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Foam RollingEvidence & Dosage

Self-myofascial release, ROM, and recovery effects.

Studies last updated

Evidence at a glance

Total studies
717
With abstract
50
Meta / Systematic / RCT
147
Highly cited
50
Publication years
1979–2026

Foam Rolling in the context of Recovery

This topic is part of our "Recovery" world. There you'll find methodology, evidence and the highest-impact levers — plus the order in which they sensibly build on each other.

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Top studies on Foam Rolling

Ranked by influential-citation count and publication year.

  1. Acute Effects of Foam Rolling on Range of Motion in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review with Multilevel Meta-analysis.

    Sports Med2020n=26Meta-Analysis141 influential citations

    <h4>Background</h4>Foam rolling (FR) has been demonstrated to acutely enhance joint range of motion (ROM). However, data syntheses pooling the effect sizes across studies are scarce. It is, furthermore, unknown which moderators affect the…

  2. Foam rolling and stretching do not provide superior acute flexibility and stiffness improvements compared to any other warm-up intervention: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

    J Sport Health Sci2024n=1,134Meta-Analysis112 influential citations

    <h4>Background</h4>Acute improvement in range of motion (ROM) is a widely reported effect of stretching and foam rolling, which is commonly explained by changes in pain threshold and/or musculotendinous stiffness. Interestingly, these…

  3. Foam Rolling Training Effects on Range of Motion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    Sports Med2022n=290Meta-Analysis104 influential citations

    Background A single foam-rolling exercise can acutely increase the range of motion (ROM) of a joint. However, to date the adaptational effects of foam-rolling training over several weeks on joint ROM are not well understood. Objective The…

    Finding: Foam-rolling training produced a moderate increase in joint range of motion compared with control in healthy participants.

  4. The Acute and Prolonged Effects of Different Durations of Foam Rolling on Range of Motion, Muscle Stiffness, and Muscle Strength.

    J Sports Sci Med2021n=45RCT95 influential citations

    “Foam Rolling” has been used in sports settings to increase range of motion and decrease muscle stiffness without decreasing muscle strength and athletic performance. However, there has been no study investigating the acute and prolonged…

  5. A comparison of a single bout of stretching or foam rolling on range of motion in healthy adults.

    Eur J Appl Physiol2022Meta-Analysis94 influential citations

    Purpose Stretching and foam rolling are common warm-up exercises and can acutely increase the range of motion (ROM) of a joint. However, possible differences in the magnitude of change on ROM between these two interventions on the…

  6. Acute Effects of Foam Rolling, Static Stretching, and Dynamic Stretching During Warm-ups on Muscular Flexibility and Strength in Young Adults.

    J Sport Rehabil2017n=30RCT83 influential citations

    Context: Foam rolling has been proposed to improve muscle function, performance, and joint range of motion (ROM). However, whether a foam rolling protocol can be adopted as a warm-up to improve flexibility and muscle strength is unclear.…

  7. The Combined Effect of Static Stretching and Foam Rolling With or Without Vibration on the Range of Motion, Muscle Performance, and Tissue Hardness of the Knee Extensor.

    J Strength Cond Res2023n=15RCT81 influential citations

    Nakamura, M, Konrad, A, Kasahara, K, Yoshida, R, Murakami, Y, Sato, S, Aizawa, K, Koizumi, R, and Wilke, J. The combined effect of static stretching and foam rolling with or without vibration on the range of motion, muscle performance, and…

  8. Immediate effects of various physical therapeutic modalities on cervical myofascial pain and trigger-point sensitivity.

    Arch Phys Med Rehabil2002n=119RCT80 influential citations

    <h4>Objective</h4>To investigate the immediate effect of physical therapeutic modalities on myofascial pain in the upper trapezius muscle.<h4>Design</h4>Randomized controlled trial.<h4>Setting</h4>Institutional…

  9. Effectiveness of osteopathic interventions in chronic non-specific low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Complement Ther Med2021n=10Meta-Analysis74 influential citations

    <h4>Background</h4>Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a frequent cause of disability and it represents a medical, social and economic burden globally. Therefore, we assessed effectiveness of osteopathic interventions in the management of…

    Finding: Moderate-quality evidence suggested that myofascial release was more effective than control treatments for pain reduction.

  10. Effects of warm-up on hamstring muscles stiffness: Cycling vs foam rolling.

    Scand J Med Sci Sports2017n=14RCT73 influential citations

    This study investigated the effects of active and/or passive warm‐up tasks on the hamstring muscles stiffness through elastography and passive torque measurements. On separate occasions, fourteen males randomly completed four warm‐up…

Frequently asked

What dosage was studied?
• Foam rolling (Acute foam rolling sessions; specific protocols varied across trials) • Foam-rolling training interventions (Varied across studies; subgrouped as ≤4 weeks vs >4 weeks)
Are there safety considerations for Foam Rolling?
• Not reported • No adverse events reported in the excerpt. • Not reported. • No adverse events were reported in the excerpt.

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