Effect of myofascial release protocol on changes in explosive strength, linear acceleration and changes of direction parameters in young football players
Keywords:
myofascial release, youth football, warm-up, sprint performance, countermovement jump, agility, acute effects, foam rollingAbstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of a myofascial release (MR) activation protocol on selected speed-strength performance indicators in U15 and U16 first-league football players. Thirty-six male football players (n = 36) completed two testing sessions one week apart. The control protocol consisted of a standardized general warm-up without myofascial release (CON), while the experimental protocol included a myofascial release intervention using a foam roller (MR) on lower-limb muscle groups, performed prior to the same general warm-up. Performance was assessed using a countermovement jump (CMJ), 10-meter and 30-meter sprint tests, and a 5x10-meter shuttle run test to evaluate agility. Since data normality was not confirmed by the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, comparisons between the control and experimental protocols were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s r. Statistically significant improvements were observed in all tests following the MR protocol comparing to CON: CMJ (0.50 %; p ≤ 0.01; r = 0.71), 10-meter sprint (p ≤ 0.55 %; 0.01; r = 0.69), 30-meter sprint (0.46 %; p ≤ 0.01; r = 0.67), and 5x10-meter shuttle run (0.36 %; p ≤ 0.01; r = 0.75), all showing large effect sizes. These results indicate that the inclusion of myofascial release prior to a standard warm-up routine can lead to acute improvements in explosive power, sprint performance, and agility compared to a warm-up without myofascial release.
