Differences in pressure pain threshold among men and women after foam rolling

Abstract

Background Rehabilitation professionals often prescribe foam rolling as an intervention to augment other manual therapies or as a warm-up or recovery after athletic activity. Currently, there is a gap in the literature regarding how foam rolling effects the pressure pain threshold (PPT) among men and women. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the immediate effects of a foam rolling intervention on the ipsilateral agonist, antagonist, and contralateral muscle group PPT among men and women. Setting University kinesiology laboratory. Participants Twenty healthy adults (M = 10, F = 10; mean age = 27.4 ± 8.5 years). Research design Pre-test, post-test observational study. Intervention Video-guided foam roll intervention on the left quadriceps group. Main outcome measures Ipsilateral quadriceps, ipsilateral hamstring, and contralateral quadriceps muscle PPT. Results Within group comparison for men, revealed a statistically significant effect of time on PPT for the left quadriceps (p=<0.001), left hamstring (p = 0.001), and right quadriceps (p=<0.001). For women, there was a statistically significant effect of time on PPT for the left quadriceps (p = 0.001), left hamstring (p = 0.007), and right quadriceps (p=<0.001). No significant difference in PPT between men and women were found for the left quadriceps (p = 0.31), left hamstring (p = 0.13), and right quadriceps (p = 0.070) muscle groups. Conclusions These finding suggest that foam rolling can immediately reduce PPT in the ipsilateral agonist, antagonist, and contralateral muscle groups among men and women. Future investigations are needed to determine the long-term effects of foam rolling on PPT among sexes.