But the question is ‘What is the most effective way to improve muscle damage recovery after training or a competitive exercise?’ There are a number of theories about what you consume to improve recovery, but I am interested what you can actually do post exercise to enhance recovery.

A study in New Zealand followed 23 elite male rugby players to try to answer this question. Rugby is both an aerobic and anaerobic exercise, as well as involving direct impact. Compared with other sports, injuries from rugby are high so if a recovery technique does have an effect, there will be room for improvement following a professional rugby match. The players in the study were given four different post match strategies:

• Passive Recovery - Sitting on a bench before carrying out normal post match routine of showering, rehydrating and snacking.
• Contrast Water Therapy - Immersion to above the hips in two temperature controlled water baths, alternating between one minute in cold water (8-10^oC) and 2 minutes in hot water (40-42^oC) for approx 9 minutes then normal post match routine.
• Low Intensity Active Exercise - 7 minutes on an exercycle (80-100rpm ¬150W) before normal post match routine.
• Compression Garment - Normal post match routine before wearing a lower body compression garment (Skins®) until the following morning (approx 12 hrs).

The researchers measured creatine kinase (CK) to rate the muscle damage recovery, as strenuous exercise that damages skeletal muscle results in an increase in blood CK activity. They found that as a result of the match there were significant increases in CK activity.  The matches produced significant increases in CK concentration from 1023 IU pre- and 2194 IU post- competition.

At 36 and 48hrs active exercise, contrast water therapy or compression garment enhanced CK clearance compared to passive recovery and the magnitude of recovery in the passive recovery group was significantly worse than the other interventions.

After 48 hours Low Intensity Active Exercise showed 88.2% recovery, Contrast Water Therapy 85% and wearing a Compression garment 84.4%. Worst recovery was following Passive Recovery, 39%.

The theories behind each recovery strategy are:

• Low Intensity Active Exercise increases blood flow and change in distribution, maybe enhancing CK clearance.
• Contrast Water Therapy is thought to reduce oedema though a pumping action created by alternating the vasoconstrictor and vasodilator responses of blood vessels to temperature changes. Is also thought to reduce muscle spasm and influence inflammatory response.
• Compression Garments may work due to compression being often used as a therapeutic intervention following tissue injury as part of RICE, with ice and compression providing pain relief and reducing inflammatory responses and swelling.

Whilst the optimal duration and combination needs more study it does appear that doing something is better than nothing when it come to aiding recovery. Rugby is a physically demanding sport, but so is completing a triathlon or running a marathon. Introducing one or more of these strategies into your post exercise schedule and finding out which works better for you after different activities may allow you to train harder and more frequently whilst reducing the occurrence of muscle injuries.