The Acute Effects of Pectoralis Major Foam Ball Rolling on Shoulder Extension Range of Motion, Isometric Contraction Torque, and Muscle Stiffness

Abstract

Although it is well known that foam rolling (FR) of the lower extremities can increase the range of motion (ROM) of a joint while likely having no detrimental effect on muscle performance, to date, this is not clear if this is the case for the upper body. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of a 2-min FR intervention of the pectoralis major (PMa) muscle on muscle stiffness of the PMa, shoulder extension ROM, and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) peak torque. Thirty-eight (n = 15 females) healthy, physically active participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention (n = 18) or a control group (n = 20). The intervention group performed a 2-min foam ball rolling (FBR) intervention of the PMa muscle (FB-PMa-rolling), while the control group rested for 2 min. Before and after the intervention, muscle stiffness of the PMa was measured with shear wave elastography, while shoulder extension ROM was recorded with a 3D-motion capture system, and shoulder flexion MVIC peak torque was measured with a force sensor. MVIC peak torque decreased in both groups (time effect: p = 0.01; η2 = 0.16), without any difference between groups (interaction effect: p = 0.49, η2 = 0.013). ROM (p = 0.24; η2 = 0.04) and muscle stiffness (FB-PMa-rolling p = 0.86; Z = -0.38; control group p = 0.7, Z = -0.17) did not change due to the intervention. The lack of changes in ROM and muscle stiffness following the FBR intervention might be explained by the small area of applied pressure with the FBR on the PMa muscle. Moreover, the decrease in MVIC peak torque is likely more related to the uncommon test situation of the upper limbs, rather than the FBR intervention itself.

Effects of chronic static stretching interventions on jumping and sprinting performance–a systematic review with multilevel meta-analysis

“…The meta-analytical approaches might be seen as a supplementation to quantify results. Although some short duration stretching interventions sufficiently increased maximal strength (Nelson et al, 2012;Mizuno 2019), consistent stretchinduced strength and muscle size increases were reported after longer stretching durations (≥10 min per session) (Chen et al, 2011;Wohlann et al, 2023;Wohlann et al, 2024, Warneke et al, 2022a, Reiner et al, 2023Warneke et al, 2022). However, stretching durations of the included studies primarily used short stretching durations of a few minutes.…”

Seven weeks of pectoralis muscle stretching does not induce non‐local effects in dorsiflexion ankle range of motion

“…The results showed no significant change in ankle ROM following the upper body stretch program. Indeed, the applied stretching stimulus of the pectoralis muscles is enough to induce local changes in ROM (i.e., shoulder extension) as have been shown in a previous study (Reiner et al., 2023).…”

Differential Effects of Classical vs. Sports Massage on Erector Spinae and Upper Trapezius Muscle Stiffness: A Shear-Wave Elastography Study in Young Women

“…Szymczyk et al [ 42 ] observed a marginal decrease in Achilles tendon stiffness after a one-minute percussive massage, but this was not statistically significant ( p = 0.073). Further, a brief foam rolling session on the pectoralis major muscle did not alter its stiffness [ 43 ]. Yet, 5 min of classical massage and 7 min of warm-up sports massage did decrease the stiffness in the medial gastrocnemius [ 37 , 38 ].…”