Get On A Roll

Stretching as part of an athlete’s workout warm up and/or cool down has been commonplace for years. Additionally, and more recently, foam rolling has been adopted to increase joint range of motion (ROM). Pitting one against the other a 2020 meta-analysis in Sports Medicine revealed comparable effectiveness for increasing joint ROM acutely (Wilke et al., 2020). It is well established that a regular practice of stretching may increase joint ROM. Similarly supportive, evidence of the effectiveness of long-term practice of foam rolling has been reported in a recent systematic review and meta-analysis. Researchers reported longer duration (>4 weeks) interventions are needed to induce ROM gains and the improvements may be joint or muscle specific (Konrad, Nakamura, Tilp, Donti & Behm, 2022).

While individual study protocols typically vary considerably in research such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, we may at least generally consider the aforementioned bodywork practices worthwhile for the athlete aiming to increase their ROM. The combination of the two modalities may not lead to additional effects (Konrad, Nakamura, Bernsteiner & Tilp, 2021). Hence, if under time constraints the athlete need not necessarily stretch and roll to make significant gains.

Time to get on a roll!