What is Active Recovery?
Active recovery is the process of performing low-intensity exercises following any physical injury or strenuous exercise.
Some of the most common traditional examples of active recovery exercises include:
- Swimming
- Yoga
- Walking
In most cases, athletes who use active recovery techniques after going through injury instead of complete rest and inactivity see better and quicker results. Active recovery has benefits over the traditional resting periods, especially when combined with an effective physical therapist.
Active recovery helps to keep the smooth flow of blood, which leads to better recovery of the muscles due to strenuous physical activities. Athletes should avoid active recovery if they have severe injuries and excruciating pain.
In this article, we will discuss some tool s and techniques for the athletes to use for active recovery.
Recovery compression boots are the alternative tools for active recovery for athletes. Recovery boots can deliver effective and natural alternatives to traditional recovery resting periods for athletes.
According to researches, these compression recovery boots can improve the oxygenation and decrease the inflammation-causing micro-muscle trauma. Microtraumas (small tears) occur as a result of the training of muscles. Recovery boots therapy can accelerate the reabsorption of body elements, which cause fatigue and muscle soreness.
In this way, recovery compression boots help to recover from the problem quickly and decease the injury due to strenuous training.
Massage guns are another suitable option for active recovery among athletes.
The principle behind the working of massage gun is percussive therapy use.
The force and vibration which originates as a result of working can help to:
- Decrease pain
- Increase the ROM (range of motion)
- Reduce the soreness and stiffness of muscles
- Increase the recovery period after the workouts.
Massage guns help to mobilize the lactic acid from the muscles. Lactic acid is the source of muscle fatigue and soreness.
In this way, massage guns are the best options for decreasing muscle fatigue and pain.
Massage guns can effectively deliver the same effect on individuals who are sensitive to massages (deep tissue massage).
You can have the best recovery prognosis in a shorter time with the use of massage guns.
- Vibrating Foam Roller:
Vibrating foam rollers can effectively reverberate through your sore and tight body muscles. They are helpful for conditions as:
- Muscle tightness
- Muscle soreness
- Thwarting muscle tension
These rollers are another suitable option for the active recovery among athletes.
Vibrating rollers can also provide a beneficial alternative to relax and repair the damage of body muscles. These vibrators can send the deep vibrations to the body structures, which, in turn, enhance the blood circulation and accelerate the functioning of the muscles.
Warm-up and cooling down phase of the exercise is also manageable with the help of these vibrating foam rollers.
Instead of taking a complete body rest and inactivity, athletes can use these modalities to improve their prognosis and decrease the recovery time.
Takeaway:
As athletes are prone to having vigorous workout sessions; therefore, they need vigorous rehabilitation as well.
All these modalities can best serve the purpose of active recovery.
These tools and instruments are cost-effective, time-saving, and easy to use. Athletes must invest in these techniques to improve their functioning.