Foam rolling is a technique that involves pressing and rolling your muscles under the weight of a lightweight, cylindrical tool. It's a self-driven kind of massage, meant for the myofascia, the layers of connective tissue wrapping muscles. It's also meant to be done alone, without the hands of a professional masseuse. Its use is spreading, gaining ground among athletes and trainers. The reasons are simple: foam rollers are less costly, and more readily available than the skilled hands of a therapist. Athletes in particular rely on them heavily, looking to quicken their recovery, to return their muscles to their full reach and readiness. Recent findings show that foam rolling does indeed provide the body with more flexibility and freedom of movement, though these benefits last only briefly [1-3].
Athletes must know the correct ways to use foam rollers. This knowledge ensures the rollers work as they should and do no harm. Though many more athletes use these now, we don't yet understand fully how or why they work. The trouble is that different studies try different methods and thus do not agree on why these rollers help. What researchers think happens is this: rollers may improve how the blood flows, they might change the stretchy qualities of the myofascia, they could alter how tight the muscles feel, and perhaps they restore the fascia's ability to move. But researchers haven’t pinned down one clear reason; instead, they accept several connected ideas.
In studies that mathematically model the behaviour of hyaluronan, it's been seen that myofascial techniques, differing in their speed, change the shape of both the upper and lower layers of fascia [4,5]. This pushes around the hyaluronan liquid, lifting up the fascial layer above it in various amounts. Speeding up the application raises the liquid’s pressure, thinning the hyaluronan. Yet, a slower pace keeps the pressure low, and the space between layers grows, spreading out the liquid more. This swell in fluid helps the muscles move easier. Different speeds change how thick or thin the hyaluronan stays, by different mechanisms. Using a foam roller, too, might echo these effects on the fascia, but adjusting how fast you roll could change how the fascia responds.
Therapists tend to recommend that you should roll as you like if you want to get the best from it [6,7]. Athletes, too, typically roll at their own pace, though it hasn't been studied that much. Earlier works never compared speed, instead keeping a steady tempo, maybe a second or two, from one end of a muscle to the other [8-10]. One study looked into how different rolling speeds change muscle tightness and found it didn’t matter — muscles loosened up either way [7]. And among those who stay active, speed doesn't make a noticeable difference. There’s no agreement yet on how fast to roll. However, the literature suggests rolling for two to four seconds, around fifteen to thirty times a minute, to immediately improve flexibility. General recommendations are to roll in sets, one to three times, lasting from half a minute to two minutes each. Trying out speeds might do different things for those who compete.
A recent study examined how varying speeds of foam roller applications affect the mechanical characteristics of the quadriceps femoris muscle in male professional basketball players [11]. The researchers found notable differences in muscle tone when rollers were used at different speeds. Intriguingly, the self-paced group moved the roller faster on average than those instructed to roll quickly. The slowest group saw greater reductions in muscle tone than the self-paced group. However, when assessing the impacts of rolling at these distinct speeds within the group, a significant decrease in muscle tone was evident in both fast and slow applications. Contrary to what the researchers had predicted, faster rolling did not prove superior to slower techniques. It appears that using a foam roller at, or slower than, 30 beats per minute can markedly decrease muscle tone.
The value of moving slow when you foam roll may have its roots in certain slow-adapting receptors buried in the connective tissue. These receptors wake up under deep pressure. Foam rolling works by stimulating the intrafascial receptors, tweaking the signals they send to your brain’s central wiring. These altered signals help manage the active stiffness of your muscles. As these receptors light up, they inhibit the activity of motor neurons, which in turn lowers the muscle tone. If you roll slower and longer, it might also deepen the effect on the muscle’s thixotropy. That slow, steady rolling heats up the tissues, and builds up the pressure on the hyaluronan fluids by squeezing it with compressive forces. This heat and pressure reduce the viscosity (thickness) of the myofascial hyaluronan, turning the tissue more supple and elastic.
The speed of the foam roller makes a difference. Rolling slow, at or under 30 beats per minute, reduces muscle tightness. But it's hard to say if this relaxes the muscle or just brings it back to normal. Rolling before training or competition could slow down reaction time. This might lead to joint or ligament injuries for athletes. On the other hand, the drop in muscle tension could be useful after the strain of training or a game. I recommend rolling faster before and rolling slower after. In other words, fast for readiness, slow for recovery.
References
[1] Beardsley, C. & Skarabot, J. (2015) 'Effects of self-myofascial release: A systematic review.' Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, volume 19, pages 747-758.
[2] Bushell, J. et al. (2015) 'Clinical relevance of foam rolling on hip extension angle in a functional lunge position.' Journal of Strength Conditioning Research, volume 29, pages 2397-2403.
[3] Cheatham, S. et al. (2015) 'The effects of self-myofascial release using a foam roll or roller massager on joint range of motion, muscle recovery, and performance: A systematic review.' International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, volume 10, pages 827-838.
[4] Chaudhry, H. et al. (2013) 'Squeeze film lubrication for non-Newtonian fluids with application to manual medicine.' Biorheology, volume 50, pages 191-202.
[5] Roman, M. et al. (2013) 'Mathematical analysis of the flow of hyaluronic acid around fascia during manual therapy motions.' Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, volume 113, pages 600-610.
[6] Cheatham, S. (2019) 'Roller massage: A descriptive survey of allied health professionals.' Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, volume 28, pages 640-649.
[7] Wilke, J. et al. (2020) 'Acute effects of foam rolling on range of motion in healthy adults: A systematic review with multilevel meta-analysis.' Sports Medicine, volume 50, pages 387-402.
[8] Bradbury-Squires, D. et al.(2015) 'Roller-massager application to the quadriceps and knee-joint range of motion and neuromuscular efficiency during a lunge.' Journal of Athletic Training, volume 50, pages 133-140.
[9] Mohr, A. et al. (2014) 'Effect of foam rolling and static stretching on passive hip-flexion range of motion.' Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, volume 23, pages 296-299.
[10] Pearcey, G. et al. (2015) 'Foam rolling for delayed-onset muscle soreness and recovery of dynamic performance measures.' Journal of Athletic Training, volume 50, pages 5-13.
[11] Sezik, A. et al. (2024) 'The effects of foam rolling at different speeds on mechanical properties of quadriceps femoris.' Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, volume 23, pages 684-689.