Foam Rolling as a Warm-up Technique for Anaerobic Power Activities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Foam Rolling (FR) compared to an Active Warm-Up (AWU) on performance measures of anaerobic power. Twenty-one male participants, recruited from a Division III university’s athletic teams, completed a two day cross-over protocol to examine knee extension output using an isokinetic dyna- mometer. Peak torque, average peak torque, total work, and average power measurements were taken based on one set of 5 maximal concentric contractions of the quadri- ceps pre and post-intervention of one of the warm-up pro- cedures (FR vs. AWU). Following a pre-testing, subjects were randomly assigned to complete either the FR or AWU warm-up on the first day. The FR protocol involved 3 sets of 30-second rolling on 3 zones of the thigh (medial, anterior, lateral); the AWU warm-up included 3 sets of 30 seconds each of high knees, anterior-posterior leg swings, and later- al leg swings. Immediately following the warm-up protocol, the isokinetic measurements were repeated. The following week, subjects repeated the pre and post-testing but with the other warm-up protocol. Statistical analyses using re- peated measure t-tests indicate significant increases (p < 0.01) in peak torque following both the foam rolling and the active warm-up protocols. There were no significant dif- ferences on the four performance measures between the changes (post minus pre-testing) for FR compared to AWU. These results suggest that foam rolling could be used to increase performance when used as a warm-up modality.