THE POWER OF RECOVERY
Athletic recovery is as important as training and nutrition.
Exercise is stress and, while it does provide lasting physical and psychological benefits, it also creates traumas or microtears in your soft tissue, specifically your muscles. This can lead to soreness and pain. An imbalance caused by overly intensive training and inadequate recovery will not only lead to injury but also to less effective training sessions.
There are many recovery methods available to athletes nowadays. The ones available to anyone are sleep and rest days. Yet many athletes like to take a more active approach to their recovery.
AIR RELAX RECOVERY BOOTS AND RECOVERY
Compression devices were once only for the exclusive use of patients with serious muscular and circulatory disorders such as lymphedema, venous insufficiency and P.A.D. Today, Recovery systems are used by sports teams, universities, physical therapists, and professional athletes to improve recovery time and enhance their training.
“Compression garments add external pressure. Blood can easily pool in the extremities, especially in the lower limbs due to gravity,” writes exercise physiologist Ross Hamilton in his guide for recovery.
“The extra compression helps squeeze the blood out of the muscles and back to the lungs and heart. This allows fresh oxygenated blood to replace it.”
Its benefits are said to include:
- Improved blood circulation
- Boost lymphatic fluid movement (reduce potential swollen legs/feet)
- Removal of lactic acid (reduce muscle fatigue)
- Improved flexibility
- Recovery stimulation
- Boost oxygen distribution
This is backed by research: a 2017 study found that external pneumatic compression mitigated a reduction in flexibility and pressure-to-pain threshold (the minimum force applied which induces pain), as well as reduced select skeletal muscle oxidative stress and proteolysis markers during recovery from heavy resistance exercise.
Another study concluded that peristaltic pulse dynamic compression is a promising means of accelerating and enhancing recovery after the normal aggressive training that occurs in Olympic and aspiring Olympic athletes.
