Sports, athletics and other competitive endeavours can become about finding the absolute limit of the human body’s capabilities and breaking that limit in an attempt to find a competitive edge.
The harder you push, however, the more strain you put on your body, which can require some time and care to recover.
This is often where physiotherapy comes in, as different exercises are used to help reduce pain and build up muscle strength again in the event of an injury.
However, whilst stretches, exercises and specialised training are common parts of physiotherapy, there are other innovative methods used by athletes to try to give them an edge.
Here are some sports therapy innovations, and how much they help.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy, or cold therapy, is any treatment that takes advantage of our body’s natural response to cold temperature to reduce pain and stimulate healing.
This usually takes the form of either an ice bath (with a water temperature of 8-15 degrees Celcius) or a nitrogen-based whole-body cryotherapy chamber.
Whilst some athletes swear by it, the jury is still out on how effective it actually is, with a cold shower having been argued as being as effective as these advanced, expensive treatments.
There are dangers to it as well; one American Football player contracted frostbite as a result of not protecting his feet whilst in the chamber.
Sleep Therapies
Sleeping is a vital part of an athlete’s recovery and production of human growth hormone, and so one interesting innovation by athletes and teams alike is to start installing sleep pods, tracking players sleep and hiring sleep coaches to ensure they are getting the right kind of sleep.
There have been connections with lack of sleep and the likelihood of injury, so it is no surprise that teams have focused on this most simple of recovery techniques and combined it with more advanced technology.
Hydrotherapy
Sometimes known as water therapy, hydrotherapy helps joints recover by performing exercises without putting too much stress on them and providing extra support.
Whilst this is well known for people with joint stiffness and arthritis, it has also seen use in sports therapy to help recover from injuries or hard workouts.
For more information about physiotherapy in Maidenhead, get in touch today.
