Are you a hard-working athlete, trying your best to fit your well-planned training in around a busy lifestyle, have regular physiotherapy to help prevent injury, and prioritising a healthy diet to maximise performance - but you just can't find time to do those all-important pre-hab and rehab exercises?

This is where the ever useful foam roller comes into its own, as Jenny Blizard explains in her Athletics Weekly article in the link below.

Jenny is a great advocate of the importance of keeping the thoracic spine mobile to help trunk rotation, encourage a more efficient breathing pattern, and to aid the proper functioning of the nervous system.

These benefits of a mobile thoracic spine - and how they can be achieved by simply foam rolling the thoracic spine - are explained in full in the article, meaning that even if you are time-poor, you can help keep injury at bay with this simple and quick exercise.

Foam rollers should be a staple part of any athlete's kit cupboard, and are an affordable piece of equipment that you can't afford not to own. Get your Pro-tec Foam Roller next time you're at the clinic from our Blizard shop's Well Being section, where you will also find 66Fit Exercise Bands, Pro-tec Orb Balls and Massage Sticks!

You may also recognise the famous athlete pictured in the article as our very own elite Blizard sprinter, Sheffield AC's Kristie Edwards! We have been helping Kristie stay fit, strong and balanced while she trains and competes at the highest level for years now, and she is great example of why you should prioritise regular physiotherapy 'MOT's to stave off injury.

She also loves wearing the amazingly vibrant Lornah Sports kit and warms up for her track races in On Running shoes, both of which are pictured in the article. We stock both ranges in the Blizard shop, so take a leaf from Kristie's book and kit yourself out with a foam roller and some great running kit next time you're at the clinic!

Jenny Blizard's Athletics Weekly article - Foam Rolling the Thoracic Spine