Abstract
Self-myofascial release (SMR) in the form of foam rolling has shown to have positive effects on delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), range of motion (ROM) and athletic performance measures. Specific parameters related to foam rolling may provide a quicker recovery of measures such as range of motion, muscle soreness and overall athletic performance. Purpose Assess the effectiveness of different applied pressures during a session of foam rolling on range of motion and delayed-onset muscle soreness. Methods Twelve healthy female subjects from a university Division I soccer program volunteered to participate in the study. The effectiveness of two different pressures were measured using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for muscle soreness and a weight-bearing lunge for ankle range of motion (ROM). Participants performed a delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) protocol consisting of two sets of concentric/eccentric calf raises on a single leg until failure. Following, subjects performed either performed Single-leg (light pressure) or Double-leg (deep pressure) foam rolling treatment based upon their group. Each foam rolling treatment consisted of three sets of 30 seconds with a rest interval of 30 seconds between sets. Measurements were collected for muscle soreness and ROM at 0, 24 and 48 hours post-DOMS. The following week the protocol was repeated on the opposite leg with the opposite treatment. A repeated measure two-way ANOVA was used to calculated significance between time and treatment for both foam rolling treatments. Paired T-tests with a Bonferroni correction were used to further investigate any significant values at specific data collection marks. Results Two-way ANOVA results showed a significant interaction effect for treatment and time on ROM. Analysis revealed significant (P= .006) improvements in ROM for light pressure at 48-hours post muscle damage in comparison to deep pressure. Two-way ANOVA results show no significant interaction effect (P=.965) between time and treatment for the VAS scores. The main effect for treatment was not significant (p=.254). The main effect for time reached a significant value (p=.001). For time, from baseline VAS scores post muscle damage a significant increase was observed (p=.0002). VAS scores remained elevated at 24-hours and decreased to baseline levels by 48-hours. Conclusion The results of the study suggest light pressure helps improve ROM at 48-hours compared to deep pressure, but pressure does not have an effect on VAS.