Vibrating Foam Rollers Improve Flexibility
Vibrating Foam Rollers are a relatively new invention. In theory, they are a brilliant invention, combining the proven effects of foam rollers with the proven effects of massage. Theory aside, what’s the reality – do they really work?
A number of studies have come out just this year proving how effective they are. In this article I’m going to talk about how researchers discovered that they are incredibly effective at improving flexibility, and in other articles I will talk about how they have been shown to improve pain levels and recovery from exercise.
In this study a series of measurements were taken prior to foam roller use, assessing the flexibility of the hamstring muscles a few different ways. People were then assigned to one of two groups; they either used a normal foam roller, or a vibrating foam roller for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, the same tests were performed. The results showed huge improvements for the group using the vibrating foam roller:
Left leg pre-test: 74 degrees
Left leg post-test: 82 degrees (an increase of 9%)
Right leg pre-test: 72 degrees
Left leg post-test: 82 degrees (an increase of 13.9%)
