Ease Your Mind...Renew Your Body...Change Your Life
Ease Your Mind...Renew Your Body...Change Your Life
Whether you’re a professional athlete or a retired office worker who is just trying to stay in shape by walking or riding bike, you build up lactic acid in your body when you work out, which means you’re going to feel sore and tight after your training regimen. However, compression therapy can help you recover more quickly, reducing soreness and improving wellbeing.
Compression therapy utilizes peristaltic pulse dynamic compression (PPDC)—an artificial process of rhythmic applications of circumferential pressures to a limb in a peristaltic (sequential compression) manner in a distal to proximal direction. The technology is normally used to promote blood flow and remove waste products from people suffering from lymphedema and for athlete recovery.
You can think of it sort of like a deep tissue massage. The pressure is significant enough to mobilize lactic acid buildup so your downtime is shorter and you aren’t left feeling sore and fatigued.
There is incredible science behind the Rapid Reboot compression therapy system. To understand how it works, the company has provided a description of what happens during a typical session using the boots as an example.
It explains that the boots “start to fill with air first at your feet (distal) and then work up to your calves, knees, then thighs (proximal). This design mimics your body’s natural processes. Working distal to proximal also works like your body to speed up recovery. The dynamic compression improves circulation and gets rid of swelling.”
The first cycle is the lightest because air is filling the entire attachment. However, after a few cycles, you’ll feel the intensity increase. “Rapid Reboot mimics a deep-tissue massage using high pressures and quick cycle times to massage out lactic acid and enhance your blood flow,” the company says.
Rapid Reboot repeats cycles to continue improving mobility and reducing soreness. “When you step out of a session, you’ll notice mobility right away. Your muscles naturally get warmer and stretched out during a session. So, the beauty is you don’t need to sit in a session of yoga to get a good stretch,” it explains.
“At events, we see our athletes stand up and test this mobility with a deep squat. Our favorite moment is their surprise noticing changes in how they feel after a quick, 10-minute round in the boots,” the company says.
While increasing blood flow is a significant benefit of the treatment, an often-overlooked aspect of a Rapid Reboot therapy session is how it improves lymphatic function. The lymphatic system helps maintain your body’s fluid levels and is the main system for delivering immune responses.
Unlike the circulatory system, which has your heart as a pump, your lymphatic system relies on muscle contractions to circulate fluid. When your muscles are damaged and fatigued from a hard workout, it directly affects your body’s ability to remove waste, fight infection, and manage swelling and inflammation.
The Rapid Reboot system is designed to enhance lymphatic function by starting compression at your extremities and working its way toward your chest and core. This helps flush your lymphatic system and lymph nodes, helping them return to normal function faster.
Over time, users of the Rapid Reboot compression therapy system have reported the following positive effects:
A study conducted by Sands et al., findings from which were published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, found subjects who received PPDC treatments showed greater improvement in their range of motion (ROM) compared to control subjects. The authors wrote: “PPDC was shown here to enhance acute improvements in forward split ROM. The PPDC fits within the group of new methods and technologies for stretching that seem to result in acute rapid changes in ROM. Continued use of PPDC may result in training effects beyond the acute effects and thereby continue to enhance ROM with continued training.”
The device used in the study “is currently in use by dozens of athletes, and collegiate and professional teams, along with the athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, who use the Recovery Center,” the researchers said. The treatment time for this modality is “relatively short,” and the resulting changes in acute ROM “may be attractive to those coaches and athletes who need to demonstrate large ROMs in training and competition,” they added.
In addition to all these benefits, the treatment simply feels great. It offers a chance for users to take a break, relax, and rejuvenate, all while their bodies are refreshed so they can get back in action and perform at peak levels.
If any of the following apply to you, avoid compression therapy altogether, or speak to your doctor first:
It is always important for anyone experiencing unusual swelling to work with a team of clinicians including their family doctor, podiatric surgeon, vascular surgeon, cardiologist, and other organ-specific specialties, as well as with physical therapists and nursing professionals who can provide expert direction to help alleviate problems. In some cases, medical professionals will approve compression therapy as part of a recommended treatment regimen.