We recently published an article on foam rolling and massage guns, but another common question we hear from patients is on the topic of foam rolling vs stretching, whether dynamic or static. Most commonly, this is asked by patients wondering if they should invest in an inexpensive foam roller for their home or office.
At face value, these modalities accomplish similar objectives, but we’ll call out the differences for you here to guide your rehab/prehab decisions moving forward:
Both foam rolling and stretching offer unique benefits for muscle maintenance and recovery, and they both have a positive effect on flexibility and range of motion. Foam rolling focuses on releasing muscle tension from specific portions of a muscle belly, while stretching elongates an entire muscle belly at once.
Hint: there’s nothing wrong with using both!
In this article, we’ll cover when to choose one modality over the other, discuss the pros and cons on each, and discuss the question you’re probably asking yourself: do you need some foam rollers?
Let’s dive in: foam rolling vs stretching
We’ve often said that if a physical therapist doesn’t answer, “it depends,” then you aren’t getting a complete answer! Let it be known that we believe foam rollers are extremely useful and that stretching should be a part of most people’s daily routines. In other words, we can’t truly tell you which one is “best.”
What we can provide, however, is some considerations of each, and discuss our thought processes on placing foam rolling, static stretching, and dynamic stretching in patients’ home exercise programs.
The science on foam rolling and stretching
Before we dive into pros and cons, let’s discuss some of the available evidence on this topic. According to a systematic review and meta-analysis from 2021 (read the review here):
- When comparing the magnitude of changes on range of motion, foam rolling and stretching perform similarly, with neither having an advantage over the other
- When comparing the magnitude of effect on sports performance parameters (such as maximal strength or vertical jump height), foam rolling provided an advantage
- When comparing foam rolling to dynamic stretching methods, the difference between foam rolling and stretching became less wide
From this, we can take a couple of basic recommendations:
- If your goal is to improve range of motion, both modalities will serve you well
- If your goal is to improve sports performance, foam rolling is preferable, especially prior to engaging in your sport
- If your goal is sports performance and you don’t have a foam roller, then dynamic stretches are preferable to static stretches (a topic we’ve covered in our article on running and flexibility)
Is foam rolling better than stretching?
Since most of our readers are likely more familiar with dynamic and static stretching, we’ll start by discussing foam rolling.
In general, the positives of foam rolling are that:
- Foam rollers are generally inexpensive ($20-35, typically)
- Foam rolling is fairly accessible
- Foam rolling allows you to specifically target a tight feeling portion of a muscle belly in a way that stretching cannot
- Foam rolling can allow you to get a much more aggressive “stretch” on body parts that are hard to stretch using traditional methods.
In other words, foam rolling is a good choice if you find that when you stretch, you can’t fully loosen a portion of a muscle belly completely, or if there’s a hard-to-reach portion of your body that you really need to loosen up (the iliotibial, or “IT” band is a common culprit).
Foam rolling can be excellent for rehabilitation purposes, where we’re trying to specifically target a portion of a muscle, or the specific connective tissue surrounding a joint. While stretching a muscle belly can accomplish this somewhat, foam rolling allows the user to get more specific without needing the hands of a physical therapist or massage therapist present.
The only “con” of foam rolling, in our estimation, is that it’s not quite as portable or inexpensive as stretching, since stretching is free and generally just requires you to have a portion of flat ground accessible to you.
Advantages of stretching (when compared to foam rolling)
We likely don’t have to explain to you what the benefits and drawbacks of stretching are, so for the purpose of this discussion, we’ll keep it to the advantages stretching has over foam rolling, in particular:
- Stretching is free
- Stretching doesn’t require equipment
While it may seem like the list above is short, we can’t downplay these benefits: if you’re aware of your own body, including the static / dynamic stretches and exercises that you need to do to improve your own functionality, then you’ve essentially got an infinite toolkit at your disposal that can be utilized anywhere.
This is the great advantage of stretching over foam rolling.
The downside of stretching is that it can be harder to reach those hard to hit portions of the body that often feel knotted up and create pain or discomfort. Stretching, as a modality, is also limited by your anthropometry: if there’s a direction your body won’t bend, then it can be hard to hit certain muscle groups with stretches.
What stretching and foam rolling both do
Unless you’ve got a physical therapist or other professional specifically directing you to do one over the other, we generally say that trying to determine the real-world difference between stretching and foam rolling is splitting hairs.
In essence, they perform a similar function:
- Stretching and foam rolling are both very effective at temporarily improving active and passive range of motion during individual sessions
- Regular stretching or regular foam rolling is very effective at slowly improving active and passive range of motion over time
- They will both improve blood flow to an area
Generally, this is what we’re after when we utilize these methods: we want to improve full range of motion, relieve tension, decrease injury risk, and improve tissue quality.
Is it better to foam roll or stretch first?
While there may be particular reasons you’d choose one over the other, we’d generally tell patients to foam roll first. The reason for this is that foam rolling will achieve a myofascial release on particularly tight portions of the muscle bellies, allowing you to get a deeper stretch later on in the session.
Additionally, if you are using these modalities as a warm-up for some kind of athletic activity, starting with foam rolling or dynamic stretching makes much more sense, as static stretching can have a deleterious effect on sports performance in a given session.
So, do you need a foam roller?
Now, to answer the question many of you have been asking – if stretching is free and infinitely accessible, do you need a foam roller?
As we’ve explored, the differences between the two aren’t as massive as some would have us believe. If you’re someone who has a particular need for one over the other (such as athletes, mentioned above), then your path is much more clear.
However, if you’re someone who is looking to increase flexibility and mobility while preventing injury and generally living a healthy lifestyle, we say pick the modality that you like best. The truth is that in any physical activity endeavor, the one you’ll stick with over the long haul is the one you should ultimately choose.
For more particular information on protocols, see our article on how long it takes to improve flexibility. If you’ve got any further questions on this topic, please feel free to reach out to us directly! We’d be happy to answer your questions, and we often use our patients questions as the impetus for future articles.
Happy rolling and stretching!
