How Elite Football Is Using Red Light Therapy To Push The Boundaries Of Recovery

At the top level of professional football, the margins are razor thin.

Seasons are getting busier, players are under more physical strain than ever and clubs are under increasing pressure to keep them fit.

Consequently, teams are looking beyond the traditional recovery methods for anything that might help.

Fulham Football Club is one of them, and for its medical team, the answer has come in the form of red light therapy and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) technology from BON CHARGE.

Recovery at the highest level

Tim Maynard, Fulham FC’s Senior First Team Physiotherapist, knows the pressures of modern football as well as anyone.

He puts it plainly: “The current changes in modern football are that with the increases in fixtures, the growing intensity of each match and the enormous pressure to recover quickly is leading to a broader market to get those gains and percentage increases performance-wise as best as we can as a club.”

In short: more games, more demand, and ultimately more pressure to find solutions.

Ben Jenkins, Sport Therapist and First-Team Medical at Fulham FC, echoes that sentiment: “Professional sport is an ever changing beast and, with professional football especially, there is so much pressure as it is arguably the biggest sport in the world.

“So, recovery is massively important. You don’t get fitter through training, you get fitter through recovery.

"If you don’t recover properly and you don’t get better, you don’t win matches.”

How Fulham FC uses red light therapy 

The BON CHARGE Red Light Therapy Blanket and Infrared PEMF Mat (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) are now embedded in the first-team setup at Fulham, marking a significant moment for wellness technology to be integrated at a professional athlete level.

Jenkins explains: “We have introduced the infrared PEMF Mat in to the gym for players to use while stretching to advance their activation and recovery routines.

“Separately, the red light therapy mats and the blankets have been welcomed into the club environment.

(Photo of Tim Maynard, Fulham FC’s Senior First Team Physiotherapist, using the BON CHARGE Red Light Therapy Blanket) 

"They are important for the training ground and the benefit is that they are portable, so the players can take them to hotels for preparation before home and away games, and especially when players go on international duty.”

Maynard highlights how naturally the technology fits into a player’s daily routine. “With red light technology it is accessible and they often will use it while on their bed watching TV, in their downtime or to activate mobility in their hotel room,” he says.

For international fixtures, he adds: “As the players start to go away to their international teams, friendlies or international competitions like the recent World Cup, they will start to use these devices to facilitate their recovery and their performance, so they can deliver on the day.”

How top players are using it

Among the players, the technology has found an organic and enthusiastic following. Both Jenkins and Maynard are quick to highlight the same names when asked who's embraced it most.

“We have Antonee Robinson and Ryan Sessegnon who are actively looking for the equipment to use for home games, away games and international duty,” says Jenkins.

Maynard adds that the feedback has gone beyond simple satisfaction: “There has been positive uptake with the players who have had positive feedback about the usage of the product.

“It was beneficial for those going to the World Cup - to have access to red light technology, as it aided their wellness, recovery and potential performance during that period.”

Emile Smith Rowe, Fulham FC player, added, “The season can be demanding, so recovery is really important. BON CHARGE fits easily into my routine and helps me feel ready for the next session.”

Read More: The Top 5 Benefits Of The Red Light Therapy Blanket

The future of recovery

Both Jenkins and Maynard see red light and recovery technology as an increasing role within the recovery strategies within elite sport.

“We are constantly looking for the next step to get better to add that marginal gain and, with these devices, the players have taken them on board to help them improve their performance and win matches,” says Jenkins.

(Photo of Ben Jenkins and Tim Maynard) 

(Photo of the BON CHARGE Red Light Therapy Blanket that can support recovery, sleep, and wellbeing.)

For Maynard, the broader potential is clear. “This is an important part of where things can be expanded and advanced within elite sport settings,” he says.

“Thinking of the whole elite environment as an ecosystem, red light therapy can facilitate player’s recovery and move aspects of that ecosystem forwards to assist players and the Club with improving their marginal gains, performances or wellness, to deliver on the pitch”

Moving toward the future, he highlights the potential impact of recovery: “Having access to evidence-based technologies is beneficial in having potential influence on future practice.

"As a physiotherapist, the growing evidence base to wellness tools can be beneficial to aiding the player’s recovery and wellness.

“I think starting to explore the avenues of these technologies to help the players is a really important part to unlock that recovery cycle better.”

Read More: Why PEMF Is Having A Moment 

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