The effects of foam rolling as an an adjunct in increasing hamstring flexibility among male collegiate basketball players

Using purposive sampling, six (6) participants ages nineteen to twenty-two (19-22) years old, at least three (3) months of athletic training and no active injury for the past six (6) months were recruited as participants and completed the study. The study was conducted in a university sports gym. A pre-test and a weekly post-test measures of hamstring flexibility using SLR, Popliteal Angle and Sit and Reach was conducted throughout the implementation. The study design utilized was quasi-experimental time-series research design in which the experimental group performed foam rolling exercise as warm-up prior to their training for four (4) weeks. All participants underwent a pretest prior to intervention and four (4) weekly post-tests were done. Changes in passive hip flexion ROM from pre-test and sit-and-reach (SAR) measurement. These three (3) assessment methods were used in assessing the changes in hamstring flexibility throughout the research implementation. There were observed improvement of hamstring flexibility after four (4) weeks of foam rolling exercise with a 33.89% increase per week in SLR assessment and a 31.73% increase per week in Popliteal Angle Measurement. This study concluded that foam rolling has a significant effect on the post-weekly scores of hamstring flexibility when compared to baseline measurement using the SLR and popliteal angle test. However, there was no sufficient evidence to conclude that foam rolling has a significant effect on improving hamstring flexibility among male collegiate basketball players utilizing SAR as an outcome measure; therefore warranting further studies to be conducted to verify its validity