The Importance of Recovery After Exercise

Posted by Kris Kemp on

Most people do not allow their body to recover after exercise and this can increase the likelihood of suffering an injury when you next work.

According to recent research it has been found that over three quarters (77%) of active Brits experience pain or discomfort while exercising, with knee (28%) and joint pain (20%) proving to be the most common, followed by lower back pain (17%) and pulled calves (16%).

To help you know how to deal with these common injuries, Jacuzzi have teamed up with Hull FC’s Head of High Performance, Paul Hatton and looked at some of those caused by the most popular forms of exercise.

 

Their findings show that nearly nine tenths (87%) active Brits experience pain or injury caused by workouts, making it the most likely exercise method to knock you off your game. 

More than one in five (22%) suffer from hamstring injuries which are caused by overstretching or overtraining the muscle.

Repetitive strain on the joints from explosive jumping and landing mean 18% suffer from knee and ankle problems. With this kind of training, you could become fatigued, increasing the chance of an injury.

Paul says: “The biggest mistake I see in most gym-goers or amateur athletes is that they forget about recovery. People are going into the gym to achieve their goals, but they never remove the stimulus to get ready to go again the next day. If you stimulate the body, then you need to remove that stimulation with rest, as that’s when the body then adapts to handle stimulation better next time.”

 

Ensuring that you give yourself adequate recovery time will help your body to repair itself but spending time outside of the pool using foam rollers and stretches to increase muscle flexibility, as well as making use of a Jacuzzi® to relieve the strain on the muscles, can also help.

Paul says: “90% of the rehab we do is for joint or back problems. A lot of it is due to lifestyle and how people sit in an office all day without moving, the stiffness that builds up in the muscle over that time is substantial. But many people are not stretching that muscle, or foam rolling to relieve the stiffness, despite adding extra strain when they then exercise.” 

Paul adds: “I often say to the athletes that I work with that recovery is huge, but how many people spend time or money on that process? It’s so important to incorporate recovery techniques into your workout regime, no matter what the exercise, but particularly if you’re doing big sessions.”

How to recover effectively

The type of recovery you should be doing depends on the intensity of your exercise regime, as well as the severity of your pain.

For example, an athlete maintaining vigorous daily training sessions is more likely to require immediate recovery to help prepare the muscles for their next session. A casual gym goer however, can recover by resting in between sessions where needed.

For those looking for a quicker but effective recovery time, hydrotherapy is an excellent option, as it helps to massage the muscles and relieves swelling. This involves the use of water for pain relief and is particularly effective at treating knee and joint pain, while it’s also used for muscle therapy.

Both hot and cold therapy are also effective at treating muscular pain, but work in different ways. Heat therapy increases the blood flow to the affected area, which helps to improve muscle flexibility and can soothe aching joints. Cold therapy reduces the blood flow helping to reduce swelling and inflammation. 

Stiffness and sore muscles are common in exercise, however if you do suffer an injury, you should always rest it. Avoid exercising the affected muscles and seek medical help if the pain is severe.

The perfect way to help you recover from your workouts and rest up after injuries is the use of hydrotherapy of a Jacuzzi® hot tub. You can find more information here: hottubvillage.co.uk.

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