Recovery after exercise is a major issue for accomplished sportsmen and women, professionals and amateurs alike. Sport-elec electrostimulation allows up to 40% faster recovery after a competition or intensive training. Thanks to the specific currents created by Sport-elec, the muscle recovers its potential more quickly, it is detoxified and regenerated.
Sports recovery now fully integrates the use of electrostimulation for the recovery of muscular efficiency after efforts.
The idea of active recovery is to work the muscles which are most sore from competition or intensive training at low powers of less than 40 milli, with low frequencies between 1 and 10 hertz for a minimum of 20 minutes, in order to stimulate the body's natural capacity to repair the muscular lesions which are responsible for the aches. This is why we talk about better recovery or even accelerated muscular recovery thanks to electrostimulation. Lymphatic drainage of the affected areas and detoxification of the muscles with an analgesic effect are obtained. A well being effect accompanies the session with a relaxation like a massage of the worked muscles. The aches and pains after exercise pass after a period of 3 days in general, thanks to electrostimulation we gain between a day and a day and a half.
Electrostimulation, for an easier recovery
Recovering better thanks to electrostimulation is now very easy. Previously used only therapeutically, electrostimulation is now part of the range of tools used daily in physical preparation, especially for recovery after effort, known as sports recovery.
To recover better thanks to electrostimulation after sport, precise protocols must be respected. These protocols, included directly in our electrostimulation programmes, make it simple, quick and always effective.
By scrupulously respecting the protocols provided by Sport-elec or compex this technique allows for muscle drainage. It also allows for active local recovery through light activity avoiding additional central fatigue. But it also optimises the treatment of muscular pain following traumatic efforts. Sport and recovery go hand in hand thanks to active electrostimulation.
The oxygenation and vascularisation of the muscle is improved, allowing it to recover its original qualities more quickly.
The advantages of active recovery without the disadvantages thanks to electro-stimulation, while at the same time offering a solicitation which is close to it.
Since it mobilises a light muscular activity, but without movement, it produces certain effects which are found in active recovery. Thus the effects on heart rate and cardiac output are very similar in these two recovery methods.
It is therefore particularly suitable after very intense competitions!
Recovering with electrostimulation: the ultimate technique for moving
Electro-stimulation allows you to optimise prolonged sitting phases!
Recovering better with electro-stimulation is particularly relevant in situations where active recovery is not possible. For example, we can list the bus, the plane, the same weight room (why not combine it with active recovery). It is also useful when the sports rules do not allow active recovery. Better still, it helps to combat prolonged sitting, which slows down recovery and often causes phenomena that are detrimental to performance. These include swollen legs and poor blood circulation.
This technique is therefore particularly useful for sportsmen and women on the move, just after their competition!
Scientific feedback on recovery with electro-stimulation
Studies on the prolonged and regular use of electro-stimulation have shown other advantages in terms of recovery, but also certain limits.
According to Gautier in 1992, and then Perez in 2002, electrostimulation improves the capillary network of the muscles by increasing it, resulting in a better oxidative power of the fibres. The same would be true for lymphatic drainage according to Brown and Delitto (2001).
Following the work of Nuhr in 2003, we know that excessive work can have the effect of a transition from type IIx to type I fibres, increasing the oxidative properties of the muscle as well as its resistance to fatigue, on the other hand, this will reduce the contractile capacities. It is therefore better to remain in moderation, as the programmes of the Sport Elec machines propose, and not to do 2 recovery programmes on the same muscle repeatedly.
For optimal recovery by electrostimulation, it is recommended to plan for 15 minutes to 3 hours after your training. The recovery programmes such as those of the Sport-elec products provoke non-tetanic contractions due to low frequency currents, they are adapted so that you only have to adjust the power corresponding to your work phases. You will also find massage, active recovery, drainage and muscle relaxation among these. Ideally, it is better to place one electrode in the centre of the muscle and another at its extremity, in order to accentuate the drainage.
Recovering after training with electro-stimulation
Do you work out at the gym almost every day but still don't have any tangible results? This may be normal! You can train as much as you like. If you don't focus on resting your muscles, you won't see any results. Your level of performance will stagnate or even gradually decrease over the course of the sessions. To build muscle, you need to give your muscle cells time to recover and repair any micro-tears caused during your workouts. For more effective muscle development, there are now specific programmes available to help you recover and repair the damage caused by your training sessions.
The importance of muscular recovery and electrostimulation
Most of the time we are more concerned with the type of exercise or the intensity of our training to develop our muscles, but recovery is just as important.
When you do intensive work on your muscles, it causes micro-tears in the muscle fibres and depletes your energy reserves. It is after this training, during recovery, that your fibres will regenerate. This regeneration will stimulate their growth, so your muscles will be stronger and denser.
This recovery process takes time, if you start another intensive training session too quickly, your muscles will not have time to regenerate completely, and your efforts will not have the desired effect, they will not gain volume. It is therefore very important to respect the recovery phase.
To reduce and optimise this recovery, electrostimulation is ideal. With the help of low stimulation frequencies, the dedicated programmes of the Sport-elec devices will not only prepare your muscles for the exercise, but will also allow them to recover more quickly. You will therefore reduce the duration of your recovery and increase the optimum number of intensive training sessions you can do per week.
How do you recover with electrostimulation?
In order to stimulate muscle recovery, electrostimulators such as those from Sport-elec, will generate low frequency stimulations ranging from 0.5 to 10 Hertz, as opposed to sports programmes which will be at much higher frequencies and intensities (30 to 100 Hertz). Your muscle will therefore not be contracted continuously, but by rapid beats. It will not be necessary to increase the power to make the contraction intense, as this will reduce the effect of the recovery.
How do you recover with electro-stimulation?
In order to stimulate muscle recovery, electrostimulators such as those from Sport-elec, will generate low frequency stimulations ranging from 0.5 to 10 Hertz, just like sports programmes which will be at much higher frequencies and intensities (30 to 100 Hertz). Your muscle will therefore not be contracted continuously, but by rapid beats. It will not be necessary to increase the power for the contraction to be intense, as you would risk reducing the effect of the recovery.
1. Recovery right after training sessions
If you have time for electrostimulation sessions just after your training sessions, the Sportelec "Recovery" programme is ideal for better muscle regeneration. This programme scans frequencies between 0.5 and 8Hz, each with its own function:
1. Between 6 and 8Hz, the draining effect is activated, your muscle acts like a pump, it activates your blood circulation, leading to the evacuation of toxins and lactic acid (waste products that accumulate in your muscles due to a lack of oxygen).
2. Between 3 and 6Hz, it will stimulate the production of endorphins, reducing the sensation of pain and soreness.
3. Between 0.5 and 3Hz, we will try to relax the muscle, allowing an improvement in muscle regeneration.
This programme is not only the most used by sportsmen and women but it is also the most effective for muscle recovery. Ideally, it should be used on a muscle that is still warm, at the most within 3 hours after the exercise. As your muscle retains its elasticity during this period, recovery will be much more effective.
1. Recovery after training
When you first start training, you will probably experience soreness after your workouts. To deal with this, you should know that there are electrostimulation programmes specially dedicated to muscle recovery, called "Muscle Tension".
This programme will not only improve your blood circulation thanks to a muscle pumping effect but will also increase the production of endorphins and enkephalins.
The improved circulation will reduce the tension stored in the muscle fibres and help you to deal more effectively with aches and pains, while the endorphins will reduce the sensation of aches and pains.
And as anyone who plays sport regularly knows, no one is immune to muscle soreness. If you feel pain, you can always count on the muscle recovery programme "Sudoloris" or "TENS" of the electrostimulation devices.
The electrical stimulations of this programme will target the sensory fibres to effectively reduce the sensations of pain (note that this will not cure its origin).
Still with the idea of recovery, there is also what is called the "massage programme" which allows you to completely relax all the contractions of the muscles during your rest periods.
For more information on the effects of electro-stimulation on recovery, you can also read Improve your recovery in sport with electro-stimulation
