Diving into the Science of Recovery
Instead of exploring a different form of exercise this week, we’re going to look at the flip side of exercise — recovery. For everyone who exercises regularly, and especially if you engage in high-intensity exercise, it’s important to recognize the value of recovery. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, “recovery is key to preventing injuries and allowing the body to rebuild itself after the stress of exercise. Our muscles, tendons, ligaments and energy stores require recovery, repair and replenishment to perform at our best.” They recommend at least 48 hours between higher intensity exercise of the same muscle groups, which “allows your muscles the opportunity to rebuild themselves and reduces the risk of overtraining.”
The cornerstones of recovery are nutrition, good sleep and regular days off. But that doesn’t mean just sitting on the couch watching Ted Lasso — there’s good evidence that active recovery is superior to inactivity, resting completely or sitting. Which is what brought me to the Biohacking and Recovery Center located in The Shops in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Dr. Justin Thompson, the most recent physician to join our team at Ironwood Family Practice, met me there on a recent Saturday to try their tools to enhance recovery. With his military background in analyzing complex systems and love of research, I knew he’d be the perfect person to bring along to try these modalities.
Arriving at their new location in The Shops, we met Gunnar Amos, recovery manager for BioPerformance Institute (BPI), who took us through the Regener8 protocol. We started with PEMF, or Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy. Originally used by NASA astronauts so they could stay connected to earth’s electromagnetic field, PEMF theoretically promotes anti-inflammatory responses and increases bone density. While relaxing on PEMF mats for 10 minutes, we also tried Brainwave Entrainment — think VR goggles that use light pulsations to synchronize the hemispheres of your brain and put the body in a calm, relaxed state. Although I didn’t notice much from PEMF, I liked that it was a “no phone zone" and the Brainwave Entrainment was meditative.
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