Neymar, LeBron James, Thiago Silva: these recovery boots that fascinate athletes

Lying on a comfortable sofa, Neymar enjoyed the victorious evening of PSG (4-1) against Barça on Tuesday, February 17.

An evening identical to that of hundreds of thousands of supporters of the Parisian club.

With one exception: in the photo that the Brazilian star, who is recovering from a left adductor injury, shared on her Instagram account, her legs are not covered with a plaid or a simple jogging, but in a sort of black sleeping bag that completely covers his lower limbs.

In reality, they are boots.

But of a very particular model.

Like many athletes, the Parisian striker has converted for years to pressotherapy: a recovery technique that consists of stimulating blood circulation to relieve the limbs.

Inside the boots, several compression chambers inflate and deflate, starting from the bottom then going up along the legs.

And put pressure on the different parts of the lower limbs.

Neymar shared a photo of his legs in his recovery boots ahead of Barça-PSG / Instagram / Neymar  

"It is an artificial pump which comes in addition to the natural pump of the calf", explains Jean-François Kaux, head of the department of physical medicine and sports trauma at the University Hospital of Liège (Belgium) who devoted a study to the subject. .

“The leg is like a tube of toothpaste.

You start by pressing the bottom to evacuate what you want to leave by the top ”, compares Matthieu Couzy, sales manager of the French distributor of Normatec, one of the major brands of the sector.

In the United States, NBA star LeBron James is one of the earliest followers.

In addition to Neymar, ex-Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, former PSG captain Thiago Silva or French world champion Manchester City, Benjamin Mendy, regularly submit their legs to these boots.

Recently, the opener of the XV of France Matthieu Jalibert and the skier Clément Noël posted photos on social networks showing them using it.

World champion and Manchester City full-back Benjamin Mendy also uses salvage boots.

/ Instagram / Benjamin Mendy  

“I consider that recovery is part of the training, underlines the boxer Souleymane Cissokho, of which Normatec is one of the partners.

I use it at least three times a week.

I sit in the evening with after a session, it allows me to avoid having heavy legs the next day.

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Models over 2000 euros

Prices vary, but overall these boots are expensive.

The German Reboot has a first prize at 699 euros.

In France, Normatec sells its cheapest pair for 1590 euros and has a model for 2390 euros.

"The target is physiotherapy practices, which offer it to their patients, specialized companies or directly top athletes," says Matthieu Couzy.

Those who use them sometimes serve us as influencers on social networks because they will tend to post it on Instagram.

"

But at this price, should we fear a gadget for trendy sportsmen?

“The positive effect of these boots has been demonstrated, it improves venous return and reduces the concentration of lactic acid,” says Jean-François Kaux.

Now, the most effective means of recovery remains manual massage.

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Like the massager gun, these boots are part of a rapidly growing world of economy.

In 2020, the American company Hyperice - owner of Normatec - raised € 40 million in funds from the NBA, NFL and sports stars like basketball player Russell Westbrook, golfer Rickie Fowler and tenniswoman Naomi Osaka.

Objective of the firm, valued at nearly 580 million euros: "to become the Google or the Tesla of recovery".

And it will go through boots.