The effect of rolling massage on the excitability of the corticospinal pathway

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the alterations of corticospinal excitability (motor evoked potential, MEP) and inhibition (silent period, SP) following rolling massage of the quadriceps muscles. Transcranial magnetic and femoral nerve electrical stimuli were used to elicit MEPs and compound muscle action potential (Mmax) in the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles prior to and following either (i) 4 sets of 90-s rolling massage (ROLLING) or (ii) rest (CONTROL). One series of neuromuscular evaluations, performed after each set of ROLLING or CONTROL, included 3 MEPs and 1 Mmax elicited every 4 s during 15-s submaximal contractions at 10% (experiment 1, n = 16) and 50% (experiment 2, n = 10) of maximal voluntary knee extensions (MVC). The MEP/Mmax ratio and electromyographic activity recorded from vastus lateralis at 10% MVC demonstrated significantly lower values during ROLLING than CONTROL (P < 0.05). The ROLLING did not elicit any significant changes in muscle excitability (Mmax area) and duration of transcranial magnetic stimulation-induced SP recorded from any muscle or level of contraction (P > 0.05). The findings suggest that rolling massage can modulate the central excitability of the circuitries innervating the knee extensors; however, the observed effects are dependent on the background contraction intensity during which the neuromuscular measurements are recorded.

Fascial tissue research in sports medicine: from molecules to tissue adaptation, injury and diagnostics: consensus statement

“… 104 105 Similarly, foam rolling (tool-assisted massage of myofascial tissues) seems to improve short-term flexibility and recovery from muscle soreness 75 106 107 and decrease latent trigger point sensitivity. 103 Nevertheless, the physiological mechanisms of these reported effects remain unclear, although initial evidence suggests increases in arterial perfusion, enhanced fascial layer sliding and modified corticospinal excitability following treatment 108 109 (F Krause et al , submitted, 2018). Finally, manual therapies, such as massage, osteopathy or Rolfing (a massage technique based on achieving symmetrical alignment of the body), are frequently used to improve fascial tissue regeneration or athletic performance, although their efficacy still remains to be validated.…”

Unilateral hamstring foam rolling does not impair strength but the rate of force development of the contralateral muscle

“…For example, high-intensity foam rolling or rolling massage may decrease the contralateral or nonlocal muscle mechanical sensitivity (Aboodarda, Spence & Button, 2015; Cavanaugh et al, 2017b; Cheatham & Baker, 2017; Cheatham, Stull & Kolber, 2019), thereby leading to an enhancement of the stretch tolerance of these muscles. Recent work from Behm’s group (Aboodarda et al, 2018; Cavanaugh et al, 2017a; Young, Spence & Behm, 2018) showed that the intervention of foam rolling or rolling massage could even cause the reduction of excitability at the muscular, spinal, and supraspinal levels. Thus, with the decreased corticospinal (Aboodarda et al, 2018) and spinal (Young, Spence & Behm, 2018) excitabilities, it is interesting and important to examine if there are any central-mediated changes on the contralateral or nonlocal muscles, due to the intervention of unilateral SAFR.…”

The Parameters of Foam Rolling, Self-Myofascial Release Treatment: A Review of the Literature

“…Regarding the force applied, there arises the question whether greater pressure exerted on tissues provides greater therapeutic effects. Aboodarda et al [1] described high muscle vertical pressure as a 1-3 cm deep muscle therapy, but they obtained this outcome with a hard rubber roller massager and the command not to produce a greater value than 7/10 on the Visual Analogue Scale. There is a tendency to use a command such as AMAP -as much pressure as possible -and AMAT -as much pressure as tolerable.…”