Vibrating foam rollers are effective on improving knee range of motion and pressure pain threshold

Foam rollers has become a popular a self-myofascial release gizmo among health and fitness professionals. Studies have shown that foam rollers can enhance joint range of motion (ROM). Recently vibrating foam rollers were introduced allowing a combination of vibration therapy and foam rolling. A study headed by Dr. Scott Cheatham from California State University compared the effectiveness of a vibrating roller and a conventional roller intervention on knee flexion range of motion (ROM) and pressure pain thresholds (PPT) of the quadriceps.

The study, published in Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, recruited 45 recreationally active adults, whom were randomly allocated to one of three groups: vibrating roller, non-vibrating roller, and control. Each roll intervention lasted 2 minutes. The control group did not roll. Variables measured included prone knee flexion ROM and pressure pain thresholds (PPT) measures.

The results showed that vibrating roller had the greatest increase in PPT (180 kPa), followed by the non-vibrating roller (112kPa), and control (61 kPa). A high value indicates the participant can withstand higher amount of pressure pain. For knee ROM, the vibrating roller demonstrated the greatest increase in ROM (7 degrees), followed by the non-vibrating roller (5 degrees), and control (2 degrees).

The authors suggested that a vibrating roller may increase an individual’s tolerance to pain greater than a non-vibrating roller. However, the authors also stressed that this investigation should be considered exploratory and a starting point for future research on this technology.