REF-378 · Hendricks et al., 2020 · Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Vol. · Paper · PubMed

Effects of foam rolling on performance and recovery: A systematic review of the literature to guide practitioners on the use of foam rolling

A-fairly strong evidenceMeasured on trained to highly trained athletesWritten before October 2026, being re-checked

Sample

49 articles (published 2006 – June 2019; any design — crossover, repeated measures, RCTs — with a foam-rolling-only condition). No pooled effect sizes.

Key Findings

Foam rolling (FR) may reduce muscle stiffness and increase range of motion (ROM).
Used before training, it should be combined with dynamic stretching and an active warm-up.
The optimum dose for the flexibility benefit appears to be a total of 90–120 s of FR.
Used after training, FR reduced DOMS and increased pressure-pain threshold (PPT), so it may help recovery.
The authors ask future studies for true control or sham groups and to account for athletes' FR experience.

Practical Application

A systematic review of 49 studies found that foam rolling may lower muscle stiffness and raise range of motion — best paired with dynamic stretching and an active warm-up, at about 90–120 s in total — and that after training it reduced soreness (DOMS) and raised pressure-pain threshold — use it as a warm-up add-on for mobility and as a comfort/recovery tool, not as a performance booster.
Before a session: a short roll (~90–120 s total) inside a dynamic warm-up.
After a session: rolling for soreness is supported by this review; it makes no claim about faster physiological recovery or performance the next day.

Mechanism

Not addressed in the abstract. Proposed mechanisms in the wider literature (fascial glide, thixotropy, neural inhibition, local blood flow) are hypotheses; see REF-318 and REF-324.

Limitations

Heterogeneous FR protocols and designs; many studies lacked a true control or sham condition.
Most outcomes are subjective (DOMS, ROM, PPT) rather than performance.
Short follow-ups.
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level

regraded 2026-09-27 from A: systematic review without pooling, any study design, mostly small trials

Content correction 2026-09-27
Authors "Stephen Hendricks, Catherine Hill, … Simon Kidgell, Jason Vasanthan" -> Sharief Hendricks, Hayd'n Hill, Steve den Hollander, Wayne Lombard, Romy Parker (Crossref).
"Systematic review + meta-analysis, 21 studies n≈700" and pooled SMDs (+0.44 ROM, +0.18 sprint, −0.40 DOMS) removed -> 49 articles, no meta-analysis; those numbers are not in the paper.
"30-60 s per muscle group" pre-exercise and "60-120 s per muscle group" post -> ~90-120 s total for flexibility, combined with dynamic stretching and active warm-up; cyclist muscle list and evening-roll bullet removed (not from this paper).
Level A -> A-; Sport "cycling, swimming, sprint" -> general.
Cross-reference descriptions checked against the cited entries' current content; wrong years, wrong entries and claims the cited entry does not make were corrected.