Acute Effects of Tissue Flossing on Muscle Properties and Jump Performance in Handball

Charles University, Czech Republic

Status: Completed

Conditions: Tissue Flossing

Treatments: Other: Tissue Flossing conditioning; Other: Foam Rolling

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07306416

177/2020

Details and patient eligibility

About

Purpose of the Study This study looked at how two popular warm-up techniques-tissue flossing and foam rolling-affect muscle flexibility, muscle properties, and jumping ability in young male handball players. The goal was to see which method might be better for preparing athletes for performance.

What Are These Techniques?

Tissue flossing: Wrapping a special elastic band tightly around a muscle or joint for a short time while moving. This temporarily reduces blood flow, and when the band is removed, blood rushes back in, which may boost muscle readiness.

Foam rolling: Using your body weight to roll muscles over a firm foam cylinder. This applies pressure to the muscle and fascia, helping to relax tight areas and increase flexibility.

Who Took Part? 30 male handball players, around 17 years old, who were healthy and injury-free. None had regularly used tissue flossing or foam rolling before.

How Was the Study Done?

Each player tried all three conditions on separate days:

Tissue flossing

Foam rolling

Control (no special technique, just exercises)

Before and after each session, the researchers measured:

Active range of motion (AROM) - how far they could move their leg muscles without help

Muscle properties - stiffness and tone of key thigh muscles

Jump performance - height and speed of force production in a countermovement jump

Measurements were taken before, 2 minutes after, and 15 minutes after each warm-up.

Enrollment: 30 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 15 to 22 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Self-identified male
• Aged approximately 16-18 years
• Active handball player with at least 8 years of playing experience
• Currently healthy with no injuries in the past 3 months
• Able to perform physical activity and complete all testing procedures
• No prior regular use of tissue flossing (TF) or foam rolling (FR) techniques

Exclusion criteria

• Current or recent (within 3 months) musculoskeletal injury
• Any medical condition that would limit safe participation in exercise testing
• Previous experience with tissue flossing (TF) or regular use of foam rolling (FR)
• Inability to follow study instructions or complete all sessions

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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30 participants in 3 patient groups

Tissue Flossing conditioning

Experimental group

Description:

Tissue flossing using a 5 cm x 3.5 m green Sanctband Comprefloss band was wrapped around the thigh area. After the floss band was applied, the participants did 10 bodyweight squats, making sure to bend their knees to a 90-degree angle. Next, they did 10 dynamic lunges on each leg, switching legs after each lunge. After finishing these exercises, the floss band was removed.

Treatment:

Other: Tissue Flossing conditioning

Foam rolling conditioning

Experimental group

Description:

Each participant rolled the quadriceps on the right, then the left, for 30 seconds each, and did the same for the hamstrings, starting with the right and then the left, also for 30 seconds each side.

Treatment:

Other: Foam Rolling

No intervention

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants perform standard dynamic warm-up exercises (bodyweight squats and lunges) with no additional device or treatment.