How Increased Blood Flow Helps To Speed Up Muscle Recovery After Injury
Are you recovering from an injury?
Are you looking to speed up the healing process?
If yes, then the below blog will tell you everything you need to know about increased blood flow and how this can help to dramatically lower your overall recovery time and get you fighting fit in no time!
Why is blood flow important for muscle recovery?
If you often experience sore muscles after a workout or you have injured yourself and want to aid muscle recovery, improving your blood circulation can help to alleviate any pain you are experiencing and help to speed up your recovery.
By improving blood flow to your lower legs, you allow more oxygen-rich blood to get to the muscles. This ensures that your muscles get the essential nutrients they need to recover faster.
Furthermore, increased blood flow allows capillaries to absorb greater amounts of waste products from your muscle tissues which would have otherwise slowed down your body’s healing process.
Fortunately, if you do have an injury and you are concerned about circulation, there are several ways that you can actively increase blood flow in your body – details of which we will reveal shortly.
What are the main signs of poor circulation?
If you are worried that you may be suffering from poor circulation and this may be affecting your muscle recovery after an injury, then it can be useful to know the many symptoms associated with this affliction. These are as follows:
- Coldness in your extremities
- Numbness
- Fatigue
- Swelling and water retention (particularly in the feet)
- Frequent cramps and/or pins and needles
- Varicose or knotted veins
- Headaches including migraines
Poor circulation is most commonly caused by a poor diet, but it is also more prevalent in people who live sedentary lifestyles and in smokers.
How to improve blood flow
There are many different ways that you can get the blood flowing in your body so that your muscles can recover more quickly after an injury.
Wear compression garments
Compression garments such as compression stockings are specially designed to apply pressure to a particular part of your body, such as your lower legs. This pressure helps to maintain blood flow as well as to reduce any pain or discomfort and swelling.
You can buy compression garments online, or they may be prescribed by your doctor if you speak to them about your injury or if you have a condition that causes poor blood flow, such as varicose veins.
If you are recovering from an injury, you can wear some compression garments for up to 24 hours a day. However, this is not recommended for prolonged periods of time.
Try hot and cold therapies
Hot and cold therapies have been used for centuries to help boost circulation and improve blood flow and are highly effective at speeding up recovery times for muscle-related injuries.
Cold therapies work by causing the blood vessels in your body to contract, which reduces any pain. In contrast, heat therapies can be applied to boost circulation and the incoming flow of vital nutrients that your muscles need to recover.
Keep moving
Although you may be tempted to rest as much as possible when you have an injury, and of course, this is important, you do need to ensure that you keep moving if you want to recover quickly and effectively.
Focus on continuous movement throughout the day rather than your usual physical activity routine. Try not to sit for prolonged periods, as this will decrease blood flow and prevent recovery.
If your injury is quite severe, a gentle walking or swimming program is enough to get your blood pumping to the right places. Alternatively, yoga is also highly beneficial for athletes who are recovering from an injury.
Here at Bearhug, we offer an extensive range of compression garments and compression sleeves that are specially designed to help increase blood flow and aid muscle recovery.
Whether you are recovering from an injury or you want to prevent one from occurring, our compression garments provide the support your body needs to perform at its best.
