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Here are 5 ways cryotherapy for athletic performance injury and recovery can help
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
- All great athletes are known for pushing themselves to the max. They do strenuous workouts that no ordinary person is able to do and push their bodies above the limits. Athletes across all disciplines are required to participate in rigorous training and exercise, which leads to their muscles getting strained or even injured.
When an athlete’s body experiences excruciating muscle strain and stress, this is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). This stiffness and pain can be felt for hours at a time and can even last for days. DOMS is often a side effect of a particularly difficult or unfamiliar workout regimen and the soreness is worse during the first 24 to 72 hours of the injury occurring.
- So what happens when an athlete suffers from DOMS? The first issue is recovery time. When an athlete suffers from severe DOMS and doesn’t take sufficient steps to recover, this affects their muscles even more rigorously. Aside from the physical damage, a slow recovery can mean lower earnings for athletes as they are not able to play in matches. A previously lauded athlete can become a forgotten one if he or she cannot perform in time and perform well.
This is why athletic injuries need to be dealt with immediately and with surefire means. Here’s where cryotherapy comes into the picture.
Cryotherapy and Athletic Injuries
- When you undergo cryotherapy, your body automatically enters “fight or flight” more, where it triggers the release of endorphins and anti-inflammatory enzymes. This is because the brain believes the body is in immediate danger of being frozen to death. Of course, the body is not in any actual danger, but that’s the best part about this treatment. Your brain responds as if you were about to enter a hypothermic stage and it increases blood flow to the core, increasing both your energy levels and metabolic rate.
Therefore, when you have increased energy, you get a natural high and your perception of pain is greatly reduced. What’s more, any injury you have suffered to your muscles, bone or tissue is targeted as well. Injury repair is boosted when hyper-oxygenated blood rushes around your body, kick-starting lymphatic detoxification, and blood circulation.
- Athletic recovery also occurs when the anti-inflammatory enzymes are released into the bloodstream. As a result, long-term and damaging issues such as DOMS are taken care of and significantly reduced. Not only that, but mental recovery and performance are both boosted due to the number of endorphins and other enzymes released into the blood.
Treatment Time for Performance
- If you want to gear up for a difficult or strenuous performance, you should sign up for a 3-minute session around 2 hours before your workout or match is due to start. You should undergo the Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) treatment so your performance is improved overall.
Treatment Time for Injury
- In case you have been injured, you can book a daily one-minute session at a localized point until your inflammation has subsided. Your symptoms will most likely go away within 3 to 7 treatments and you will be back on your feet!
Treatment Time for Recovery
- Once you’re done with your workout, match, or another event, you can sign up for a quick three-minute session to get everything back to working order. The treatment will help relieve all signs of soreness, stiffness, fatigue, and minor injuries that may have occurred.