Introduction. Myofascial self-release is a common technique used by rehabilitation, physical conditioning and sports professionals to improve post-injury recovery and physical and technical sports performance. Different studies have shown the effectiveness of the Foam-Rolling (FR) acute effect with very long periods (80-180 s) on the increase of the muscle extensibility when warming up. However, no research work has been found on the analysis of the acute effect on the soleus muscle with a more realistic duration in the fitness and sport context. The objective of this study was to determine the acute effect of a short protocol of FR on the soleus muscle extensibility in physically active students. Material and methods: Thirty-one physically active adult students (age: 22.7±1,8 years; weight: 73.6±11.6 kg; height: 1.76±0.09 cm) who exercised regularly at least three times a week for 45 minutes per session. A (1 x 30 s) FR protocol was applied onto the dominant leg of the participants while the non-dominant leg was used as the control group. The ankle dorsiflexion movement range for the soleus muscle in the two legs was assessed before and immediately after FR application according to the ROM-SPORT protocol and methodology. Student’s t-test was run to observe any eventual difference between pre and post-application of FR. The Cohen effect size of all the results obtained was calculated, and the magnitude of the effect was interpreted according to the Hopkins, Marshall, Batterham & Hanin (2009) criteria. Results: There was an average increase of the FR group of 3º with moderate effect size magnitude (p=0.000; d=0.66). An increase of 0.8º (p=0.036) in the control group was observed, though the effect size magnitude was not relevant (d=0.00). Conclusions. Results suggest that 30 s of foam-rolling is a real and effective strategy to increase the extensibility of the soleus muscle and the ankle dorsiflexion movement range during the warm up.
ACUTE EFFECT OF SHORT-DURATION FOAM-ROLLING ON THE RANGE OF MOVEMENT OF THE ANKLE IN PHYSICALLY ACTIVE ADULTS
Izzo R.;
2021
Abstract
Introduction. Myofascial self-release is a common technique used by rehabilitation, physical conditioning and sports professionals to improve post-injury recovery and physical and technical sports performance. Different studies have shown the effectiveness of the Foam-Rolling (FR) acute effect with very long periods (80-180 s) on the increase of the muscle extensibility when warming up. However, no research work has been found on the analysis of the acute effect on the soleus muscle with a more realistic duration in the fitness and sport context. The objective of this study was to determine the acute effect of a short protocol of FR on the soleus muscle extensibility in physically active students. Material and methods: Thirty-one physically active adult students (age: 22.7±1,8 years; weight: 73.6±11.6 kg; height: 1.76±0.09 cm) who exercised regularly at least three times a week for 45 minutes per session. A (1 x 30 s) FR protocol was applied onto the dominant leg of the participants while the non-dominant leg was used as the control group. The ankle dorsiflexion movement range for the soleus muscle in the two legs was assessed before and immediately after FR application according to the ROM-SPORT protocol and methodology. Student’s t-test was run to observe any eventual difference between pre and post-application of FR. The Cohen effect size of all the results obtained was calculated, and the magnitude of the effect was interpreted according to the Hopkins, Marshall, Batterham & Hanin (2009) criteria. Results: There was an average increase of the FR group of 3º with moderate effect size magnitude (p=0.000; d=0.66). An increase of 0.8º (p=0.036) in the control group was observed, though the effect size magnitude was not relevant (d=0.00). Conclusions. Results suggest that 30 s of foam-rolling is a real and effective strategy to increase the extensibility of the soleus muscle and the ankle dorsiflexion movement range during the warm up.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
