Voodoo flossing, also known as tissue flossing or limb occlusion training, uses an elastic band. You wrap this band around a limb or joint. It improves mobility, decreases pain, and boosts athletic performance.
This technique was created by Kelly Starrett and Juliet Cordoza in 2015. They say it works by squeezing the limb and then letting blood flow back quickly, compression and reperfusion. Also, it helps the fascia move and triggers sensors in the body, fascial shearing and sliding, and mechanoreceptor stimulation. This may reduce pain, heal injuries faster, improve how the limb moves, and maybe make you a better athlete.
But, there’s not a lot of clear proof that voodoo flossing works for getting better from an injury, moving better, doing better in sports, or easing pain. So, we’re going to talk about what we know so far and what you should think about when using voodoo flossing.
Key Takeaways
- Voodoo flossing involves wrapping an elastic band around a limb or joint for myofascial release.
- The idea behind voodoo flossing includes helping blood flow, moving the fascia, and activating the nerves, too.
- We still don’t have enough proof that it always works, but some studies show it might help with improving how you move and perform in sports.
- But, we need more studies to know for sure the effects and best ways to use voodoo flossing.
- Some people, like those with long-term health problems or who are allergic to latex, might not be able to use voodoo flossing safely.
What is Voodoo Flossing?
Definition and Origins
Voodoo flossing is a technique that involves wrapping an elastic band around a limb or a joint. It’s also called tissue flossing or limb occlusion training. The method aims to release muscle tension and improve movement.
Kelly Starrett and Juliet Cordoza first introduced voodoo flossing in 2015. They showed how it could help in physical therapy and sports performance.
Proposed Mechanisms
The benefits of voodoo flossing come from several actions. These include compression and reperfusion. This is basically wrapping something tightly and then letting it go.
It also involves fascial shearing and sliding. And it stimulates the mechanoreceptors. These processes aim to lower pain, boost flexibility, and improve how well your body moves.
Application Techniques
To use voodoo flossing, you wrap a band around the area to be treated. You stretch the band to 50% overlap on each turn. Then, do exercises to move the joint or muscle that’s wrapped up.
This method is like controlled squeezing and then releasing. It helps with body movement. It can make your muscles and joints work better.
Effectiveness for Rehabilitation
The scientific evidence on the effectiveness of voodoo flossing for rehab is still growing. In a 2021 study, patients with tennis elbow saw less pain after using voodoo flossing along with regular therapy. But, the study had a small number of people involved so the results aren’t definite.
In a different study from 2020, athletes with runner’s knee did a lot better after one round of voodoo flossing. They jumped higher and faster, and felt less knee pain. But, this study also had a small group of people and no group for comparison.
Impact on Range of Motion
Studies looked at how voodoo flossing affects joint motion. In 2016, one study showed doing it once around the ankle improved lunge test. It also made movements like pointing your foot and pulling it back, better. But, the change wasn’t huge, and it might not last long after the wraps came off.
Ankle Dorsiflexion and Plantarflexion
A recent study in 2021 checked voodoo flossing on shoulders of sports fans. This method, along with two others, helped the shoulders move better and got stronger. Everything was better, right after and 45 minutes later.
Shoulder Internal and External Rotation
The voodoo flossing experiment showed a big motion improvement. After flossing, people could on average move their shoulders 4.67 degrees more. A fake (sham) group also saw better motion, but not as much. This proves the real improvement wasn’t just by chance.
Performance Enhancement
Studies show mixed results on how
voodoo flossing
boosts athletic performance. For example, a 2020 paper looked at amateur athletes with knee pain. It found that a one-time
voodoo flossing
session improved their jumping abilities a lot. This improvement was seen in how high and fast they could jump. However, the study was quite small and didn’t have a group for comparison.
In another study from 2021,voodoo flossing
was used alongside other treatments to help amateur athletes strengthen their shoulders. It slightly improved their ability to throw. But, these gains were not very big, and we’re not sure if they will last long.
Jumping and Power Output
A small study tested how tissue flossing influences knee pain and jumping. It discovered that tissue flossing helped athletes jump higher and faster. This was compared to when they didn’t floss, the following day. These results were significant.
Another research explored how tissue flossing affects ankles and jumping. It found that after flossing, athletes could move better and jump more efficiently. This was seen in tests on flexibility and actual jumping measures.
Strength and Throwing Performance
An article compared different methods, including flossing, for shoulder health. It showed that all these methods boosted shoulder function right after and for up to 45 minutes post-treatment.Voodoo flossing
was among these and could help improve strength and throwing ability. This suggests it could have beneficial effects, even though they weren’t large.
Comparison to Other Techniques
Research compared voodoo flossing with common ways to improve movement and recovery. In 2021, one study showed voodoo flossing works just as well as IASTM and kinesiology taping. These help boost how far your shoulder can move, your strength, and how well you throw, especially for amateur athletes.
Voodoo Flossing vs. Stretching
A different study said voodoo flossing might be better for a “warm-up” than stretching. It can help increase how far you can move your muscles or your strength. But, it didn’t show it was better than foam rolling in these areas.
Voodoo Flossing vs. Foam Rolling
The same study that looked at IASTM and kinesiology tape also said voodoo flossing doesn’t beat foam rolling. For improving shoulder performance, these methods were equally effective.
Voodoo Flossing vs. Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization
Back to the 2021 study, voodoo flossing, IASTM, and taping had about the same good impact on the shoulder. It helped with how far you can move, your strength, and throwing, mainly for folks who play sports casually.
Considerations for Application
When trying voodoo flossing, you should wrap the elastic band around an arm or leg. Do this for 1-3 minutes, making sure to overlap the wraps by 50%. Move that body part as much as you can. This helps the blood flow and movement.
Safety precautions are important. Don’t try voodoo flossing if you have bad blood vessels, wounds, or a lot of pain. It can make these problems worse. If you can’t feel things well, be careful. You might not notice if the wrap is too tight.
Duration and Intensity
How long and how tight you wrap is key with voodoo flossing. Wrap the band around your limb for 1-3 minutes, with 50% overlap. Move the limb a lot during this time to get the most out of it.
Safety Precautions
Staying safe while using voodoo flossing is very important. Avoid this method if you have certain health issues. Skip it if you have bad blood flow, wounds, or a lot of pain. Voodoo flossing might make things worse. Be careful with the wrap if you can’t feel well. You might not know if it’s too tight.
Potential Mechanisms of Action
The benefits of voodoo flossing might come from a few actions. These include compression and reperfusion, fascial shearing and sliding, and mechanoreceptor stimulation. The band’s pressure might lessen blood flow. This could make the area need more oxygen, resulting in new tissue growth. When the band is taken off, more blood flows in, starting the healing process.
The pressure might act as a gentle massage, moving the body’s coverings, called fascia. This might help you move better by fixing tight spots. By pressing on a certain area, it might also dull how we feel pain signals, helping to lessen discomfort.
Compression and Reperfusion
By squeezing the area with the band, blood flow gets slower. This lack of blood for a short while can sometimes kick-start healing when the blood comes back. This could help you get better or perform well.
Fascial Shearing and Sliding
Using the band to press and then move the body parts can help the fascia slide. This layer wraps around our muscles and bones. It might fix stickiness between layers, making it easier to move smoothly.
Mechanoreceptor Stimulation
The band’s pressure and touch can change how nerves sense and report pain. By doing so, it might help lessen how much pain we feel. This is through a neat system of nerve checks and balances in our body.
Voodoo Flossing for Pain Management
Scientists have looked into voodoo flossing for pain management. They found some good signs. A study from 2021 on lateral epicondylitis discovered that adding voodoo flossing to regular care lessened pain more than usual physical therapy. But, these results were not very strong. A 2020 study on patellofemoral pain explained a big drop in pain after one voodoo flossing treatment.
Voodoo flossing works by pressing on and then releasing the wrapped body part. This squeezing can cut off blood temporarily. Later, when the wrap is taken off, blood rushes in again. This can help with healing and growth of tissues. It can also break up stiffness in the body, leading to better movement. The tighter pressure might also change how nerve receptors near the skin work. This could help block pain messages.
Though the 2021 and 2020 studies were positive, voodoo flossing isn’t a proven treatment yet. We need more detailed and long studies to confirm its usefulness. These new studies should also check which patients might benefit the most from this method.
Role in Injury Recovery
The research on using voodoo flossing for healing injuries and recovering from exercise is limited. Some studies suggest it might help with pain. But, in 2020, a review showed the proof isn’t strong.
Researchers found voodoo flossing might help people get over sore muscles after working out. But, we still need more studies to know for sure. The role of voodoo flossing in dealing with sore muscles and helping overall recovery is not fully clear.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
Some studies look into voodoo flossing for reducing muscle soreness from exercise. So far, though, the proof isn’t that strong. It’s not clear if it works for everyone or if it’s just a few cases.
Post-Exercise Recovery
We are still learning how voodoo flossing might help people heal faster after exercise. Some ideas say that it helps by putting pressure on your muscles. Yet, there’s not enough solid evidence. More research is needed to see if voodoo flossing really does speed up recovery.
Research Limitations and Future Directions
Voodoo flossing research faces key issues that future studies need to tackle. Many studies had small groups of people. This makes it hard to say if the results are true for everyone without doubt. Also, most studies didn’t have proper control groups. This means it was hard to see if the effects were really because of voodoo flossing.
Another problem is that studies have mainly looked at short-term effects. They didn’t look much at what voodoo flossing might do in the long run. Or how often and how much we should use it for the best results. Future studies need to fix these gaps by using bigger, better designs and looking at voodoo flossing over longer periods. This will help us know all of voodoo flossing’s benefits and limits.
Study Design and Sample Sizes
The current studies on voodoo flossing often suffer from too few people or no proper control groups. This means the findings might not apply broadly. It’s a challenge to make strong conclusions about voodoo flossing’s true impact.
Long-Term Effects and Dosage
Another issue is that most research has been on the short-term effects of voodoo flossing. We really don’t know much about what happens in the long run. Or how we should best use it for health benefits. Future research should check voodoo flossing’s effects over the long term and find the best ways to use it for good results.
Voodoo Flossing in Practice
Voodoo flossing is on the rise among athletes, coaches, and health experts. It aims to boost how well we move, cut down on aches, and ramp up sporty feats. You’ll spot various big-name sports stars and teams weaving voodoo flossing into their workout routines. They either limber up or heal up using it before or after their sweat sessions.
Athletes and Trainers
Lots of top-tier sportsmen and professional squads are turning to voodoo flossing. They use it before games to better stretch their joints and muscles. And after to fight that next-day muscle pain and bounce back quicker. Just one session can actually up your leaping power, speed, and make knee aches less bothersome for armature players.
Physiotherapists and Clinicians
Adding to the mix, physiotherapists and other healthcare providers are tackling a range of muscle and joint gripes with voodoo flossing. This covers issues like sore tendons, joint aches, and stiff limbs. Wrapping and unwrapping the band is thought to shake things up in your tissues, making you move better, feel less pain, and experience smoother joys in your joints. Still, the jury is somewhat out on how truly effective flossing is at this job. Professionals in the health realm should tread cautiously, weighing the good against the unknown risks before they wrap anyone up.
Conclusion
Voodoo flossing has become quite popular in sports medicine and physical therapy. It involves using an elastic band for myofascial release. The benefits are thought to come from different things like compression and reperfusion, shearing of fascia, and stimulating mechanoreceptors. However, current research on the effectiveness of voodoo flossing is not entirely clear.
Some studies hint that it might help with movement and sports performance, as well as with some body conditions. But, the overall evidence is not strong. We need more and better research over longer periods to figure out if voodoo flossing really works, how best to use it, and its place in helping people get better or perform better in sports.
Doctors and athletes should consider voodoo flossing with cautious optimism. It’s important to think about both the risks and benefits and keep an eye on how it affects each person. In the end, the final word on voodoo flossing is that we need more scientific study to understand it fully. We’re still learning about what this technique can and can’t do.