New study on self massage shows what happens and why it works.

Despite being a multi-whatever-dollars industry, the myofascial release tool shop hasn’t got a great deal of conclusive evidence floating about.

Studies have shown that foam rolling increases blood flow to the muscle, and be useful in helping to warm up pre-workout, but there is limited evidence for what actually happens in terms of range of motion.

This recent study looked at using massage balls to see how range of motion was impacted, using ankle range of motion (dorsiflexion) for study effect.

The study looked at two groups. One used the massage balls prior to stretching and activity, and another did not use massage balls. The study showed increased in range of motion in the group that used the balls, with interestingly, the less flexible middle aged participants having greater benefit from using the massage balls pre-stretch than the younger participants. 

Massage your wet bits

This study...