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Study summary · Cardiovascular & vascular aging

What are the acute and chronic clinical effects of self-myofascial release (SMFR)?

In one paragraph

Self-Myofascial Foam Roller (J Bodyw Mov Ther 2015, PMID 26592233) — acutely, SMFR appears to increase flexibility, reduce muscle soreness, and does not hinder athletic performance. No numeric effect size is reported for Self-Myofascial Foam Roller in the source abstract.

Source: J Bodyw Mov Ther 2015, PMID 26592233 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: low

J Bodyw Mov Ther · 2015 · PMID 26592233 · DOI 10.1016/j.jbmt.2015.08.007

Plain-English summary written and published by Magellan Longevity · medical review by Gabriel Radu, DO (physiatrist, NPI 1376861765). We summarize what the paper reported — we did not run this study.

The takeaway

Self-myofascial release can acutely improve flexibility, reduce muscle soreness, and aid recovery, but its long-term effects on flexibility are unclear.

The question

What are the acute and chronic clinical effects of self-myofascial release (SMFR)?

What they tested

The study aimed to review existing literature to understand the effects of SMFR.

How they did it

PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched in February 2015 for studies related to self-myofascial release.

What they found

Acutely, SMFR appears to increase flexibility, reduce muscle soreness, and does not hinder athletic performance. It may also acutely improve arterial function, vascular endothelial function, and increase parasympathetic nervous system activity. Long-term effects on flexibility show conflicting evidence.

What it means

SMFR has a range of potentially valuable acute effects for athletes and the general population, including increased flexibility and enhanced recovery. Long-term effects on flexibility are not consistently supported by current evidence.

Limitations

The review did not specify the number or type of studies included, nor did it detail the specific tools or protocols used in the SMFR studies reviewed. The search was limited to two databases and a specific timeframe.

“self-myofascial release has acute and chronic clinical effects on range of motion”— from the published abstract, J Bodyw Mov Ther 2015

The paper at a glance

Magellan’s evidence labelself-myofascial release (our label for this citation — see PubMed for the paper’s own title and authors)
JournalJ Bodyw Mov Ther
Year2015
PMID26592233 ↗
DOI10.1016/j.jbmt.2015.08.007 ↗
TopicCardiovascular & vascular aging

Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗

Where Magellan uses this paper

This citation sits behind the evidence grade on the pages below. Grades are set from the research and are independent of affiliate commissions.

Self-Myofascial Foam Roller

Controlled trials and meta-analyses, mostly in young, healthy adults, show that foam rolling acutely increases joint range of motion to a degree broadly comparable with static stretching, and a 2024 meta-analysis of 16 randomized trials (n=515) found it moderately reduces delayed-onset muscle soreness 24-48 hours…

Self-Myofascial Foam Roller

A foam roller is a cylindrical tool made of dense foam used for self-myofascial release (SMFR), a…

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Molecules & mechanisms in this paper

Each of these is named in the paper’s own words above. Open the monograph for the full mechanism and its other citations.

Endothelial function

Cite this page

These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.

APA
Magellan Longevity. (2026). What are the acute and chronic clinical effects of self-myofascial release (SMFR)? [Plain-English summary of J Bodyw Mov Ther 2015, PMID 26592233, DOI 10.1016/j.jbmt.2015.08.007]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s172.html
BibTeX
@misc{magellan_s172, title = {What are the acute and chronic clinical effects of self-myofascial release (SMFR)?}, author = {{Magellan Longevity}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s172.html}}, note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 26592233; DOI 10.1016/j.jbmt.2015.08.007; J Bodyw Mov Ther 2015. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO}, urldate = {2026-08-11} }
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How this summary was made. Every section above restates what the published abstract of PMID 26592233 reports — the question, the design, the numbers, the authors’ own conclusion and their stated limitations. We do not add claims the paper did not make, and we keep negative and no-effect findings in. Magellan’s evidence grades are set from research like this and never from affiliate commissions.

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Educational information, not medical advice. This is a plain-English summary of published research; it is not a treatment recommendation and nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual studies can be wrong, and a single paper rarely settles a question. Talk to your physician before acting on any research, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medication.