Review: Roll Recovery

Intense outdoor activity is good for the body and great for the soul, but over time, it can take its toll. As the experiences and memories add up, so do the injuries, the impairments, the aches & pains—all inevitable outcomes of hard use. Paradoxically, the best remedy I've found for a few of my more excruciating issues involves even more pain: the R8+ Deep-Tissue Massage Tool from Roll Recovery, dubbed a "torture device" by its more sardonic fans. This spring-loaded double-roller works deep into weak, tight, or damaged muscle, in my case the calves—both the back (gastrocnemius) and the front, along the shinbone (tibialis anterior). My physical therapist damn near made me cry rolling a bar across my calves, which helped immensely with meniscus pain on one leg and plantar fasciitis on the other. But doing it on my own, I just couldn't get the right angle or the right amount of pressure.

Until the R8+, that is. From the first use, I could feel the rollers working their magic—black magic, maybe, as my screams of pain echoing through the house might suggest. It hurts, no doubt, especially after cranking down the tension adjuster; but as my brother says, pain is weakness leaving the body—in my case, the knee and foot. Every time I roll out my calves with the R8+, my lower body feels better for the rest of the day. And each week, my calves loosen up a bit—so that now, when I see the PT, I don't wince like a frightened mouse when he grabs that rolling bar. 

The R8+ is also great for the thighs, after a long day skiing or a hard leg workout at the gym. It disperses lactic acid and improves bloodflow, expediting recovery. Or so I hear, anyway—I haven't had the courage to try that myself just yet. A man can only stand so much pain, after all. (It should be noted that for the less masochistic among us, tension on the R8+ can be reduced for a gentler, pain-free massage, and that softer rollers are available, as well.)

Available at rollrecovery.com; $169.