Injury, such as a strain, dislocation and fracture, is a part and parcel of a sports person’s life, that happen due to overuse of muscles, joints and tissues and affects an athlete’s physical and mental well being and overall performances. Thus, athletes need to learn about several different recovery techniques to heal their injuries and come back to training as soon as possible, and extend their career by maintaining their performance level.

Apart from following traditional recovery methods, such as gentle workouts, recovery workouts, and hot/cold water baths, athletes have now adopted modern and advanced recovery techniques which are proving to be beneficial for many athletes around the world. Some of the advanced recovery techniques include:

• Foam Rolling: It is also known as Self Myofascial Release(SMR), and is a self massage technique. This technique requires the use of equipment like standard and textured foam rollers, vibrating rollers and massage balls and sticks. The athlete puts the foam roller on the targeted muscle which has been injured and uses their body weight to apply pressure on that muscle by moving the foam rollers in a gradual and controlled back and forth movement. These foam rollers help in the reduction of muscle soreness by improving the blood circulation, enhances the performance, and is also a pocket friendly recovery technique, which makes it extremely popular, even among pro athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo, and Serena Williams.

• Cryotherapy: This technique exposes the body to the effects and benefits of cold temperature. Traditional usage of ice packs is one of the oldest methods of cryotherapy used by athletes since the ancient civilizations, before the modern model of this recovery technique was discovered by Japanese researcher, Dr. Yoshia Yamauchi in the 1970s. Whole Body Cryotherapy Chambers(WBC), Cryosauna, and devices like cryocuffs, cryo machines and even ice baths are specialized devices and equipment used in cryotherapy. Cryotherapy reduces muscle inflammation, decreases muscle soreness, reduces pain and accelerates recovery. Athletes like Usain Bolt and Rafael Nadal use cryotherapy for recovery.

• Compression Therapy: This technique needs a controlled amount of pressure to tissues and muscles with the help of some special devices and garments, like compression boots, compression sleeves, socks, elastic bandages, etc. These special wraps and garments used during or after the physical activity, reduces swelling and pain by improving blood circulation, and assures faster recovery from issues like Deep Vein Thrombosis and lymphedema. These also help in maintaining overall athletic performance by reducing fatigue and muscle soreness. Being easily available, it is easy to use at the comfort of the home, and is hence, very popular among athletes like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt.

• Electrical Muscle Stimulation: This is a therapeutic technique that uses electrical impulses to trigger muscle contractions. The electrical impulses mimic the original impulses that the brain usually sends to the muscles. There are simple portable equipment like TENS Units, Wearable EMS Units, and professional clinical EMS devices etc, which place electrode pads on the skin over the strained muscles for a span of 15-30 minutes, and assists in rehabilitation aids of athletes with injury, enhances overall performance and promotes muscular strength. Players like Neymar Jr and Roger Federer use EMS for speedy recovery.

• Wearable Technology: Wearable technologies basically provide therapeutic recovery for both physical and mental well being. Starting from tracking heart rate, the number of steps taken in a day, the amount of calories burnt, the amount of water drunk in a day to monitoring dietary needs and sleep cycle of a human body, wearable technological gadgets that include smartwatches, smart bottles, smart rings, chest wraps, compression garments, thermal vests, etc., assist in monitoring physiological metrics. The data as received from the insights of the technological gadgets aid in convenient recovery and enhancing overall performance.

These modern advances prove to be really beneficial for athletes, as most of these are easily available at affordable prices and can be used from the comfort of one’s home. They are capable of giving more personalized recovery strategies, unique to each different individual, and provides a holistic approach to overall recovery, which is made possible by the amalgamation of tradition and technology.