Sports cryotherapy and recovery are used by various athletes across the nation, and are used frequently by athletes at CHS. A few of the athletes at CHS receive their post-recovery treatment at The Recovery Room, a wellness center with locations in Westfield and Carmel, that specializes in treating soreness and injuries.

Zach Gish, CHS football player, track sprinter and junior, said that post-recovery is very important for all athletes.

Gish said, “Post-recovery has really improved my level of play because my body isn’t sore all of the time, and whenever I use the post-recovery treatment, I leave feeling fresh and that just makes the next workout that much easier.”

Konnie Komarovsky, the owner of The Recovery Room, said that since there are a lot of athletes in the Hamilton County area, there is a high demand for places like The Recovery Room.

Komarovsky said, “The number of active people in Hamilton County is high. That means that there is a natural demand for athletes looking to reduce their recovery time.”

A few of the services The Recovery Room offers are full-body cryotherapy, NormaTec (dynamic compression devices designed for recovery and rehab) and local cryotherapy. Full body cryotherapy uses liquid nitrogen, which helps to eliminate swelling from the entire body, while local cryotherapy, which also uses liquid nitrogen, can target specific parts of the body such as knees and ankles and also help eliminate swelling and soreness.

Dylan Downing, CHS football player, track sprinter and junior, said using these services helped him recover from an ankle injury he suffered during his football season last year.

Downing said, “The local cryotherapy helped out with my ankle injury a lot by getting the swelling out of my ankle. The first part of the healing process is to eliminate all of the swelling before the ankle can start reconstructing, and so the local cryotherapy really helped out with that.”

Komarovsky said that a big part of his job involves identifying the newest post-recovery technology out there that he can provide for his customers.

Komarovsky said, “One of the neatest parts of our job is paying attention (to) the latest recovery tools available. Our goal is to always offer the best combination of services to our members. For example, the Game Ready Rapid Contrast machine offered to our members gives the opportunity to stimulate blood flow to any injured area.”

Post-recovery treatment was also beneficial for long distance runner and senior Ben Baines, who deals with Patellar tendinitis, otherwise known as jumper’s knee.

Baines said, “Post-recovery has really helped with it because usually I’ll do full-body cryotherapy to help my muscles feel better, and then I’ll do the local cryotherapy on my knees, which helps target the area in my knees by getting it cold, and then I’ll do the NormaTec which will help get some blood flowing through that area, and the compression really helps with the healing process.”