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. 2019 Dec;14(6):845–859.

Appendix 2.

Description of Included Studies: Outcomes Relating to Range of Motion (ROM).

Author Tool Study Population Muscle(s) Treated Duration of FR/RM# Results
*Bradbury-Squires et al29 RM
  • n = 10 (all male)

  • Recreationally active adults

  • Quadriceps

  • 5 sets of 20s or 5 sets of 60s with 60s rest between sets

  • 100s or 300s total

  • Increase in ROM in both the 20 and 60s conditions (both p<0.05) vs control

  • No analysis of chronic effects

Bushell et al30 FR
  • n = 31 (19 males, 12 females)

  • Adults who were physically active at least 1.5 hours per week who hadn't recently foam rolled

  • Quadriceps

  • 3 sets of 60s with 30s rest in between sets

  • 180s total

  • 1 FR session during each of sessions 1 & 2, and 5x in 7 days between 1 & 2

  • No significant difference in ROM for the FR group vs control across all 6 lunges performed at each of the 3 sessions

Casanova et al16 RM
  • n = 20 (18 males, 2 females)

  • Adult athletes with occasional resistance training experience and no recent ankle injuries

  • Plantar flexors

  • 6 sets of 45s with 20s rest between sets

  • 270s total

  • No significant difference in ROM for the RM group vs control at all time points (up to 72h)

*Cheatham et al17 FR
  • n = 45 (27 males, 18 females)

  • Recreationally active adults

  • Quadriceps

  • 1 set of 120s

  • 120s total

  • Increase in ROM (p<0.001) immediately post-FR in non-vibrating FR group vs control

  • No analysis of chronic effects

D'Amico & Paolone31 FR
  • n = 16 (all male)

  • Trained adults, able to complete an 800 metre run in under 160s

  • Gluteals, hip flexors, quadriceps, iliotibial band, adductors, and calves

  • 1 set of 30s per region, bilaterally • 360s total

  • No significant difference in ROM for the FR group vs control

*Jay et al19 RM
  • n = 22 (all male)

  • Untrained adults with no prior history of knee, low back, or neck pain

  • Hamstrings

  • 1 set of 600s

  • 600s total

  • Increase in ROM at 10m (p = 0.03) post-RM in RM group vs control

  • Increase in ROM immediately (p = 0.03) post-RM in RM group vs within-subject control (contralateral leg)

  • Acute, transient effect: no other statistically significant data on ROM

*Junker & Stoggl32 FR
  • n = 40 (all male)

  • Recreationally active adults who perform sport-like activity 2-3 times per week

  • Hamstrings

  • 3 sets of 30-40s, bilaterally

  • 180-240s total (mean = 210s)

  • 3 FR sessions per week for 4 weeks

  • Increase in ROM immediately (p = 0.033) post FR in FR group vs control

  • No significant difference in ROM between FR group and PNF stretching group

  • No analysis of chronic effects

Kelly & Beardsley33 FR
  • n = 26 (16 males, 10 females)

  • Recreationally active adults performing exercise 2-3 times per week on average

  • Plantar flexors

  • 3 sets of 30s with 10s rest between sets

  • 90s total

  • No significant difference in ROM in the FR group vs control

*MacDonald et al (2014)20 FR
  • n = 20 (all male)

  • All regularly resistance trained 3 or more days/week

  • Quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, iliotibial band, and gluteals

  • 2 sets of 60s per region, bilaterally

  • 1200s total

  • Moderate effect on increasing quadriceps passive ROM at 48 (d = 0.77) and 72h (d = 0.56) post FR, hamstring passive ROM at 72h (d = 0.62) post FR, and hamstring dynamic ROM at 24h (d = 0.57) post FR

*MacDonald et al (2013)34 FR
  • n = 11 (all male)

  • Recreational resistance training adults, classified as moderately to very physically active

  • Quadriceps

  • 2 sets of 60s, with 30s rest between sets

  • 120s total

  • Increase in ROM at both time points of 2 and 10m (both p<0.001) post-FR vs control

Macgregor et al23 FR
  • n = 16 (all male)

  • Recreationally active adults

  • Quadriceps

  • 1 set of 120s

  • 120s total

  • 1 FR session per day for 3 consecutive days

  • No significant difference in ROM in the FR group vs control

*Mohr et al14 FR
  • n = 40

  • Recreationally active adults, engaging in physical activity 1-5 hours per week

  • Hamstrings

  • 3 sets of 60s, with 30s rest between sets

  • 180s total

  • Increase in ROM regardless of treatment group (p = 0.001)

  • FR + static stretching (SS) group's ROM increased significantly more than SS (p = 0.04), FR (p = 0.06), or control (p = 0.001)

Morales-Artacho et al24 FR
  • n = 14 (all male)

  • Physically active adults, performing 3-4 hours of sport per week

  • Hamstrings

  • 1 set of 60s bilateral FR, followed by 5 sets of 60s unilateral FR, bilaterally

  • 660s total

  • No significant difference in ROM in the FR group vs control

  • Cycling + FR as a warm-up significantly increased ROM at 5 (p0.001) and 30m (p = 0.046) vs control, but was no better than the cycling group vs control alone

*Phillips et al25 FR
  • n = 24 (8 males, 16 females)

  • Physically active adults, exercising at least 3 times per week

  • Quadriceps and plantar flexors

  • 1 set of either 60s or 300s per region, bilaterally

  • 240/1200s total

  • Increase in kneeling lunge knee ROM in both FR groups (p<0.01) vs control

  • Effects of both FR groups were statistically similar, however FR60 had a moderate effect (d = 0.58), while FR300 had a large effect (d = 0.85)

*Smith et al26 FR
  • n = 29 (8 males, 21 females)

  • Physically active (n = 23) or sedentary (n = 6) adults

  • Gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps, and plantar flexors

  • 3 sets of 30s per bilateral region, with 30s rest between sets

  • 360s total

  • Increase in sit-and-reach scores immediately (p = 0.003) post-FR vs control, but at no further time points

  • Acute, transient effect

*Sullivan et al27 RM
  • n = 17 (7 males, 10 females)

  • Recreationally active adults participating in physical activity roughly 3 times per week

  • Hamstrings

  • 1 or 2 sets of 5 or 10s

  • 5, 10, or 20s total

  • Increase in ROM regardless of treatment group (p = 0.0001) vs control

  • Non-significant trend toward increase in ROM in the 10s groups (p = 0.069) vs 5s groups, regardless of set number

Wilke et al28 FR
  • n = 17 (7 males, 10 females)

  • Physically active adults

  • Quadriceps

  • 4 sets of 45s, with 30s rest between sets

  • 180s total

  • No significant difference in ROM in either FR group vs control

*

- Statistically significant positive conclusion

FR - Foam Roller

RM - Roller Massager

ROM - Range of Motion

PNF - Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation

#

reported as s/m/h - Denotes the indicated number of seconds (s), minutes (m), or hours (h)