How can I reduce fatigue?

Fatigue is both a physiological and psychological response to exercise, so how can we help prevent it? Fatigue comes in two forms central and peripheral. Central starts in the central nervous system and works to reduce bodily harm and peripheral is the failure to maintain output such as a depletion in glycogen and occurs in the muscle itself. However, the exact chain of events leading to both is not determined. For most athletes’ fatigue is fatigue no matter where it originates and will affect performance if not managed properly.

How to we prevent fatigue?

First, having a good training program with appropriate periodization is a good start. Factoring in the individual, prep phase, specific prep, competition, travel, injury and personal beliefs. If you are an athlete who has a “season” this is fairly simple. If you’re an athlete with various events throughout the year, it’s a little more complicated. My advice with training is to seek the advice of a coach. This doesn’t always have to be in person, there are many coaches online (especially running ones) who can put together training plans and help you reach your goals.

Second, make the most of your post exercise routine. This is where things can get complicated. With regards to fatigue there are a variety of ways to help from active recovery, massage, cryotherapy, compression garments etc. In this systematic review it was found that all of those reduced perceived fatigue. Inflammation was best combat with massage and cold exposure.  Note, please, that there have also been studies stating the opposite. For instance in this study it notes that cryotherapy is no better than active recovery for reducing inflammation, this could save you a few quid in the long run.

As a note, it has been found that active recovery at a moderate intensity is likely better than just resting. This is due to better blood flow and lactate distribution.

In my opinion, active recovery is the best place to start, for instance, after a long run or hard session have a brisk walk or brisk bike ride. No pressure, no clocks, nothing. Just you and the open air. This also works after a difficult event as well, I find if I walk after a marathon I’m not as sore as I am when I don’t. If that doesn’t help, sit in a cool tub (10C) for ten minutes, another cheap option to try.

If you still feel sore or tired book in for a massage. Obviously, prices range on location and experience, but booking in for a one-hour session will at least help you decide if it’s for you. Compression garments may also be a good investment. I won’t lie, I use mine after long runs and after marathons. Yes, this is likely only reducing perceived fatigue and therefor may not work for everyone.

Fatigue can also stem from stress or a lack of sleep, so if you’re not sleeping properly, you’re not going to recover from training properly. If you are having trouble sleeping you can try a variety of  methods to see if they help. If not, speak to your GP and get appropriate advice. 

And don't forget the importance of nutrition. If you are not eating enough to eat you will not have the energy to compete. This has been a focus recently in the news, so make sure you are eating appropriately and if you are not sure, seek the advice of a dietician.

Recovery can be a very personal thing for each athlete and it is important to find what works for you.

Is whole body cryotherapy worth the hype?

Short answer, Not really. I’ll explain further.

Cryotherapy is a method of recovery which is done by lowering the skin temperature of the body. Some of the most common modalities are ice packs, ice massages, gels and cooling creams. Recently whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) chambers have been introduced to high level foot ball and rugby teams. But is this new, and costly, method really the best way to enhance recovery through cryotherapy?

I hit the research hard. One of the first studies I found from Hausswirth, el al (2011) claims the benefits of WBC on highly trained runners. One large flaw in this study is that the other modalities involved were far-infrared (not a highly reliable modality) and basically sitting in a chair for ten minutes. These two “sham” modalities would, of course, show that WBC is a reliable way to recover after running.  It’s studies like this that make me angry. They manipulate the data by introducing two modalities they know won’t work to “prove” that WBC is reliable.

Other research I won’t even mention here were studies paid for and sponsored by companies that make WBC chambers. I don’t give research like this the time of day. Many involve manipulated data to sell a product to teams that can afford it.

A more recent study by Viera, et al (2015) studied the effect of WBC on a vertical jump after high intensity training by placing participants in a chamber at the suggested -110 degrees for 3 minutes and a control temperature of 21 degrees for the same time. In this study there was no significant difference between the WBC and control group. Thus, suggesting that some of the “benefits” of WBC are possibly due to the placebo effect. 

One of the better studies from Holmes & Willoughby (2016) looked at previous studies and compared WBC to cold water immersion on recovery and skin temperature. One of the claims of WBC is that the extremely cold temperature is more effective at lowering the skin temperature than other modalities. In this study participants used a WBC chamber at -110 to -120 degrees for 2-4 minutes and cold-water immersion at 8-14 degrees for 5-10 minutes. The results showed that using cold water immersion lowers the skin, muscle and core temperature more effectively than WBC. The study suggests that further high-level studies on WBC be performed to confirm their claims.

My personal opinion is that WBC is very expensive and some of the membership rates are well over £100 a month. Most people would not use the WBC more than once or twice a week, making it a very expensive means of recovery. Plus, it means coming home from your run or workout, getting in the car, driving to a centre, going in a chamber for 3 whole minutes then driving back home. A lot of effort when you can simply fill your tub with cool water once you get home and sit and chill in it. Studies are not conclusive of its claims, and with that kind of cost, you may be better off buying a gym membership or hiring a personal trainer.

However,  saying that, its definitely worth trying. I will admit though getting a snapshot of yourself in the mittens, slippers and headband in a chamber is pretty cool, but unless it works for you, it’s just a lot of money for cold air.

If you have any questions about sports therapy, sports injuries and cryotherapy please feel free to email me sara@prestigesportinjury.co.uk