The contralateral effects of foam rolling on range of motion and muscle performance

Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

Authors

A single bout of foam rolling (FR) can acutely increase joint range of motion (ROM) without detrimental effects on subsequent muscle performance. Similarly, long-term FR training can increase ROM, while muscle performance seems to be unaffected. Although the acute and long-term effects of FR on the treated muscle are understood, the impact of FR on the contralateral side is not well known. Therefore, this scoping review aims to summarize the current evidence on the acute and long-term effect of FR on the ipsilateral limb on ROM and muscle performance (i.e., maximum force, rate of force development, jump height) for the contralateral (non-treated) limb. Potential explanatory mechanisms are also discussed. There is evidence that a single bout of FR on the ipsilateral limb increases ROM of the contralateral limb; however, evidence is limited for long-term effects. The most likely mechanism for contralateral ROM increases is a reduced perception of pain. With regard to isolated muscle contractions, no changes in muscle performance (i.e., maximum voluntary isometric contraction, maximum voluntary dynamic contraction) were found in the contralateral limb after a single bout of FR on the ipsilateral limb. Notably, only one study reported large impairments in rate of force development of the contralateral limb following FR on the ipsilateral leg, possibly due to decreased motor unit recruitment. Furthermore, to date there are only two studies examining the long-term FR training of the ipsilateral limb on performance (i.e., maximal strength and jump performance) which reported moderate improvements. Although, trivial to very large changes on a variety of parameters were found in this study, the functional and practical relevance of our findings should be interpreted with caution.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Journal of Applied Physiology
Volume123
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)1167-1178
Number of pages12
ISSN1439-6319
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 06.2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Systematic distributions of interaction strengths across tree interaction networks yield positive diversity–productivity relationships
  2. Review of transit data sources
  3. Study on AZ31 magnesium alloy-based surface composite through friction stir processing
  4. On the role of linguistic features for comprehension and learning from STEM texts. A meta-analysis
  5. Sustainability performance measurement – a framework for context-specific applications
  6. Generalized Between Icon, Symbol and Index
  7. Sustainable Development Goals als Rahmenbedingung einer transformativen Berufsbildung
  8. Diversity lost
  9. Systemnahe Programmierung
  10. Great ape cognition is structured by stable cognitive abilities and predicted by developmental conditions
  11. Using density surface models to assess the ecological effectiveness of a protected area network in Tanzania
  12. Circular value creation architectures
  13. Article 70 CISG
  14. Microstructure characterisation and creep properties of AE42 based hybrid composites prepared by squeeze casting process
  15. Expanding the pie or spoiling the cake? How the number of negotiation issues affects integrative bargaining
  16. Idiosyncratic volatility, option-based measures of informed trading, and investor attention
  17. Missing links
  18. The Timing of Daily Demand for Goods and Services
  19. Aspects of memory acts
  20. Going beyond certificates
  21. The power of putting a label on it
  22. Experimentally validated multi-step simulation strategy to predict the fatigue crack propagation rate in residual stress fields after laser shock peening