Comparison of Acute Effects of Foam Roller Combined with Static-Dynamic Stretching on Combat Athletes' Performances: Experimental Research

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the acute effects of combine foam roller (FR) and routine warm-up protocols on some performance parameters in combat athletes. Material and Methods: A total of 16 fighters (boxing, kickboxing, muaythai) athletes, 7 female and 9 male, were included in the study. The study was carried out with 2 measurements with an interval of 1 week. On the first day, the athletes were tested for flexibility, sprint, agility, and jumping, respectively, after performing static-dynamic stretching after 10 minutes of low-paced jogging. On the second day, the athletes were tested for flexibility, sprint, agility, and jumping, respec-tively, after performing static-dynamic stretching and foam roller exercises, respectively, after 10 minutes of low-paced jogging. Statistical analysis of the data obtained in the study was made using the IBM SPSS 23 analysis program. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test was used to evaluate the difference between different warm-up protocols. Significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Results: Significant difference was observed 20 m sprint performance between the static stretching (SS)+dynamic stretching (DS) and FR warm-up protocols combined static stretching and dynamic stretching in favor of SS+DS (p<0,05). When the vertical jump height between the 2 different warm-up protocols of the athletes were examined, while a significant difference was found in jump height (cm) in favor of SS+DS. it was seen that there is a significant difference in favor of SS+DS+FR in the jump numbers of the athletes (p<0.05). Conclusion: FR combine static and dynamic stretching protocols do not have a positive effect on performance parameters in combat athletes, but SS+DS can improve athletes' vertical jump height and anaerobic performances.