater mobility and blood supply to the area. By squeezing the muscle in a tight wrap then forcing it through ROM, friction between muscle fibers helps break up fuzz, scar tissue, lactic acid and other junk in those tiny places that foam rolling and lacrosse ball techniques can’t address.1 When you release the band, a rush of blood washes through the muscle not only bringing it nutrients for growth and healing but also clearing out all that junk you just broke up. This is also true for injury recovery and can be used to aid the healing of strained tissue.1
Voodoo Bands are not a magical cure to any injury, but they can help an athlete recover from injury and improve mobility. Attached below are a few videos on Voodoo bands to help you see how they work.
Knee:
Ankle:
Elbow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZG_9O_mAgM
References
- Atomic Nerds. (2012, May 21). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.atomicnerds.com/?p=5820
- Vieux, M. (2013, March 20). Voodoo Floss for One and All! Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/voodoo-floss-for-one-and-all/
They can help recovery, when I was still at Tarleton when would use them with our athletes and would have positive outcomes from almost all of the players we used them on.
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