After spending decades on the fitness fringes, foam rolling has arrived at center stage. Whole classes are now devoted to the practice of slowly rolling different parts of the body over a tube; it's thought to improve athletic performance and flexibility, reduce workout-related soreness, slash recovery time and knock out muscle pain.
There’s some research to back up the hype. One recent study in the Journal of Sports Rehabilitation found that foam rolling—coupled with old-school static stretching—could increase range of motion in the hip more than stretching alone. One of that study’s authors, Central Michigan University associate professor Blaine Long, says foam rolling may decrease a muscle’s “viscosity,” which would make the muscle less resistant to motion and therefore more flexible.