More Men Turn to IV Therapy for Workout Recovery, Performance, Endurance, and Optimal Health
Reduced muscle pain, improved athletic performance, more frequent workouts, increased energy and mental clarity . . . these are just some of the results our most athletic patients share with us after they’ve had IV therapy. These individuals want to recover from hard workouts more quickly so they can hit the gym, road, track, or bike lane sooner. It’s no wonder Google searches for IV therapy have doubled in the past five years.
Delivered directly into your bloodstream, IV fluids provide immediate access to hydration, vitamins, electrolytes, and amino acids that soothe the stress to muscles. These critical micronutrients even fuel the energy produced by the mitochondria of your cells, eliminating fatigue and soreness. Micronutrients in food and supplements must be absorbed by your digestive system, a process that can take 24 to 48 hours. Long-distance runners covering 26.2 or even 50 miles don’t want to wait days to make the pain go away. Their intravenous fluids wash through them, relieving pain and building muscle fast.
Of course, IV therapy is inappropriate (and often illegal, depending on the organizer’s anti-doping rules) before any official event. Our athletes use it to complement training by helping improve recovery outside of official competitions.
How IV Fluids Balance Intense Training’s Stress on the Body
The benefits to intense exercise are so numerous, our healthcare providers are begging us to get our heart rates up at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Dedicated athletes are hitting the gym, the track, and the road far more than that.
As healthy as rigorous exercise can be, it does cause stress to the body. An intense workout causes inflammation and tiny tears in the muscle tissue. When the body repairs these tears, it builds muscle. Still, it takes adequate protein in the system to perform this muscle repair.
By selecting IV fluids that contain key amino acids (the building blocks of protein) like L-glutamine, L-arginine, and L-carnitine, you speed recovery. These substances stimulate your growth hormone so you can build new, stronger muscle cells. They also help fuel testosterone.
It’s not just muscles that need to be brought back into working order. One of the reasons muscles and joints hurt after strenuous exercise is that the sweat has depleted the vitamin levels. An intense workout can take three to four liters of sweat out of the body over one hour, carrying with it not only toxins but micronutrients as well.
The vitamins and minerals most at risk for depletion are:
- Sodium and Chloride: the right balance of these nutrients not only help you avoid fatigue and muscle cramps, they support blood volume and pressure so that lactic acid gets carried away efficiently.
- Potassium – potassium works with sodium to maintain electrolyte balance, muscle contraction, nerve transmission, and osmotic pressure. Athletes with calcium deficiency have reduced energy and endurance.
- Magnesium – this mineral supports several metabolic processes that optimize exercise and performance, including energy formation, storage, and use. Even low-level magnesium deficiencies can worsen the negative side effects of strenuous exercise, eventually reducing performance. Athletes with magnesium deficiency complain of lethargy, muscle twitches and cramps, and dizziness.
- Calcium – adequate levels of calcium underlie skeletal and smooth muscle contraction, nerve conduction, and energy production within our cells.
Practices have different vitamin, mineral, and amino acid cocktails. When you tell the practitioner your goals and condition, he or she will make tailored recommendations to get you feeling better and back in your workout clothes fast.
IV Fluids for Overall Health
Each individual is metabolically and biochemically unique. Some people are more efficient at absorbing and processing certain vitamins and minerals than others. When an individual is deficient one or more, various diseases and discomforts can result. When an issue can be resolved with low-impact vitamin and nutrient supplements, patients can avoid harsh medications that often come with side effects. If you are considering IV therapy, the best way to balance your body accurately is by getting a simple blood micronutrient test first. Once deficiencies are determined, you can begin raising your micronutrient levels with the best foods or supplements. Monitor your health after these gentle treatments. If more intervention is required, going the western pill route is always an option.
Even those who eat a well-balanced diet may have an “idiosyncratic” or unique issue in the gut that prevents them from absorbing a certain nutrient.
Further, micronutrient needs change with age, a changing diet, or the adoption of a new medication. Lifestyle habits like smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity also impact available vitamin and nutrient levels. Knowing your micronutrient levels is the first step in giving the immune system the fuel it needs.
I encourage those interested in using IV therapy to support overall health and disease prevention to have micronutrient testing done to assess cellular function and overall physical wellness. Deficiencies not only suppress the immune system, they speed the aging process. They can also underlie diseases like Alzheimer’s, celiac disease, obesity, arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and more. We find that 50 percent of our patients who get tested for micronutrient levels are deficient in one or more areas.
Are Your Friends Getting IV Therapy on the Sly?
They might be!
In the past five years, the number of “IV therapy” searches on Google has doubled. Med spas are reporting a surge in reservations for at-home and clinical IV treatments during the pandemic. Not only do patients want to boost their immune systems, they want to feel more energized and hopeful, too. They find IV therapies help them reach these goals.
While IV therapy may seem unusual to you now, keep in mind that vitamins in pill form were only invented in 1935, and didn’t become widespread until the 1950s. Today, celebrities Simon Cowell, Joe Manganiello, Miley Cyrus, Chrissy Teigen, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna all readily admit to using IV therapies to look younger, feel more energetic, reduce muscle cramps and improve overall health and immunity. If you would like to explore what IV therapy can do for you, feel free to call 303-973-3683. You can also ask your questions on our online form. We’ll be sure to get back to you by the next business day.
If you would like to explore what IV therapy can do for you, feel free to call 303-973-3683. You can also ask your questions on our online form. We’ll be sure to get back to you by the next business day.
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