Effects of Muscle Flossing on Quadriceps Muscle Potentiation (MF_TMG_CMJ)

Effects of Tissue Flossing on Muscle Contractile Properties and Jumping Performance in Recreationally Active Students

Tissue flossing involves wrapping a thick rubber band around a joint or muscle, which can partially occlude blood flow. In practice, it is often used while concomitantly performing a range of motion exercises (ROM) for 1 to 3 minutes in duration. The mechanisms involved in tissue flossing with a floss band may be similar to those involved in ischemic preconditioning. Previous results would support the use of tissue flossing on ROM, while there are no clear conclusions on post-activation effects on sports-related performance and muscle contractile properties. This may be attributed to the different methodologies used in the studies. Therefore, the time course associated with tissue flossing benefits remains to be investigated.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Ischemia; Placebo - Control
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Low wrapping pressure; Other: Flossing experimental group

Detailed Description

Nowadays, various methods are used for acute performance enhancement. The most recent of these is tissue flossing, which is becoming increasingly popular for both performance enhancement and rehabilitation. However, the effects of flossing on athletic performance have not been clearly demonstrated, which could be due to differences in the methodology used. In particular, the rest periods between the end of the preconditioning activity and the performance of the criterion task or assessment tools varied considerably in the published literature. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of applying tissue flossing to the thigh on bilateral countermovement jump performance and contractile properties of vastus lateralis (VL) muscle. Nineteen recreational athletes (11 males; aged 23.1 ± 2.7 years) were randomly assigned to days of flossing application (3 sets for 2 min of flossing with 2 min rest between sets) with preset experimental pressure (EXP = 95 ± 17.4 mmHg) or control condition (CON = 18.9 ± 3.5 mmHg). The first part of the measurements was performed before and after warm-up consisting of 5 min of cycling followed by dynamic stretching and specific jumping exercises, while the second part consisted of six measurement points after flossing application (0.5, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 min).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 19
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Slovenia
  • Koper, Slovenia, 6000
    • Science and Research Centre Koper

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy and physically active individuals
• without a history of lower limb injuries and/or surgeries at least 1 year prior to investigation.

Exclusion Criteria:

• neuromuscular and metabolic disorders;
• the presence of acute and/or chronic pain
• alcohol and drug consumption etc.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Flossing - control; Control group where flossing wrapping pressure is between 20 and 30 mmHg	Other: Low wrapping pressure; Control group where flossing wrapping pressure is between 20 and 30 mmHg; Other Names: CONTROL
Experimental: Flossing with medium wrapping pressure; A flossing band will be applied over tight musculature with medium wrapping pressure	Other: Flossing experimental group; Flossing of the tight muscles with medium wrapping pressure, which is individualized in based on the tight circumference of the participant.; Other Names: Muscle flossing

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Contractile muscle properties	Contractile muscle properties assessed using tensiomyography (Tc, Dm, Tr, Ts, Td)	75 min

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
CMJ jump height	Counter-movement jump height assessed using force plate	75 min

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rate of perceived exertion	Rate of perceived exertion of fatigue	75 min

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Science and Research Centre Koper
• Collaborators: University of Ljubljana
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Armin Paravlic, PhD, SRC Koper and Faculty of Sport

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Paravlic AH, Segula J, Drole K, Hadzic V, Pajek M, Vodicar J. Tissue Flossing Around the Thigh Does Not Provide Acute Enhancement of Neuromuscular Function. Front Physiol. 2022 Apr 27;13:870498. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.870498. eCollection 2022.

Helpful Links

• Published article

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 20, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): October 15, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 13, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 13, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): October 26, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 27, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 25, 2022
• Last Verified: October 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: tissue flossing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Ischemia
• Other Study ID Numbers: MFPAP

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No