Complementary Therapies for American Footballers

Tom Brady may have officially announced his retirement from the NFL, but his legacy lives on, as does his influence on the way footballers train and recover from injury. In his retirement statement, Brady thanks not only his coaches, but also the doctors and therapists who enabled him to lengthen his stellar career. Brady has always believed that one’s lifestyle is key to physical and mental wellbeing. It was this passion for wellness that led him to write the book, The TB12 Method, which delves into tissue pliability therapy. The latter aims to create soft, resilient muscles that allow them to absorb and disperse force, helping muscles function more efficiently and avoid injury. This is one of many complementary therapies that American footballers can make the most of.

For Brady and many other top footballers (ranging from Patrick Mahomes to Josh Allen), manual therapy techniques such as massage, foam rolling, and stretching all help to create more resilient muscles. A bevy of studies has shown that massaging the muscles facilitates their recovery after exercise; it also speeds up the rate at which they heal. These studies have focused both on massage techniques such as sports and Swedish massage, as well as handgun massage. Patrick Mahomes is known to use a massage gun to accelerate his recovery time and improve performance. If you are seeking to add a massage gun to your arsenal of wellness equipment, read reviews by girls and guys who test massage guns and can give accurate measurements on performance, weight, noise, attachments, and battery life.

Acupuncture reduces inflammation throughout the body, stimulating chemicals that reduce swelling and keep unwanted immune reactions at bay. Pro footballer, Joe Anderson, recently told clinicians from Providence that of all the complementary methods available, his go-to remedies are acupuncture and the Graston technique. The latter is a form of soft tissue mobilization used by chiropractors to break down scar tissue and stretch connective tissues to rearrange muscle, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. Acupuncture, meanwhile, can aid with problems like Achilles tendinitis. This traditional treatment is used both to treat injuries and prevent their recurrence.

Mindfulness therapy and meditation can be a big aid for footballers wishing to reduce stress before a big game. High-stress levels are linked to a greater chance of injury, so approaches such as mindfulness meditation and therapy, yoga, and Tai Chi can all be considered an important part of injury prevention. Mindfulness practice provides a platform for footballers to enter the “flow state” or “the zone.” When they are in this state, they are fully immersed in their performance and their movements and actions are the product of instinct.

Top footballers and elite athletes from a wide array of sports have long hailed the benefits of complementary therapies. These range from cupping to massage, and ancient practices such as mindfulness and acupuncture. Some of these approaches heal the body while others focus more on the mind, and if top footballers know one thing, it is that the union of both is fundamental when it comes to achieving peak success.

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