. 2024 Jan 11;9(1):20. doi: 10.3390/jfmk9010020

Table 3.

Effects of SMR on athletes’ flexibility and mobility.

Study	n	Measurement	Results
Study	n	Measurement	Group	M	SD	p
Kurt, 2023 [54]	23	Sit-and-reach test (cm)	SS	36.4	5.7	p = 0.01 * (SS-DS); p = 0.001 * (DS-SMR)
			DS	38.3	6.2
			SMR	36.9	5.9
Chen, 2023 [56]	10	Knee flexion (degrees)	GW	69.3	9.6	p < 0.05 *
		Knee flexion (degrees)	DS + VFR	79.4	7.7	p < 0.05 *
		Knee extension (degrees)	GW	130.5	6	p > 0.05
		Knee extension (degrees)	DS + VFR	133.5	5.1	p > 0.05
Wang, 2022 [59]	27	Y balance test—Left	VFR	0.879	0.081	p > 0.05
			Percussion devices	0.849	0.074
			CG	0.872	0.036
		Y balance test—Right	VFR	0.876	0.123
			Percussion devices	0.867	0.085
			CG	0.878	0.064
Chen, 2021 [60]	15	Active knee flexion—Stronger leg (degrees)	GW	127.9	5.3	p = 0.87
		Active knee flexion—Stronger leg (degrees)	GW + VFR	128.9	5.3	p = 0.87
		Active knee flexion—Weaker leg (degrees)	GW	129.1	4.9	p = 0.70
		Active knee flexion—Weaker leg (degrees)	GW + VFR	128.7	4.9	p = 0.70
		Modified sit-and-reach test—Stronger leg (degrees)	GW	59.8	9.9	p = 0.92
		Modified sit-and-reach test—Stronger leg (degrees)	GW + VFR	60.6	8.4	p = 0.92
		Modified sit-and-reach test—Weaker leg (degrees)	GW	57.1	11.1	p = 0.8
		Modified sit-and-reach test—Weaker leg (degrees)	GW + VFR	59.6	8.8	p = 0.8
Lopez Samanes, 2021 [61]	11	Passive straight leg raise test—Dominant leg (degrees)	DS pre	76.55	6.07	p > 0.05
			DS post	78.18	6.23
			SMR pre	77.27	5.75
			SMR post	79.09	4.13
		Passive straight leg raise test—No dominant leg (degrees)	DS pre	75.64	5.78	p > 0.05
			DS post	76.36	5.71
			SMR pre	77.09	5.47
			SMR post	78.36	4.97
		Modified version of the Thomas test—Dominant leg	DS pre	0.91	3.39	p > 0.05
			DS post	1.82	3.52
			SMR pre	0	2.69
			SMR post	0.36	2.8
		Modified version of the Thomas test—No dominant leg	DS pre	2.18	3.16	p > 0.05
			DS post	2.55	3.24
			SMR pre	0.73	2.24
			SMR post	1.09	3.02
Oranchuk, 2019 [63]	13	Passive straight leg raise (degrees)	CG	+1.9°		p > 0.05
			FR	+5.4°		p < 0.001 *
			FR + heat	+9.5°		p < 0.001 *
Romero-Franco, 2019 [64]	30	Thomas hip extension (degrees)	CG	−3.3–4.1°	Intra p < 0.05 *	Inter p > 0.05
		Thomas hip extension (degrees)	FR	−4.7–5.5°	Intra p < 0.05 *	Inter p > 0.05
		Thomas knee flexion (degrees)	CG	+1.6°	Intra p > 0.05	Inter p < 0.05 *
		Thomas knee flexion (degrees)	FR	−2.4°	Intra p < 0.05 *	Inter p < 0.05 *
		Popliteal angle test (degrees)	CG	+1.8°	p > 0.05 intra and inter group
		Popliteal angle test (degrees)	FR	−5.6°	p > 0.05 intra and inter group
		Ankle dorsiflexion (degrees)	CG	+1.5°	Intra p > 0.05	Inter p > 0.05
		Ankle dorsiflexion (degrees)	FR	+6.3°	Intra p < 0.05 *	Inter p > 0.05
Guillot, 2019 [65]	30	Side split (degrees)	CG	+1.8°		p = 0.67
			FR20	+17.7°		p = 0.002 ^*
			FR40	+18°		p = 0.005 ^*
		Active straight leg raise—Right side (degrees)	CG	+0.6°		p = 0.84
			FR20	+14°		p = 0.004 *
			FR40	+6.2°		p = 0.002 *
		Active straight leg raise—Left side (degrees)	CG	+0.1°		p = 0.98
			FR20	+9.2°		p = 0.060
			FR40	+15.7°		p = 0.003 *
		Active flexed leg raise—Right side (degrees)	CG	+1.8°		p = 0.73
			FR20	+14.2°		p = 0.004 *
			FR40	+16.9°		p = 0.001 *
		Active flexed leg raise—Left side (degrees)	CG	−0.1°		p = 0.98
			FR20	+11.5°		p = 0.01 *
			FR40	+16.4°		p < 0.001 *
		Hip extension—Right side (degrees)	CG	+0.9		p = 0.76
			FR20	+17.1°		p < 0.001 *
			FR40	+15.4°		p < 0.001 ^*
		Hip extension—Left side (degrees)	CG	+0.7		p = 0.82
			FR20	+15.5°		p < 0.001 *
			FR40	+13.5°		p < 0.001 ^*
Aune, 2018 [66]	23	Dorsiflexion ROM (degrees)	Eccentric	+7%		p < 0.001 * pre–post (whole sample) Inter p > 0.05
Aune, 2018 [66]	23	Dorsiflexion ROM (degrees)	FR	+9%		p < 0.001 * pre–post (whole sample) Inter p > 0.05
Richman, 2018 [69]	14	Sit and reach/flexibility (cm)	Light walking + DS pre	37.6	4.2	p < 0.05 *
			Light walking + DS post	39.9	3.9	p < 0.05 *
			FR + DS pre	36.3	4.8	p < 0.05 *
			FR + DS post	38.5	4.4	p < 0.05 *
Rey, 2017 [73]	18	Sit and reach (cm)	CG pre	25.27	8.8	p > 0.05
			CG post	24.94	7.24
			FR pre	20.79	9.18
			FR post	23.17	7.61
Fairall, 2017 [72]	12	Glenohumeral internal rotation ROM (degrees)	SMR	24.15	4.66	Intra-group p < 0.000 * Inter-group p = 0.55
			SS	28.62	6.79
			SMR + SS	30.36	7.21
D’Amico, 2017 [71]	16	ROM hip extension (degrees)	Passive	Not specified		p > 0.05
		ROM hip extension (degrees)	FR	Not specified		p > 0.05
		Stride length (cm)	Passive	Not specified		p > 0.05
		Stride length (cm)	FR	Not specified		p > 0.05
Sağiroğlu, 2017 [70]	16	Sit-and-reach (cm) peak improvement during recovery (time)	Aerobic running	MIP = +2.13 cm (min 30:30)		Inter-group p < 0.05 * (aerobic running + SMR with better results in short term <10 min)
			Aerobic running + SS	MIP = +1.69 cm (min 15:30)
			Aerobic running + SMR	MIP = +2.03 cm (min 10:30)
Behara, 2017 [74]		ROM hip flexion (degrees)	Baseline	94.17	21.1	p < 0.000 *
			FR	108.92	15.51
			DS	111.77	13.44
Murray, 2016 [75]	12	ROM hip flexors and quadriceps (degrees)	FR + 2.4° than CG for overall flexibility changes			p = 0.03 *
Markovic, 2015 [77]	20	Passive straight leg raise (degrees)	FAT	+13.7° hip		p = 0.039 *
		Passive straight leg raise (degrees)	FR	+6.6° hip		p = 0.039 *
		Passive knee flexion test (degrees)	FAT	+15.2°		p = 0.06
		Passive knee flexion test (degrees)	FR	+7°		p = 0.06
Škarabot, 2015 [76]	11	ROM ankle dorsiflexion (degrees)	SS	+0.9	0.67	p < 0.05 *
			FR	+0.4	0.67
			SS + FR	+1.3	0.65
Peacock, 2014 [78]	11	Sit and reach (cm)	DYN	34.12	5.21	p = 0.83
Peacock, 2014 [78]	11	Sit and reach (cm)	SMR + DYN	34.32	5.7	p = 0.83

CG = control group; cm = centimetres; DS = dynamic stretching; DYN = dynamic warm-up; FAT = fascial abrasion technique; FR = foam roller; GW = general warm-up; M = mean; MIP = maximal improvement; p ≤ 0.05 or * = significant; post = post-intervention; pre = pre-intervention; ROM = range of motion; SD = standard deviation; SMR = self-myofascial release; SS = static stretching; VFR = vibration foam roller.