Elite athletes and sportspeople have been using floatation to speed up recovery times after injuries and improve their performance since the 1980s.  Runner Carl Lewis used floating to improve his performance before his gold medal winning runs at the Seoul Olympics and the Dallas Cowboys used it to help its players recover from injuries all throughout the 80s. Footballer Wayne Rooney even has his own floatation tank and he sometimes spends as long as 10 hours a week floating. You don’t have to be an elite sportsperson to speed up your healing time using floatation though as it works in a number of different ways that can benefit everyone.

Freedom from Gravity

Whatever type of sports injury you have, floating in a pod of water saturated with Epsom Salts will help your injury to heal more quickly. It does this by completely removing any pressure on your joints, bones and muscles when you float free from gravity. This allows your body to complete relax improving the blood flow to every part of the body.  Blood brings oxygen and all the other nutrients the tissues need to repair themselves so this improved blood flow encourages rapid healing.

Epsom Salts are Swell

People often soak swollen limbs and joints in Epsom Salts to help bring the swelling down as the magnesium, which the salts are rich in, has anti-inflammatory properties and salty water helps to reduce edema. Therefore, floating in a tank full of Epsom Salts is a great way to bring down the swelling in a sports injury.

A Healing State of Mind

Tight muscles, tension and stress are all things that impede injury healing as they restrict blood flow and studies have shown people with stress, anxiety and depression are more likely to have delayed healing times for injuries and wounds. Floating regularly helps people to relax, eliminate stress and improve the symptoms of anxiety and depression so literally puts people in the right frame of mind to heal as quickly as possible. Additionally, people who float have been proven to be more likely to stick with good habits and avoid bad habits so people recovering from injuries find it easier to avoid the kind of habits that impede their recovery and easier to stick to habits such as stretching or strengthening exercises that will aid their recovery.

Prevention is Better than Cure

Lots of sportspeople float regularly to make it less likely that they’ll get injured. Floating doesn’t just relax the muscles so keeps them moving better, it also focuses the mind which allows sportspeople to maintain a better form and avoid the kind of distractions and carelessness which can lead to injuries.

We see all kinds of sportspeople at The Float Spa from marathon runners and wrestlers to golfers and rugby players who all benefit from less down time due to injury. In addition, people who don’t do sport come to us as improved concentration and reduced stress are also very helpful for improving their performance at work.  

Contact us on 01273 933 680 for more information on how floating can encourage healing and improve your performance in whatever you do.  www.thefloatspa.co.uk