Improve Athletic Performance with IV Therapy from Vida-Flo

Athletes who are committed to improving their overall performance know the importance of hydration and the role it plays in their ability to train effectively. From assisting your body with effective energy consumption to replacing lost essential nutrients, and preventing issues like muscle cramps and fatigue. Today we’re sharing how you can improve athletic performance with IV therapy, to help you train safer and recover faster.

How Dehydration Impacts Athletes

IV therapy for athletes is not a new concept. In fact, it is a tool utilized by a range of athletes in a wide variety of sports. When you are pushing your body to perform at its peak on a regular basis, you need to adequately support it. A lesson learned by our very own Dr. Aubert, who in the midst of a CrossFit competition was experiencing severe muscle cramps and feeling drained. He was, “…hooked up, and within 30 minutes, I was back. My soreness and cramps were relieved and my drive to continue was re-exerted.”

The trick to remaining hydrated, however, comes in the form of prevention. It is recommended that athletes consume lots of fluids before, during, and after athletic performance exercising. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty. Thirst is not a reliable indicator. In fact, feeling thirsty is a sign that you are already dehydrated and have lost more than two percent of your body weight in fluids. Dehydration means that the amount of blood in circulation is reduced in terms of volume. This decreased volume leads to:

• Headache.
• Weakness.
• Dizziness.
• Irritability.
• Nausea.
• Muscle cramps.
• Exhaustion and fatigue.
• Reduced athletic performance in general.
• Decreased amount of blood pumped by the heart with each beat.
• Reduced amount of oxygen reaching the exercising muscles.
• Reduced removal of exercise byproducts from the circulation.

Therefore, adequate hydration is vital to reduce the risk of heat injury in athletes during performance training and competitions. To identify dehydration, an athlete should monitor:

• Body weight: every kilogram lost during a workout requires nearly one and a half liters of fluids to adequately rehydrate the body. It is therefore important to weigh before and after exercise.
• Urine color: Dark gold urine is a sign of dehydration. Pale lemonade-colored urine is a sign of proper hydration.

Sports Drinks vs. IV Hydration

Sports drinks are a popular choice among athletes, used to provide energy and replace lost nutrients. They typically contain 6 to 8% carbohydrates, helping to maintain blood glucose levels even when muscle glycogen stores are reduced. The sodium present in sports drinks helps maintain or restore blood volume during exercise training and recovery. Thus improving exercise capacity and performance!

The ideal fluid replacement drink should:

• Taste good.
• Maintain body fluids.
• Promote rapid fluid absorption from the stomach and intestines.
• Provide energy during intense physical training.
• Should not cause gastrointestinal discomfort.
• Should not cause distress when consumed in large volumes.
• Should contain a small amount of sodium and electrolytes.
• Should not be carbonated or contain caffeine.

That said, intravenous (IV) hydration provided at Vida-Flo has all the characteristics of the recommended ideal fluid replacement drink. IV hydration provides the body with large volumes of fluids intravenously ensuring 100% absorption and avoiding the discomfort of ingesting large volumes of fluids orally. Vida-Flo provides 1000 mL saline solution bags with various electrolytes called Lactated Ringer – equivalent to drinking 2.5 gallons of water.

Additionally, during physical exertion, the sympathetic nervous system takes over, which shunts blood from the digestive organs to the skeletal muscles so that more blood flow is available, where you need it. During these times, it is difficult for your digestive system can’t work efficiently and drinking isn’t able to replenish correctly. This is yet another reason why IV hydration is extremely valuable in the athletic performance environment.

Improve Athletic Performance with IV Therapy

The impact that IV therapy has on an athlete’s body is impressive, nodding to the reason it is so widely popular – even utilized by top athletes. By adequately rehydrating your body, you’ll notice improvements both during training and the recovery process. In addition to replacing lost essential nutrients, IV therapy will boost your metabolism and promotes the efficient consumption of energy. Increasing your lean body mass and enabling you to recover faster! It will also help minimize inflammation and pain. Additives, such as glutathione, vitamin C, and other antioxidants thought, will promote wound healing and reduce oxidative stress that leads to soreness and fatigue. All in all, IV therapy will help you get back to doing what you love, better, faster, and safer.

Ready to improve athletic performance with IV therapy? Make sure to take advantage of our Monthly Membership! It includes three packages, for one to three IV therapy treatments per month. Which comes with a 1000ml IV Fluid with three (3) Essential Gains and Oxygen Service. Plus, get 50% off all additional gains and treatments – like Zinc & Magnesium for faster muscle recovery. Learn more when you visit our website or contact us directly to book an appointment at one of our Middle Tennessee hydration clinics!