Athletes today enjoy greater technological advances that they can apply to their training and recovery programs than ever before. Research and medicine have evolved greatly, and athletes who take advantage of the best and latest tools, products and systems can see great returns in terms of their body and their performance. One such tool which has seen a huge increase in usage is the infrared sauna. Infrared saunas provide range of benefits, and most importantly, can significantly reduce injury recovery times.
Injury recovery times can vary greatly, depending of course on the type of injury sustained. A pulled muscle might take a few days to heal, while a torn muscle or ligament can take months. This of course removes the athlete from action, and limits their effectiveness and capability. Any method that can effectively reduce healing time should be carefully examined and utilised, and that’s what infrared saunas for athletes are all about.
In the past, the options for dealing with injuries were pretty limited. Typically you can treat the symptoms of the injury such as pain, but recovery time wasn’t cut whatsoever. Surgical procedures could be performed for bad injuries, and those come with their own long rehabilitation programs. Physical therapy can also be performed, but that’s an ongoing process, and one which cannot always be effectively applied.
The solution is to go back to something more natural and basic. When in doubt, a natural mode of healing and recovery is always preferable, and that’s what infrared saunas for athletes can do. It has been well documented that radiant heat is an excellent means for treating injuries ranging from sprains and strains to pulls, tears, muscle spasms and more.
So what makes radiant heat so effective, and how is it different from other kinds of heat?
Infrared saunas utilise that special form of heat transfer known as radiant heat or radiation, mentioned above. When being heated through radiation, the surrounding air doesn’t have to get hotter for the user to get hot. Instead, infrared or radiant heat directly heats the body. The heat therefore doesn’t just come into contact with the outside of the body; it actually penetrates the body’s tissues.
Joints, muscles, tissues and everything else actually receives this radiant heat directly. What this does is increases the flow of both oxygen and blood to the body or targeted area. It also relieves tension and relaxes the muscles, reducing soreness on nerves and in muscle spasms, and allows the body to heal itself more efficiently. The body will feel instantly better, but more importantly will be able to heal itself much more rapidly, efficiently and successfully.
All of this provides the body with great and profound therapeutic benefits. It’s not all conjecture either, it’s backed by some of the leading researchers in the fields of sports medicine. One expert in the field, Dr. Jeffrey Spencer, who has a Master’s in Sports Science from the University of Southern California, notes that infrared saunas for athletes increases blood flow to muscles, delivers more concentrated oxygen to the muscles and in turn creates more energy and capacity for the body to heal itself.
If you’re an athlete today, it’s time to catch up with the latest treatments so that you can perform at your best and recover more successfully, and in less time.
Infrared saunas are going to be a big feature at the London 2012 Olympic Games. This article http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8404631/London-2012-Olympics-Oscar-Pistorius-reveals-how-he-has-changed-body-to-make-Games-qualifying-time.html from The Telegraph details how a sauna has helped Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius improve his fitness and performance is preparation for the competition.