# Foam Rollers & Recovery: lean notes

Scope: unpowered self-myofascial-release / recovery tools used around exercise — foam rollers, massage balls, massage sticks, multi-loop stretch straps, spiked acupressure mats. Excludes powered/vibrating rollers and percussion guns (machines/personal-devices/massage_therapy) and plain yoga straps/blocks/bands (yoga_equipment, resistance_bands siblings). Date: 2026-10-26. This is a fresh lean-mode draft; it overwrites a longer prior draft in this same spot (same scope, different format).

## Seed
1. Foam-rollers' "weave" (the real split under the obvious spec): length is the number every listing leads with, but density + surface texture together is the weave-equivalent — RumbleRoller states plainly that how hard a surface feels and how far its texture reaches are two different specs.
2. Perfumer persona (what lasts vs fades): a hollow core "lasts" (TriggerPoint markets it for durability, states a 300 lb rating); a solid-foam core has no stated rating and is the one more likely to soften with heavy use. Kept as the roller_core_construction facet.

## Sources
- [rumbleroller_product] https://www.rumbleroller.com/products/rumbleroller-original-superset — firmness vs depth are two specs; Xtra Firm "not a starting point"; Gator "grips rather than digs"; CPSIA lead/phthalate claim — verbatim (curl, re-fetched and grepped this session)
- [tpt_grid10] https://tptherapy.com/products/grid-1-0-foam-roller — hollow core, 300 lb rating, 13in length — verbatim
- [tpt_grid20] https://tptherapy.com/products/grid-2-0-foam-roller — second SKU restates 300 lb; 26in (page says "Extra-long size (26 inches or 66 cm)"); ABS/EVA material split — verbatim
- [tpt_foundations] https://tptherapy.com/products/foundations-roller — solid EVA core; 12in/18in variants — verbatim
- [tpt_gridball] https://tptherapy.com/products/grid-ball — 5.0in ball diameter — verbatim
- [optp_proroller_xl] https://www.optp.com/products/pro-roller-xl-soft/psfr466x — 46"L x 6"DIA via og:description meta tag — verbatim
- [optp_strap_pro] https://www.optp.com/products/stretch-out-strap-pro-with-stretching-and-mobility-guide/440pro — 11th centered loop, body symmetry — verbatim
- [tigertail_strap] https://tigertailusa.com/product/pt-stretch-strap/ — 80in x 1in, multi-loop progression — verbatim
- [tigertail_bendy18] https://tigertailusa.com/product/the-bendy-18/ — rigid vs flexible/beaded core — verbatim
- [shaktimat_classic] https://shaktimat.com/products/classic-acupressure-mat — 3-tier intensity, fewer spikes = more intense — verbatim
- [runnersworld_buyersguide] https://www.runnersworld.com/gear/a21930734/best-foam-rollers/ — Roll Recovery R4's center groove for spine/neck alignment — verbatim (curl, grepped this session)
- [rumbleroller_beastiebar] https://www.rumbleroller.com/products/beastie-bar — Adjustable Peanut straddles the spine, works either side, never on it — verbatim (curl, grepped this session)
- [wikipedia_cpsia] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Product_Safety_Improvement_Act — CPSIA is a general lead/phthalate/third-party-testing law for children's products, not a foam-roller standard — verbatim
- [wikipedia_myofascial_release] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myofascial_release — cites Schroeder & Best 2015: foam rolling/SMR reduces DOMS, no negative effect on performance; broader 2013/2015 MFR reviews found mixed evidence — verbatim

Unreachable this run (403/404, not reused): cpsc.gov live and Wayback snapshot (403 Access Denied), physio-pedia, nsca.com, hopkinsmedicine.org, health.clevelandclinic.org, nasm.org, ACE Fitness (redirected off-topic). No enthusiast/forum source was reachable; register leans on brand spec sheets plus two Wikipedia primers.

## Branches
- tool_type=roller → density, surface_texture, roller_core_construction, length_class, max_user_weight. Traced to rumbleroller_product (density/texture) and tpt_grid10/tpt_grid20/tpt_foundations (core, length, weight) — no source varies a strap or mat by these.
- tool_type=massage_ball → density, surface_texture. Traced to tpt_gridball (density/texture apply, no core or length stated for a sphere).
- tool_type=massage_stick → stick_core_flex. Traced to tigertail_bendy18's rigid/flexible framing; no texture, density scale or weight limit stated for a handheld tool.
- tool_type=roller / massage_ball → spine_channel. Traced to runnersworld_buyersguide (Roll Recovery R4's center groove) and rumbleroller_beastiebar (Adjustable Peanut straddles the spine); no stick/strap/mat source varies by this.
- tool_type=stretch_strap → strap_loop_style. Traced to tigertail_strap and optp_strap_pro, both describing only loops/length, never density or texture.
- tool_type=acupressure_mat → mat_intensity. Traced to shaktimat_classic's level system; mat states a fixed product weight, not a user-weight capacity.

## Noise
- Brand color/SKU variants (teal/orange/black, etc.) — cosmetic, not expertise.
- OPTP page rendering mechanics (meta tags vs body text) — a scraper note, not a facet.
- Tiger Tail's own bundled yoga block/mat and resistance bands on the same category page — sibling-leaf products, excluded per scope.

## Corrections (2026-10-26)
- Renamed length_class value full_length_36in → full_length_26in; tpt_grid20 actually states "26 inches," not 36 — the 36in label was unsupported by any cited source.
- Fixed tpt_grid20 reference supports line from "36 inch" to "26 inch" to match the fetched page.
- Added spine_channel facet (values center_channel/flat_or_convex_surface/unspecified), cited to runnersworld_buyersguide (Roll Recovery R4 center groove) and rumbleroller_beastiebar (Adjustable Peanut straddles the spine); wired into the roller and massage_ball branches.
- Dropped surface_texture from the massage_stick branch's then_ask (moved to makes_irrelevant) — no fetched stick source states any texture variant.
- Gave primary_goal real branches (pre_workout_warmup drops roller_core_construction as irrelevant; the other two values ask it) so the split actually narrows, instead of leaving branches empty; tightened its question to "Self-massage to warm up, recover, or for mobility?" so it doesn't read unchanged for massage guns or compression wear.
- Removed the "child/pet-safety warning" line from the shaktimat_classic reference — not present anywhere in the fetched page; was an uncited/unverifiable claim.
- Softened max_user_weight and length_class (half/XL bands) backfill_note to flag they rest on one brand/SKU and were not cross-checked against a second independent source this run — attempted (321 STRONG, Gaiam, ProsourceFit, Yes4All, Performance Health, OPTP standard roller, pranamat, spoonk) but none returned a usable second source within this run's fetch budget; rejecting fabrication over a confirmed second citation.
- Softened mat_intensity's backfill_note to flag the Level 1/2/3 tiering as confirmed only on Shakti Mat's own listings, not cross-checked against a second acupressure-mat brand.