I have a friend who has had knee surgery who swears by her foam roller after working out, so I decided to give this one a try. The roller comes with a set of instructions for different exercises to loosen muscles. I've found that I get the most out of the shoulder exercises, as they tend to be tight when I'm stressed out. The roller is solid foam, but very lightweight. The 18" size is great for using on my lower back -- another problem area. Definitely a good investment!

I've had friends swear by foam rollers and my mom uses one daily to relieve her sciatica, so I was excited to have the opportunity to try out one for myself. I gotta say, it's pretty nice. I've used it mainly to massage my legs (quads, hamstrings, calves) and my glutes, though it comes with a sheet with exercises for arms and shoulders as well. I like that it helps loosen up muscles but using it is kind of a workout in and of itself (something I hadn't really expected.) The exercises often challenge my arms and shoulders while I've working on my legs.

The roller itself is pretty dense, solid piece of foam-not very squishy or anything like that. But because it's foam, it's nice and light. It's relatively short so it's easy to store. I really like it.

I'm currently in physical therapy three times a week for a shoulder problem, and have been assigned home exercises. This roller is an elemental part of the home segment of my therapy. I use it for a full-back rolling exercise, and also to target the shoulder that is injured. The roller is of a perfect firmness so that it doesn't hurt my spine to roll over it, yet it works out any tension in the affected muscles. The 18" width is so much nicer to use than the smaller roller I use at PT! I haven't used it for my legs yet, but I plan to try it for them.

This is a useful Yoga tool, but not completely perfect. I used this item to relieve pain in my hip, and found rolling on it excruciating at first. It also puts pressure on the wrists, as rolling on one's side requires assisting balance from both arms.

With time, the roll can indeed "iron out" knotted muscles and joints, but obviously this is a slow process, not something you can jump into and expect miracle results.

I have yet to try other exercises with the roll, but I understand that a lot of other uses are possible, and I will try them over time.

It's a nice tool, and not too expensive, so worth a try.

The FILA Accessories Foam Roller is supposed to relieve sore muscles. What you don't realize, if you haven't used one of these before, is the strain it puts on your arms and wrists, holding your body up while you help out your thighs and calves. So it's a trade-off, really.

It's rather large, being 18" long and 6" thick, though from other reviews I see it is considered rather short. I've never used one before. I've seen fancier ones that are supposed to provide a massage of sorts, and if I can get the hang of this one I might try one of those. That was the whole idea when I ordered this, to get some experience with this form of exercise.

It does come with a set of exercise instructions and I've tried using it on my calves and thighs. There are instructions for a lower leg roll, and upper leg roll as well as an anterior upper leg roll, hip roll, chest roll, and shoulder roll. The guide suggests completing 1-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions of each exercise selected, which is frankly a bit much for me at this point, given my heart condition and meds, but I'm trying to work my way into it because I really do need to make exercise part of my regimen, and up until now, I've been limited to use of a recumbent bike.

I think it does help with the muscles involved, though it will take some time to build up the arm strength to use it comfortably for the rest of my body. That's not the roller's fault, really, but rather where my battle with heart disease has left me.

The instructions call for drying it with a towel after use and cleaning it with a damp cloth, allowing it to air dry. Since it is rather fragile, apparently, an exercise mat might be a nice addition, as it suggests keeping it away from sharp or abrasive surfaces.