👋 Hey.
Welcome to issue #35 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter. Thanks for being here.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
🧊 Is the RICE method slowing injury recovery?
The RICE method.
Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation.
How muscle, bone, joint and tissue injuries have been treated for over 40 years.
But recent research shows that rest and ice may actually slow recovery.
Dr Gabe Mirkin is the dude that popularised RICE in 1978. And he’s since changed his mind about it…
Because with more evidence, we have a better understanding of what’s going on.
See, 3 things need to happen to repair damaged tissue.
- 🩸 Inflammation
- 🪡 Repair
- 🔨 Remodelling
Inflammation gets a bad rap.
But for acute injuries, it’s an essential part of the recovery process.
Inflammation is our immune response.
When we get injured, our immune system immediately floods the affected area with white blood cells. Which start to repair the tissue.
A good thing.
What we don’t want is swelling.
Inflammation and swelling are not the same.
We get swelling when these white blood cells don’t get cleared out quick enough.
Swelling is uncomfortable, for one. But it can also tighten up our tissues.
No good.
🧊 So why does ice slow recovery?
The inflammation process causes vasodilation (widening of blood vessels).
Which increases blood flow. And floods the injury with white blood cells.
But icing an injury causes vasoconstriction (tightening of blood vessels).
Which slows this inflammation process. And so, can slow recovery.
📝 Note, ice does help with pain. But athletes are usually more worried about getting back out there.
Everyday athlete? Your call.
🩼 What about rest?
Our lymphatic system is in charge of reducing swelling.
It’s a one-way drainage system that clears the waste from the inflammation process.
But it only kicks into gear when our muscles contract.
So movement (without pain) actually promotes blood flow, clears the waste and reduces swelling.
🤕 Compression and elevation?
Compression and elevation both help clear waste and reduce swelling. So we can keep them going.
💊 Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen and diclofenac (Voltaren) have become common prescriptions too.
But again, for acute injuries we want inflammation. And as the name suggests, anti-inflams slow it.
They mask pain. So can be useful if you need to push through on a one-off. But pain (from injury) is usually a signal we need to listen to.
So if RICE is out the window, what are we running now?
A handful of other solutions have been thrown around. And while I’m far from qualified, there’s one that makes the most sense to me based on the research:
PEACE
- 🩼 Protection (from pain) – avoid activities and movements that increase pain
- 🙋 Elevation – elevate the injury above the heart as often as possible
- ❌ Avoid (anti-inflammatories and ice) – both slow inflammation
- 🤕 Compression – use elastic, tape or compression gear
- 🧑🎓 Education – See a good therapist, learn more about the injury, its management and using an active rehab approach
It makes sense to me. But I realise this may be a hard one to swallow after a lifetime of RICE.
Your call ✌️
✈️ App: Timeshifter (for jet lag)
I talked about beating jet lag back in newsletter #2.
Because if we’re travelling for work or sport, we’ve gotta be at our best fast.
Since then, I’ve found an app called Timeshifter.
It creates personalised jet lag plans for you.
Answer a few questions. Put in your travel plans.
It’ll spit out science-based, practical things for you to do at specific times.
It’s bloody good. First plan is free. Give it run next long haul.
(The same company also has an app for shift workers).
😮💨 A simple cue for better breathing in seconds
The more I learn about it, the more I think training and optimising our breathing is one of the most untapped performance tools there is.
It can get us up. Chill us out. Increase our oxygen uptake. Our efficiency. Stamina. Recovery. You name it.
And there’s a heap of tools and techniques to get us there...
Whether its posture. Nose vs mouth. Diaphragm vs lungs. Inhale emphasis. Exhale emphasis.
Bit overwhelming…
Performance wizard Dr Kelly Starrett just shared one of the simplest cues to breathe better (in seconds):
- 🫁 Right now, take the biggest breath in you can (get us much air in as possible). Let it go
- 🧘 Now, get in a position where you think you can get more in
- ♻️ Try again
Here’s the thing:
You probably just sat or stood up a bit taller. Organised your shoulders. Got your chest out. Straightened your neck.
We all know how to breathe better.
We just have to do it more consciously.
So next time you’re running, cycling, playing sport, or even just working at your computer… Ask yourself if there’s a position where you can breathe better.
It’s a powerful tool to bring attention to your shape.
You’ll start to organise. Become more efficient. More effective.
Because better function of your body = better performance of your body.
So, can you take a bigger breath?
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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