How do recovery boots and pants work?

Regardless of whether you are recovering from a hard workout or want to get fit again after a day of competition: the recovery phase after sport is at least as important as good training preparation. Innovative massage stockings, so-called recovery boots, can help you get fit again quickly and increase your performance.

In addition to active recovery methods such as a nutritious diet or stretching exercises, the mechanical massage of the Recovery Boots contributes to a performance-enhancing regeneration phase. In this article we will explain more about how the boots work and also look at how science thinks about them.

This is how recovery boots work

Sports massages are a popular means of rapid regeneration, both in professional sports and for recreational athletes. The massage after exercise loosens the muscles and removes metabolic waste products that accumulate during hard training. This shortens your regeneration time , for example or reduce the risk of inflammation .

Recovery boots work on a similar principle. They consist of different air chambers that inflate at different intervals depending on the program. This creates a pressure wave that travels from your feet to your upper body, massaging your legs.

dr Martin Mrugalla, a specialist in orthopaedics, rheumatology, physical and rehabilitative medicine, describes the function of recovery boots as "a movement of blood [...] towards the center of the body, which is triggered by the external increase in pressure".

If the treatment continued, liquids such as lactate and other metabolic products would also be discharged from the muscle cells and transported to the liver or kidneys and excreted. We can observe similar effects as when swimming or diving, because the pressure of the boats promotes blood flow, which helps oxygen and nutrients to be better transported to the cells and tissues.

Depending on the recovery device, there are different programs that differ in the amount of pressure applied and the type of chamber filling (sequential and wave-like).

For example, with the Reboots One Recovery Boots and Pants 2.0 you can choose between six different programs that differ in the number, order and pressure of the inflated chambers. With the Reboots Go Recovery Boots you have four different programs to choose from. You can find out more about the different settings and possible uses in our Reboots application guide .

Recovery Boots: That's what science says

In science, the following assumptions in particular have been examined so far. By using recovery boots:

  • rapid regeneration is possible.
  • are you more flexible
  • you have less sore muscles after training.

Get fit faster with Recovery Boots

In order to investigate whether recovery boots enable faster recovery, many studies have measured the bLA (Blood Lactate Concentration) value before and after recovery boots use. The result: a faster recovery from the application could be proven.

The bLA value indicates how high the lactic acid is in your blood. With any exercise, your body produces lactic acid as waste, which slows down muscle recovery. So the lower the level of lactic acid, the faster your muscles can recover.

Greater mobility and less sensitivity to pain in the muscles

Another benefit of using recovery boots is better mobility . Studies have been able to confirm greater mobility by measuring the range of motion of the knee before and after the massage with the boots. The study showed that the range of motion could be significantly increased by the mechanical leg massage of the boots after training.

Another study deals with the pain sensitivity of the muscles . As in previous studies, the use of recovery boots in training sessions was compared before and after use. In this study, the pain threshold of the participants was measured. This means that the point at which the participants perceive a stimulus as painful was recorded. The pain sensitivity of the muscles could be demonstrably reduced by using the machine massage with the boots.

Size M, L or XL? If you are unsure about the size of the reboots, you will find detailed instructions here !