The Recovery Pyramid
Lets face it, we have all fallen victim to a fad or a new craze when it comes to injury healing, or recovery from training in general! We see the newest compression boots or ice baths on sale and think that they are going to solve all of our problems - I know I have once or twice… The question is, are we right to trust these new gadgets or are we falling victim to consumerism??
This is where the theory of the Recovery Pyramid arises! Essentially, you should spend most of your time focusing on getting the base layers of the pyramid right before you start moving your way up - very like the system of the Food Pyramid. Studies have shown that if you struggle to get the base layers right, you will have no foundation to build on - so it doesnt matter how much time you spend on the smaller layers, you will not get the outcome that you are looking for!
Sleep & Downtime:
Your body needs sleep in order to repair and regenerate all of the cells that are broken down either through exercise or injury. There have been many studies into the impact of sleep on injury and it has been found that “Sleep Deprivation” causes a marked difference in the molecular markers of muscle repair. Intensive training & exercise requires recovery time just to heal the micro tears that appear in the muscle just as a result of that said exercise. The same goes for when you are dealing with an injury. If you are not getting enough good quality sleep, your body is not able to repair these cells at the same rate that you are breaking them down. The average recommendation is 6-8 hours of good quality sleep a night, however, if you are training at a high intensity or recovering from an injury, you are going to need more than that!
Plan for Rest: Scheduling your rest and recovery periods is always a great place to start. It can be easy to skip the rest day because you are feeling good - but if it is in the plan, it is in the plan and you have to follow it.
Wind Down First: Create a sleep routine for yourself. Before getting into bed, turn the TV and the phone off. Avoiding the blue light can help your brain relax. Have a cup of tea (decaff), read a book - do something to help your mind chill out!
Stretch Before Bed: Tight and stiff muscles can lead to a restless nights sleep. If you take 5 minutes to stretch out your tight muscles after a long day you may find you have a more restful sleep because of it.
Practice Healthy Habits: Eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly can help you ensure that you have a restful nights sleep.
Sleep has been shown to reduce Cortisol levels within the body. Cortisol is known to break down tissues within the body which is the opposite of what you want. By reducing this, you allow the Growth Hormone to effectively rebuild your tissues.
Nutrition & Hydration
Optimal nutrition can play a key role in controlling inflammation, providing key nutrients for rebuilding injured tissue, minimising muscle atrophy and supporting strength preservation & gain.
First 48 Hours: Make sure that you fuel the healing process! Underfuelling at this stage is common. Trauma or surgery may require up to 20% more calories per day. Crutching requires 2-3x more energy than just walking. Insufficient energy intake for as little as 10 days can reduce protein synthesis by 20%. This is why it is important to have a look at your situation regularly to ensure to are getting enough calories on board.
Control Inflammation: Anti-inflammatory fats are found in Olive Oil, Avacado, Fish, Flax, Nuts and Seeds
Fruits & Vegetables: These are rich in anti-oxidants and help to control inflammation. Some of the highest in anti-oxidants are blueberries, tart cherries, dark chocolate, kidney beans, cranberry, blackberries and green tea.
Water Immersion
Cold Water Therapy has been shown to help improve Mental Health, Speed, Muscle Recovery, Reduce Muscle Soreness, Improve Circulation etc… The Psychological effects of hot and cold water immersion therapy differ however - so depending on the result you are looking for, you may choose one option over the other.
When you exercise, you develop micro-tears within the muscle. This leads to an inflammatory response within the body as it tries to heal itself. A cold plunge is thought to limit this reaction by constricting the blood vessels.
The relaxation of a warm bath can really help with the feelings of stiffness that are associated with exercise. They promote Blood Flow which aids in the delivery of nutrients and O2 to the muscles - this is a driver for healing and promoting this is essential to speed up the recovery process.
Typically, I recommend a cold plunge as close to when you finish your exercise as possible and then have a hot bath within the 24-48 hours after!
Active Recovery & Stretching
We all need to stretch to protect both our mobility and our independence. Stretching helps to keep your muscles flexible and healthy to allow us to maintain our Range of Motion around our joints. Without it, your muscles can constrict and become “tight”. If you regularly stretch before and after exercise, your muscles will stay at the length your body likes them at - this means exercise wont put as much of a strain on them.
In a study carried out in 2021 by Alfonso et al,. they did find that there wasnt enough evidence to either prove or disprove the idea that stretching after exercise helps to prevent Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Personally, I believe that it is an extremely useful tool in our toolkit that we should all be using more - The fact that there is not enough evidence to say it doesnt work is just as important as the fact that there isnt enough evidence to say that it does either. If it makes you feel good and move better, take advantage of it!
Massage
When our muscles become damaged, our body’s natural healing process is activated. Swelling and poor circulation are 2 reasons that the healing process can be slowed down. A deep tissue massage can be a useful tool to break down adhesions within the muscle - these adhesions can reduce range of motion and movement which can provoke your pain further. The increase in movement you will have as a result of this massage will also promote blood flow which will contribute to tissue healing. Swelling will also form to protect areas of the body when injured. You will have swelling within your muscle fibres after a tough session because in order for you to build muscle, you have to break it down. Massage can help to flush this swelling/fluid back into the lymphatic system which can speed up the healing process.
Psychologically, massage can also help to reduce stress. This will reduce the levels of cortisol within the body which will also have a positive impact on the rate of tissue healing (Cortisol is known to break down muscle tissue).
Fads
Finally, you are looking at the likes of fads. These are the likes of your compression boots, massage guns, cryochambers etc…. That is not to say that they will not help you at all, but they wont help you nearly as much as the other topics discussed above. You need to make sure that you master the bottom of the Recovery Pyramid before you begin to move your way up the chain. Focus on your sleep and nutrition - once you get that in line, you can begin to focus on everything else!
