We are pleased to announce that the technology in our Pulseroll vibrating foam rollers has been scientifically proven to reduce the effects of muscle soreness after hard exercise (DOMS), and prevent the muscle strength losses normally experienced during the recovery from DOMS.
The Scientific Team
We were contacted by SunSport Coaching Limited, a local sports performance testing company that specialise in assessing the exercise physiology of endurance athletes. Their lead exercise physiologist was undertaking research at Manchester Metropolitan University into the cause and effect of the muscle damage that occurs when we train hard, or when we undertake a new type of exercise.
The Study
The comprehensive study involved using a number of technologies to measure strength, blood flow and oxygen levels within the muscles before, during and after DOMS.
We know from other scientific studies that DOMS can reduce any one of these three variables, which then leads to loss of normal muscle function. As an athlete we do not want to experience this drop in performance during training or competition or have to spend more time resting / recovering before returning to high-level training.
Understanding and measuring how DOMS affects strength, blood flow and oxygen in the muscle was just one part of the study. The other was whether the team could actually do something to reduce the negative muscle side effects of DOMS. If this was possible we could potentially help athletes from missing training or even worse, getting injured!
Why Pulseroll?
We were excited that Pulseroll was chosen to take part in the study because it’s the leading vibration tool for athletes (check out a list of our partners and ambassadors here). There are lots of previous scientific studies involving the effects of massage, foam rollers and vibration and how they might be beneficial for muscles, but very few that actually looked at the effect of local vibration on the damaged muscles.
An important outcome of the study was to be able to genuinely help athletes, so after the study it was vital that we had a tool that allowed simple and effective application in the field of sport and not just a great set of laboratory data! The unrivalled portability and model options Pulseroll provide made it the perfect choice.
The Results
We are pleased to announce that the Pulseroll vibrating foam rollers significantly increased blood flow and oxygen in the muscle and prevented the normal loss of strength we would see with DOMS!
Our next blog will go into the full details of the study and clearly explain why our vibrating foam rollers should be a part of every athlete’s daily training and how you should use them.
As part of our on going commitment to supporting our athletes/customers, we are also pleased to announce that SunSport Coaching Limited will be available to answer your sports performance related questions and head up our scientific research and development team in future.
Instagram: @sunsportcoaching
