Date of Award
9-28-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Exercise Science, MS
First Advisor
Amanda Wheeler
Committee Members
Brian Church; Lance Bryant
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2018 E39
Abstract
Deficits in range of motion can hinder performance, lead to more issues and prohibit some individuals from doing basic, everyday tasks. Stretching is one way people attempt to increase their range of motion. Self- myofascial release is a newer way of achieving increases in range of motion. Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) has been shown to increase ROM (Blandpied & Dorfman, 2014). However, use of a foam roller produced suboptimal SMR due to inadequate pressure on the roller (Evans, 2014). One solution to this problem would be to create additional pressure using a smaller, more targeted device of denser material. The current study examines the effects of a lacrosse ball used for SMR in ankle, hip, and shoulder flexion, compared to the effects brought on by stretching. Fifteen males, average age of 21 participated in this study. Participants were divided into two groups, randomly. Group 1 received the stretching protocol on session 1 and group 2 members received the SMR protocol in session 1. Pre-test measurements were taken at ankle, hip, and shoulder. Measurements were taken three times, both left and right side, and in two different body positions. Once protocols were introduced and conducted, post-test measurements were taken in the same manner. To counter balance participants would wait at least 48 hours after session 1 before coming in for session 2, which was the protocol they did not receive in session 1. The design of this study is a within-groups design including four independent variables and one repeated measure. Independent variables include time of test (pre-treatment and post-treatment), type of treatment (stretching: static and dynamic and SMR: using lacrosse ball). The dependent variable is ROM. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Reliability of multiple measurements of 10 non-participant volunteers was examined using Cronbach’s alpha. ROM was analyzed with multiple One-Way ANOVAs with Repeated Measures for each of the four independent variables. There was no significance found when comparing the interactions between stretching and SMR as hypothesized. There was, however, a main effect shown from both protocols, showing that each method increased ROM in the three sites from pre-test to post-test. This was one of the first studies comparing SS/DS and SMR with acute increases in ROM. The evidence that both protocols increase acute ROM is encouraging and a more in-depth look at the increases in ROM along with effects on performance could be beneficial for many.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Edwards, Trent S., "Effects of Stretching vs. Self-Myofascial Release on Ankle, Hip, And Shoulder Flexion" (2018). Student Theses and Dissertations. 491.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/491
