Jul 18, 2017Football Ups Its Recovery Game
Trainers in pro sports face the challenge of not only rehabbing players from injury, but also managing player’s training to prevent injury in the first place. Many professional football teams have placed an increased focus on proper recovery as a mode to optimize on-field performance, as well as to decrease instances of injury. After all, a player’s greatest asset is the ability to play.
Rick Burkholder, Head Athletic Trainer Kansas City Chiefs, asserts, “We like to take the approach that we’re more on the preventative side than on the treatment, rehabilitation side. Certainly with the trial of the game, you’re going to get injuries, but we would like to keep those numbers down.” He adds that “The big component on my end was the recovery room. We gave our players a place where they can come get their bodies flushed out, get their legs back for the next day. That room includes massage therapy and some other tools but the main component is the NormaTec recovery system and our days lost for practices is way down.”
Many other Head Athletic Trainers, including Steve Saunders, Director of Performance and Recovery for the Baltimore Ravens, echo Burkholder’s sentiment. “Injuries are muscle imbalances. They’re overuse or fatigue. How can we look at that, get ahead of it, monitor it, and really try to stop the nuisance injuries?” Said Saunders, who facilitated the construction of a NormaTec Recovery Room for the Ravens players. “The NormaTec system is a key component of our recovery focus. It’s effective, results driven, and easy to use, especially in a team setting. I have been impressed by the player feedback and regular usage of the many NormaTec units that we have.”
The recovery movement includes sleep, nutrition, and active recovery techniques to promote rapid, effective recuperation by the body. NormaTec’s technology uses pneumatic compression and a patented massage sequence to rejuvenate muscle tissue, increase circulation, help athletes reduce pain and soreness, and ultimately speed up the recovery process. Many trainers rely on the technology for post-game recovery and equate NormaTec to an extra set of hands on deck for recovery flush massages.
In addition to the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, many other football teams have added dedicated recovery rooms for their players to utilize the NormaTec PULSE Series, including the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and the Los Angeles Rams. The Dallas Cowboys new facility Cowboys Fit also includes a recovery lounge with NormaTec’s technology. Other elite institutions, and Olympic training facilities, like IMG Academy and the US Tennis Association Player Development program, have added similar spaces for their athletes to recover, and also invested in NormaTec systems for recovery on the road. See IMG Academy’s Recovery Room here.
NormaTec showcased innovations to their NormaTec PULSE Recovery Series at the 2017 NATA Expo in Houston. The 2018 PULSE updates include an enhanced battery, extended warranty on the device and attachments, increased durability, and even quieter operation. Attendees were able to try NormaTec’s updated PULSE and PULSE PRO systems at the expo. Visit normatecrecovery.com for more information on NormaTec’s technology, and how to optimize a recovery program.
Rehabilitation and recovery are an essential piece of the training regimen. Professional trainers are emphasizing recovery as a means to heighten ability to perform, and to minimize injuries. NormaTec’s technology is at the forefront of the recovery movement, playing a huge role in how professional teams are helping their athletes regenerate after intense workouts and to stay fresh for games.
For more information contact Jim Davis [email protected]
NormaTec | 866.658.5896 | www.normatecrecovery.com
