1School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, CANADA; and 2School of Human Movement Studies, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014 Jan;46(1):131-42. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182a123db.
The objective of this study is to understand the effectiveness of foam rolling (FR) as a recovery tool after exercise-induced muscle damage, analyzing thigh girth, muscle soreness, range of motion (ROM), evoked and voluntary contractile properties, vertical jump, perceived pain while FR, and force placed on the foam roller.
Twenty male subjects (≥3 yr of strength training experience) were randomly assigned into the control (n = 10) or FR (n = 10) group. All the subjects followed the same testing protocol. The subjects participated in five testing sessions: 1) orientation and one-repetition maximum back squat, 2) pretest measurements, 10 × 10 squat protocol, and POST-0 (posttest 0) measurements, along with measurements at 3) POST-24, 4) POST-48, and 5) POST-72. The only between-group difference was that the FR group performed a 20-min FR exercise protocol at the end of each testing session (POST-0, POST-24, and POST-48).
FR substantially reduced muscle soreness at all time points while substantially improving ROM. FR negatively affected evoked contractile properties with the exception of half relaxation time and electromechanical delay (EMD), with FR substantially improving EMD. Voluntary contractile properties showed no substantial between-group differences for all measurements besides voluntary muscle activation and vertical jump, with FR substantially improving muscle activation at all time points and vertical jump at POST-48. When performing the five FR exercises, measurements of the subjects' force placed on the foam roller and perceived pain while FR ranged between 26 and 46 kg (32%-55% body weight) and 2.5 and 7.5 points, respectively.
The most important findings of the present study were that FR was beneficial in attenuating muscle soreness while improving vertical jump height, muscle activation, and passive and dynamic ROM in comparison with control. FR negatively affected several evoked contractile properties of the muscle, except for half relaxation time and EMD, indicating that FR benefits are primarily accrued through neural responses and connective tissue.
本研究旨在了解泡沫轴滚动（FR）作为运动引起的肌肉损伤后恢复工具的有效性，分析大腿围度、肌肉酸痛、关节活动度（ROM）、诱发和自愿收缩性能、垂直跳跃、FR 时的感知疼痛以及施加在泡沫轴上的力。
20 名男性受试者（≥3 年力量训练经验）被随机分配到对照组（n=10）或 FR 组（n=10）。所有受试者均遵循相同的测试方案。受试者参加了五次测试：1）定向和一次重复最大深蹲，2）预测试测量，10×10 深蹲方案和 POST-0（后测 0）测量，以及 3）POST-24、4）POST-48 和 5）POST-72 时的测量。两组之间的唯一区别是 FR 组在每次测试结束时（POST-0、POST-24 和 POST-48）进行 20 分钟的 FR 运动方案。
FR 在所有时间点都显著减轻了肌肉酸痛，同时显著改善了 ROM。FR 对诱发的收缩性能有负面影响，除了半松弛时间和机电延迟（EMD）外，FR 显著改善了 EMD。自愿收缩性能除了自愿肌肉激活和垂直跳跃外，所有测量值在两组之间均无显著差异，FR 在所有时间点都显著改善了肌肉激活，在 POST-48 时也显著提高了垂直跳跃。当进行五次 FR 运动时，受试者在泡沫轴上施加的力和 FR 时的感知疼痛测量值在 26 到 46 公斤（32%-55%体重）和 2.5 到 7.5 分之间。
本研究的最重要发现是，与对照组相比，FR 有利于减轻肌肉酸痛，同时提高垂直跳跃高度、肌肉激活和被动及动态 ROM。FR 对肌肉的一些诱发收缩性能产生负面影响，除了半松弛时间和 EMD 外，这表明 FR 的益处主要通过神经反应和结缔组织获得。
