The Impact of Foam Rolling on Hip Range of Motion in Division I Athletes

Foam rolling has various uses throughout the athletic world. This study aimed to investigate the impact of foam rolling on hip range of motion (ROM). This study compared a foam rolling with stretching group to a control group of stretching only. Participants consisted of healthy Division I male athletes at a small Midwest University (n=30). Participants were randomly assigned to the control group (n=15) or the foam roll group (n=15). The control group performed four static hamstring stretches, held for 30 seconds with 30 seconds’ rest on their non-dominant leg. The foam roll group massaged their hamstring from the ischial tuberosity to the inferior portion of the popliteal fossa for 3 sets of 1 minute with 30 seconds’ rest. Following the foam rolling participants did the same stretching routine as the control group. The hip ROM of the foam rolling group (M=8.88, SD=6.47) was not significantly better than the stretching only group (M=6.09, SD=4.26), t(30)=1.40, p\u3e.05, d=0.093. The null hypothesis was accepted, no difference between the groups were found. These results suggest that foam rolling is no better than a standard stretching routine in improving athletes ROM