Recovery Tips

For a while now, I've been busy researching and exchanging ideas for a good tips on recovery through athletes, books, magazines and coaches from various sports background.

Keep the story short, here's a few tips by Coach Seychelle that i find helpful for most of us.

Outside assistance:

• Acupuncture – This method of traditional Chinese medicine works wonders for pain, muscles, nerves, hormones, and more. It’s a powerful healing technique. Find a practitioner that is experienced in sports acupuncture if possible.

• Chiropractic – Chiropractors can help alleviate spine and joint pain and restore normal ranges of motion through physical manipulation. This sounds intimidating if you’ve never been to one. Some chiropractors are gentler than others.

• Massage – Massage relaxes the body to help reduce stress in the muscle tissue. I would not recommend massage immediately upon injury but rather as part of your preventative or post injury recovery to loosen up tight muscles.

At home care:

• Rest – Find something to do that keeps you in an ideal position. Catch up on reading or writing to keep yourself occupied. Also make sure to get as much sleep as possible. When you are asleep is when your body does the most repairing.

•Relax your mind – Calm your mind and your body by using essential oil blends. Lavender, frankincense, rosemary, and Deep Blue are useful to reduce stress and inflammation.

• SMR – Self-myofascial release, or self-massage. Use a soft and hard massage balls to help work out stiff areas. Alternatively you can use a foam roller.

• Epsom Salts – A warm bath with Epsom salts (and essential oils) can help soothe aches and pains. It’s great for muscle recovery after a long workout and is more of a preventative therapy then injury healing as heat is often contraindication to inflammation.

• Yoga – Stretch! Something we can do every day. This is best done as part of a long, cool down after a workout, but most of us rush through this part way too quickly. When you are recovering from an injury that requires a return to normal range of motion, gentle stretching is essential. As a preventative practice, add this to your daily routine.

• KT tape – As you start to ease your way back in to activity, kinesiology tape can help provide support to previously injured areas. It is designed to increase blood flow and therefore oxygen to the applied area which helps to decrease pain.

• Diet – Get plenty of amino acids, i.e. eat complete proteins to repair muscle tissue. Eat foods high in omega 3 fatty acids. Avoid alcohol which reduces muscle protein synthesis and processed and sugary foods which increase your body's inflammatory response. (all of these are great suggestions for how to eat on a daily basis as well)

Finding ways to keep training that do not aggravate an injury can be a big help. The important thing is that you don’t do anything to make the situation worse.

Not all recovery techniques are appropriate for all injuries. Please consult your doctor before trying any of these for the first time.