Ok, so you’ve just played 80 minutes of rugby on a boggy pitch (English weather for you…), what do you do next? Shower and grab a beer to celebrate/drown your sorrows, right?! Then just deal with that achy feeling for the next couple of days. Actually, who are we kidding, you’ll probably be aching until the next game!

Why do we need recovery strategies?

Structural damage to muscles will be present in all players, however to what extent depends on how many tackles a person made or received and from repetitive muscle actions through intermittent running and sprinting during the game. These stressful components in training and games can lead to a change in an athlete’s performance. This temporary change can last from anything from hours to several days. Short term damages are as a consequence of metabolic disturbances following exercises. Whilst longer lasting damages can be related to exercise-induced muscle injury and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

Lack of recovery can lead to a player being unable to train at the required intensity during the next sessions and higher levels of fatigue have been seen to predispose a player to injury. Finally, in order for an athlete to play at their optimal game performance, they need to be fully recovered. With players often playing weekly and training in between, you can see why it is important to recover, so they can perform to their best ability and to prevent injury.

Now, as an elite athlete, recovery sessions are structured into their day to day life. This article will simply state modalities that can be used by those who may not have the accessibility to state of the art facilities.

What is their purpose?

1. Regain Normal Hydration Levels
2. Replenish Glycogen Stores
3. Establish Anabolic State
4. Reduce muscle damage
5. Decrease swelling
6. Increase Blood Flow
7. Simply to speed up recovery following intense exercise!

 

What are recovery strategies?

Recovery strategies are exactly what it says on the tin- ways to help your body recover following intense exercise. Many people take recovery as sitting/laying and simply not exercising however, you can be a lot more proactive and effective with different techniques.

Examples of recovery strategies:

1. Nutrition and Hydration
2. Sleep and Rest
3. Relaxation and Emotional Support
4. Stretching
5. Passive Recovery
6. Contrast Water Therapy
7. Compression Garment
8. Cold Water Immersion
9. Massage
10. Electromyostimulation
11. Active Recovery
12. NSAIDS

I’m going to stop there, but there are more! As you can see there are lots techniques out there, some may work for you, some may not- recovery is an individual process.

How do recovery strategies work?

Stretching- The evidence supporting stretching as a recovery strategy is lacking, although it is a very popular modality. It has been suggested that stretching can help diffuse oedema accumulated during damage of the tissue. This theory hasn’t been proved. Stretching exercises also have not been found to reduce the symptoms of muscle damage (DOMS).

Cold Water Immersion- It is assumed that by using cold water immersion, a decrease in metabolic rate, inflammation, blood flow and skin muscle and intra-articular temperatures is seen, therefore, accelerating recovery. There is contradicting evidence on cold water immersion, however there does seem to be anecdotal evidence for using immersion following a match or hard training session (recovery in rugby).

Active Recovery- Active recovery improves the removal of circulating lactate. Although, many studies do not report/measure this physiological effect. It was reported that active recovery had no effect on recovery (measured by circulating creatine kinase) after a rugby match, however, players did seem to have better mental recovery after completing an active recovery protocol.

Contrast Water Therapy- Contrast water therapy is thought to reduce oedema by alternating vasoconstriction and vasodilation as a response to temperature changes. The changes in temperature might produce changes in muscle perfusion, also known as the’ pumping effect’.

Compression Garments- I’m sure some of you have heard of the R.I.C.E protocol for soft tissue injuries, well compression is used to reduce inflammation and oedema. Research by Trenell proposed that using compression garments my speed up the inflammatory and repair timeframe (indicated by reduced creatine kinase concentration post recovery when wearing the garments in comparison to a control group.

Passive Recovery, Sleep & Rest- Probably the first thing we all think about when recovery is mentioned, rest! This means not participating in physical activity during the day  and getting a sufficient amount of sleep at night.

Nutrition and Hydration- Having a diet which doesn’t provide the body with sufficient calories or fluid, will decrease the ability to tolerate the physiologic stress.

Massage- Massage improved recovery after a high intensity training in contrast to those who did not use this modality. Massage is thought to accelerate the clearance of metabolites and therefore improve recovery of neuromuscular function after exercise.

Electromyostimulation- Also known as electrical muscle stimulation in English. It is hypothesised that this technique may speed up the metabolite clearance and improve the recovery of neuromuscular function after high-intensity exercise.

What the Literature Says!

For those of you who like numbers or want to know what has the most effect, this section is dedicated to you. All jokes aside, there are so many modalities out there, it sometimes is overwhelming. You can’t argue with the facts (I mean you can, but you better back it up with evidence) and this is what this section aims to show you-facts!

Van Wyk et al., (2009) Recovery strategies implemented by sport support staff of elite rugby players in South Africa says:

• Stretching and cold water immersion were the most popular strategies used (83%)
• Active recovery came in third (74%)
• Massage (66%)
• Additional hydration (59%)
• Nutrition- extra carbohydrates (54%)
• Compression garments (53%)

Gill et al., (2006) Effectiveness of post-match recovery strategies in rugby players says:

• Active recovery topped the charts with 88.2% recovery after 84 hours.
• Contrast water therapy came in second with 85% recovery after 84 hours.
• Compression garments, squeezed in at third with 84.4% recovery after 84 hours.
• In this study, the wooden spoon goes to passive recovery with 39% recovery after 84 hours- significantly less!

When/How should you use recovery strategies?

Recovery isn’t limited to just those difficult, physical games. After any kind of intense exercise, whether that’s training or a match, time should be spent recovering. I can already hear some of you claiming ‘but I just don’t have time for that!’ For most of us, the reality is, we do, but it may just require some planning until you get into a routine. This section will give information on the prescription of the recovery techniques mentioned in this article. Hopefully, it’ll surprise you how little time recovery techniques take to complete!

References

Banfi, G., Melegati, G. & Valentini, P. (2007) Effects of cold-water immersion of legs after training session on serum creatine kinase concentrations in rugby players. British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Barnett, A. (2006) Using Recovery Modalities between Training Sessions in Elite Athletes Does it Help? . Vol. 36.

Duthie, G. (2006) A framework for the physical development of elite rugby union players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. Vol. 1.

Gill, N.D., Beaven, C.M. & Cook, C. (2006) Effectiveness of post-match recovery strategies in rugby players. British Journal of Sports Medicine. Vol. 40.

Hemmings, B., Smith, M., Graydon, J., Dyson, R., Hemmings, B., Smith, M., Graydon, J., Dyson, R., Lane, C. & Po, S. (2000) Effects of massage on physiological restoration , perceived recovery , and repeated sports performance E V ects of massage on physiological restoration , perceived recovery , and repeated sports performance. British Journal of Sports MedicineJournal of Sports Medicine. Vol. 34.

Kentta, G. & Hassmen, P. (1998) Overtraining and recovery: a conceptual model. Sports Medicine. Vol. 26.

McDermott, B.P., Anderson, S.A., Armstrong, L.E., Casa, D.J., Cheuvront, S.N., Cooper, L., Kenney, W.L., O’Connor, F.G. & Roberts, W.O. (2000) National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Fluid Replacement for the Physically Active. Journal of Athletic Training. Vol. 52.

Pinar, S., Kaya, F., Bicer, B., Erzeybek, M.S. & Cotuk, H.B. (2012) Different recovery methods and muscle performance after exhausting exercise: Comparison of the effects of electrical muscle stimulation and massage. Biology of Sport. Vol. 29.

Reilly, T. & Ekblom, B. (2005) The use of recovery methods post-exercise. Journal of Sports Sciences. Vol. 23.

Schwellnus, M.P., Nicol, J., Laubscher, R. & Noakes, T.D. (2004) Serum electrolyte concentrations and hydration status are not associated with exercise associated muscle cramping (EAMC) in distance runners. British Journal of Sports Medicine. Vol. 38.

Smart, D.J., Gill, N.D., Beaven, C.M., Cook, C.J. & Blazevich, A.J. (2008) The relationship between changes in interstitial creatine kinase and game-related impacts in rugby union. British Journal of Sports Medicine. Vol. 42.

Van Wyk, D.V. & Lambert, M.I. (2009) Recovery strategies implemented by sport support staff of elite rugby players in South Africa. South African Journal of Physiotherapy. Vol. 65.