Download Physiological Strategies to Enhance Recovery

KEY KNOWLEDGE
 Physiological practices
used to assist and
improve recovery
including heat, ice,
compression, hyperbaric
chambers, massage and
sleep
KEY SKILLS
 Participate in, analyse
and report on a variety
of nutritional and
physiological practices
aimed at improving
performance levels and
recovery.
Recovery
Aims to restore, both physiologically and psychologically,
the performer to pre-exercise or competition levels in the
shortest possible time.
If the recovery process is improved, training adaptations
will occur quicker and fully and training frequencies and
intensities will be able to be maintained, or increased where
appropriate.
Hydrotherapy
Including :
•Contrast water therapy (alternate hot and cold)
•Cryotherapy (cold)
•Thermotherapy (hot)
•Pool & beach sessions
Contrast Water Therapy
•Involves subjecting the body to alternate periods of how and cold water
•Based on alternating vascular vasodilation and vasoconstriction and
promoting increased blood flow which will:
•Increase removal of wastes from working muscles
•Increase supply of oxygen and fuels to working muscles
•Decrease inflammation and swelling (oedema)
•Increase circulation
•Increase perceived recovery
•Decrease likelihood and severity of DOMS
Contrast Water Therapy
Should be avoided if performers have:
•Recent bruising or other injuries
•Open wounds
•A history of heart disease
•A virus
Where available a spa or plunge pool that allow partial submersion is
available it should be used.
Spa - promotes muscle massage
Water submersion – creates hydrostatic pressure (compression)
Cryotherapy
The therapeutic use of cold to cool the body
Ice packs are often used for localised soft tissue injuries to minimise
leakage of blood and serum into surrounding tissues, thus alleviating
swelling and pain
Cold water immersion involves part or whole body “dunking” in ice baths:
•Decreases acute inflammation
•Reduces perception of pain
•Lessens the impact of dehydration
•Decreases core and tissue
temperatures to assist homestasis
•Reduces muscle spasms
•Decreases blood flow
Thermotherapy (heat therapy)
Often applied 3 days after cryotherapy is used and assists soft tissue
injuries/recovery
Often supervised by health practitioners and use of spas and heated pools
is common
Thermotherapy :
•Increases blood flow
•Promotes removal of wastes
•Reduces muscle spasms
•Increases muscle elasticity and joint range of motion
•Increases neural transmission
•Contributes to increased feelings of relaxation
NB – should be avoided in hot environments where it contributes to elevated
body temperature and immediately after sustaining a soft tissue injury
Pool or Beach Sessions
•Immersion in water results in compression of muscles
•Salt water (beach) is denser than pool water and has greater compressive
effects
Water Compression assists recovery by:
•Reducing muscle swelling(counteracting capillary compression and normalising oxygen
delivery)
•Increasing blood flow (delivery of oxygen and nutrients and removal of wastes)
•Reducing the potential impact of DOMS
NB – water immersion increases buoyancy and better relaxes gravitational muscles
Compression Garments
The medical world has used compression garments for many years to
reduce swelling, improve venous return and speed up recovery times.
Commercial compression garments worn by sports people create a
controlled compression gradient between them and the skin and they:
•Increase blood flow and delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscles
•Facilitate quicker removal of waste products
•Reduce venous pooling
•Reduce muscle oedema(swelling)
•Reduce the severity of DOMS
•Increase perceived recovery rates
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
•Normal air contains 21% oxygen
•Hyperbaric chambers are pressurised with 100% oxygen and allow
greater amounts of oxygen to be dissolved in blood (increased amounts
taken up by plasma) to be transported to body tissues to enhance
recovery by:
•Reducing swelling and oedema
•Stimulating new blood vessel growth
•Shortening the inflammation response
process
•Preventing infection
•Enhancing sleeping patterns
Sleep & Rest
•Rest is an important contributor to cell repair and the
overall recovery process
•Sleep allows total physiological and psychological rest
Detrimental affects from lack of sleep may include:
•Decreased focus
•Slower information processing rates
•Impaired functioning of the immune system
•Difficulty controlling emotions & increased irritability
•Reduced memory
•Increased feelings
of fatigue
Massage
Lots of anecdotal evidence exists to support the role of massage in the
recovery process with little scientific findings to support it’s role.
Massage involves the manipulation of the body’s soft tissue (mainly
muscles) by applying pressure with the hands. Suggested benefits
include:
•Increased blood flow & supply of oxygen and nutrients to muscles
•Increased removal of waste products
•Decreased muscle tension
•Increased sense of well-being
•Decreased perception of fatigue
•Increased joint range of motion
•Decreased muscle stiffness
•Decrease anxiety
•Reduced impacts of DOMS
•Decreased muscle oedema(swelling)