ABSTRACT
Most elite athletes participate in demanding training and competition schedules. Natural strategies are seen as modalities that do not require any special devices, such as sleep, nutrition, active recovery, stretching, and spending time in nature, seen as restorative environments. A study investigating the placebo effect of water immersion showed that athletes could be led to believe that a placebo was effective in promoting recovery from high-intensity exercise. Psychological techniques are suggested to counteract distress, increase motivation, decrease anxiety, enhance the ability to cope with stressors, improve a sense of well-being and to reduce training and/or life stress, to ultimately improve recovery and have a positive influence on performance outcomes. Team players of different levels perceive a variety of recovery modalities as important. Furthermore, when given the choice, it seems that athletes chose three components of the rest, ice, compression, elevation principle for recovery. Athletes are often exposed to recovery strategies by their coaching and conditioning staff.
