Mixed
Pre-rolling with foam rollers provides a small but statistically significant improvement in sprint performance (+0.7%) and flexibility (+4.0%), while having negligible effects on jump and strength performance.
Use foam rolling as a warm-up before sprinting or activities requiring high flexibility. Expect small gains in speed (approx 0.7%) and range of motion (approx 4%). Do not expect it to boost your max lift or vertical jump. If you are a recreational athlete, these small gains might be negligible; if you are elite, they may be worthwhile.
Pre-rolling resulted in a small improvement in sprint performance (+0.7%, g = 0.28) and flexibility (+4.0%, g = 0.34), whereas the effect on jump (−1.9%, g = 0.09) and strength performance (+1.8%, g = 0.12) was negligible.
Why this rating
Meta-analysis of 21 studies with low risk of bias for most, though high placebo risk is acknowledged.
Source
A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Foam Rolling on Performance and Recovery
Thimo Wiewelhove et al. · Frontiers in Physiology · 2019
DOI 10.3389/fphys.2019.00376
More from this paper
- Post-rolling (post-exercise foam rolling) slightly attenuates exercise-induced decreases in sprint and strength performance and reduces perceived muscle pain, but has trivial effects on jump performance recovery.Good
- Cylindrical foam rollers are more effective than roller massagers (bars/sticks) for recovering strength performance post-exercise, though device type does not significantly impact pre-rolling performance gains.Moderate
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