What's a NormaTec? Elite athletes in compression therapy love

The fusion of technology and fitness has certainly offered interesting features, worthy of a giggle. I mean, who would have thought we would see round tables of athletes relaxing in spacesuits?

Except that they do not go into space. They are just recovering from their last training and getting ready for the next one. The combinations themselves are complex, but what they do is simple: they compress and decompress, thus promoting blood circulation throughout the athlete's body.

Here's how this simple but useful recovery technique works.

What is compression therapy?

Like cryotherapy, compression therapy has been around for decades as a medical treatment. In fact, NormaTec – one of the biggest names in compression therapy on the market – started as a medical device manufacturer to treat a condition called lymphedema (chronic swelling).

The main goal of the company is sports recovery, but its roots lie in the science of blood flow: your circulatory system provides oxygen, nutrients and hormones to every cell in your body. Simultaneously, this complex circuit removes metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid, effectively eliminating your toxin system.

The underlying idea of ​​compression therapy is that by increasing blood flow in certain parts of the body – by encouraging your body to provide more oxygen and nutrients to these areas – you can speed up recovery, relieve stress pain and improve sports performance.

Benefits of compression therapy

Athletes from all disciplines dress in inflated, intergalactic gear to take advantage of compression therapy. Long before these costumes existed, athletes wore (and still wear) compression garments during and after exercise.

The benefits of this method of recovery, which are essentially the benefits of improving blood flow, include:

• Reduce swelling and inflammation
• Acceleration of muscle recovery
• Prevent muscle pain from delayed onset
• Relieve muscle pain
• Improve sport performance
• Increased flexibility and range of motion
• Elimination of exercise-related waste, such as lactic acid
• Reduced muscle fatigue

Overall, the scientific evidence supporting these claims is contradictory, although NormaTec offers an impressive list of research studies on the methodology of this particular product. Now that new products are emerging, it is difficult to consolidate all forms of therapeutic compression.

For example, wearing a knee sleeve will not produce the same results as NormaTec's "Pulse, Distal Release, Gradient" method. The knee sleeve simply squeezes the leg above and below the knee, forcing the blood and fluids to move away. When you remove the sleeve of the knee, the blood flows back into the region, which brings benefits.

A NormaTec combination, on the other hand, tightens your legs at intervals and per section. From your feet, the combination inflates intermittently to mimic natural blood flow.

Both types of compression therapy may therefore offer advantages, but at different levels, much like percussion therapy versus foam rolling.

How can you try compression therapy

Convinced that you need to add this technique to your recovery program? Here's how to test it.

dress

That's right: try one of these space combinations yourself. If you do not want to buy one of yours, look for gyms, chiropractic offices and salvage parlors (such as cryotherapy centers) offering customer combinations.

By far the best known, NormaTec has partnered with thousands of businesses across the country to provide boots and even full suits at a more affordable price. But you can also find other brands, such as Rapid Reboot, Speed ​​Hound, Air Relax and RecoveryPump.

Wear compression garments

Evidence for compression garments such as knee-length sleeves, compression tights and elbow patches is largely anecdotal. For some people, wearing compression garments during or after exercise seems to improve physical performance and speed up recovery, but the research is not very clear.

There are conflicting studies on compression garments, and it's unclear whether you should wear them during or after exercise and what types of exercises they influence positively.

But, as they say about diets: If it works for you, it works for you.

Get a massage

I talked about massage versus high-tech recovery before, and the traditional massage still stands the test of time (and many clinical trials). For example, a study of ultramarathon runners found that post-exercise massage offered the same benefits as post-exercise compression therapy.

Another study compared compression therapy, massage, cryotherapy, stretching, electrostimulation, immersion in water, and so on. His goal was to discover the best modality for reducing delayed onset muscle pain (DOMS).

The kind of answer not surprising? Massage.

Is it worth it?

Personally, I think so. Despite some tedious clinical trials, these products are based on a sound scientific principle: compression therapy increases blood flow, which provides nutrients to the muscles and eliminates waste such as lactic acid. This is why active recovery (such as stretching and walking) is so much better than passive recovery (doing nothing).

Obviously, compression shoes and suits like those of NormaTec, Rapid Reboot and Speed ​​Hound are not suitable for all budgets – and that's fine. You do not need any of these costumes for you, but if you are a regular at the gyms, you might consider going to a recovery salon, chiropractic clinic or other institution offering unique sessions.

However, if you can afford it, a combination of high-tech compression could theoretically be less expensive in terms of cost per session. Think about it: a massage costs on average $ 100 to $ 150 per session. Say you get one massage a month. That's between $ 1,200 and $ 1,800 a year.

NormaTec is the most expensive product among the products discussed in this article. If you buy a complete NormaTec set at 2295 USD, the price is about 190 USD per month and per year. Even at one usage per month, this is not excessively expensive compared to massage.

But if you have your NormaTec at home, use it at any time, the cost per session drops dramatically: if you only use your NormaTec once a week, the cost per session drops to less than $ 50 per use.

It's a big initial investment, but potentially profitable.

The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or health advice. Always consult a doctor or other qualified health professional for any questions regarding a health problem or health goals.