Duration-dependent acute effects of foam rolling on dominant-hand visual reaction time in male youth basketball players: A randomized controlled study
Koray Samet Altınçekiç, Şevval Çelen, Osman Coşkun, Sinan Avcı, Selin Biçer Baikoğlu, Meltem Özağır, Suzan Dal, Orkun AkkoçObjective
This study examined the acute effects of different foam rolling (FR) durations on dominant-hand visual reaction time in male youth basketball players.
Methods
In this parallel-group randomized trial, 102 U16–U18 players were allocated equally to FR-A (30 seconds per region), FR-B (60 seconds per region), or passive rest. Five valid trials were recorded before and after the intervention. The lowest value was the primary best-trial score; the mean and median were sensitivity measures. Baseline-adjusted post-test differences were assessed using ANCOVA. Because the standard best-trial ANCOVA violated slope-homogeneity and linearity assumptions, an extended nonlinear baseline-interaction model was evaluated using 5,000 bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap replicates. Mixed-design ANOVAs examined pre-to-post trajectories.
Results
FR-A had lower adjusted post-test reaction time than FR-B under best-trial (difference = −21.86 ms, 95% CI: −30.31 to −13.41; adjusted p < .01), mean-based (−12.36 ms, adjusted p < .01), and median-based scoring (−10.94 ms, adjusted p = .03). The FR-A–control difference was significant in the standard best-trial ANCOVA (−15.44 ms, 95% CI: −24.12 to −6.76; adjusted p < .01) and extended bootstrap comparison (−14.79 ms, adjusted p < .01), but not in mean-based (adjusted p = .33) or median-based analyses (adjusted p = .39). Extended bootstrap estimates were also higher in FR-B than in the control group (9.52 ms, adjusted p = .01). Because this model contained baseline interactions, these contrasts represented average rather than constant differences across baseline values. The time × group interaction was significant only for best-trial scoring (p < .01).
Conclusion
FR-A had consistently lower adjusted reaction time than FR-B across all scoring methods. However, the FR-A–control comparison depended on baseline reaction time and scoring method. Thus, the findings do not establish a scoring-independent benefit of the 30-second protocol over passive rest or support a firm practical recommendation.