Effect of myofascial release protocol on changes in explosive strength, linear acceleration and changes of direction parameters in young football players

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of a myofascial release (MR) activation protocol on selected speed-strength performance indicators in U15 and U16 first-league football players. Thirty-six male football players (n = 36) completed two testing sessions one week apart. The control protocol consisted of a standardized general warm-up without myofascial release (CON), while the experimental protocol included a myofascial release intervention using a foam roller (MR) on lower-limb muscle groups, performed prior to the same general warm-up. Performance was assessed using a countermovement jump (CMJ), 10-meter and 30-meter sprint tests, and a 5x10-meter shuttle run test to evaluate agility. Since data normality was not confirmed by the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, comparisons between the control and experimental protocols were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s r. Statistically significant improvements were observed in all tests following the MR protocol comparing to CON: CMJ (0.50 %; p ≤ 0.01; r = 0.71), 10-meter sprint (p ≤ 0.55 %; 0.01; r = 0.69), 30-meter sprint (0.46 %; p ≤ 0.01; r = 0.67), and 5x10-meter shuttle run (0.36 %; p ≤ 0.01; r = 0.75), all showing large effect sizes. These results indicate that the inclusion of myofascial release prior to a standard warm-up routine can lead to acute improvements in explosive power, sprint performance, and agility compared to a warm-up without myofascial release.