Recovery Zone
By Elizabeth Hoppe
By Elizabeth Hoppe
Diamond Edge Academy’s new Rest & Recovery Room, known as DR3, completes the spectrum of full health and wellness of sports assessment, training, therapy, and recovery programs under one roof.
There has a been a lot of focus in the past few decades on the importance of the recovery process, whether for an elite or high-performing athlete, the everyday exerciser, or those dealing with chronic pain and inflammation issues. Science continues to provide evidence on just how crucial it has become in order to maintain proper function and to be performance-ready. Famous athletes swear by their recovery regimens and have built legions of believers around their programs. Even athletic wear companies are getting in the game: Under Armour, who happens to also be a DR3 sponsor, just released a line of what it calls Athlete Recovery Sleepwear heralded by big names like Tom Brady and Steph Curry.
The staff at DR3 are experts when it comes to the combination of the science behind recovery, injury treatment, and prevention. DR3 is the only facility of its kind in the Midwest—a recovery center for athletes that also has resources for physical therapy, exercise physiology, athletic training services, concussion management, metabolic testing, strength and flexibility programming, vision and movement training, nutrition, massage, and physicians under the same roof-quite impressive both on paper and in person. DR3 is located inside Willowbrook’s Diamond Edge Academy, an indoor training facility for athletes which also houses the newest addition to the Achieve Physical Therapy clinical portfolio.
“The purpose of recovery is to give your body its best opportunity to function, and to be its healthiest and most efficient for any activity, at any level, from recreational to professional,” says Gina Pongetti, physical therapist and Co-owner of Achieve Sports Medicine and DR3. “Recovery helps your body reach its maximum potential.”
Pongetti had a 14-year gymnastics career, and after retirement, she was an Ironman World Championships competitor. Now she’s a nationally recognized gymnastics-specific and elite sports medicine provider. She and Sam Zagorac, owner and director at Diamond Edge Academy and co-owner of DR3, are equally passionate about the role of recovery in the overall athletic training process, and they wanted to create a place where rest and recovery was as visible and available as training and therapy are to all. Zagorac, Pongetti, and the staff bring Olympic and professional athlete health and wellness research to anyone who they treat.
DR3 is outfitted with the latest technologies to help speed up recovery both in and out of season, and between training sessions. The goal, as well, is to put it as front and center in an athlete’s training regimen as on-field and strength work often are. One recovery focus is through cryotherapy. DR3 has CryoSense Whole Body Cryotherapy, the first cryotherapy unit of its kind that combines the contrast effect of heat and cold. It makes recovery time more efficient, re-oxygenates the body, decreases inflammation, and helps with anxiety and sleep just to name a few benefits. DR3 also offers compression therapy with NormaTec Compression Systems, metabolic testing and body composition analyses using InBody technology, VO2 threshold testing to help determine oxygen and fitness levels, fascial release and trigger point roller therapy, other hot and cold therapies, a full Kinesiotaping center, electrical stimulation for recovery, ultrasound technology, and motion strength and flexibility analyses.
And while many of these therapies are known to the elite athlete, Zagorac likes to make the point that DR3 and the other services at Diamond Edge Academy and Achieve Sports Medicine aren’t just for high-performing athletes; they’re for everyone.
“My overall goal is to surround myself with the very best and provide the very best for everyone from our MLB pitchers to professional triathletes to local student athletes and their families as a whole,” says Zagorac, who’s a former collegiate athlete who started coaching in 1996. He worked for the Chicago White Sox and Bulls/Sox Academy prior to starting Diamond Edge Academy. “For those that are ready to take the next step in their athleticism, whether elite-level adolescents in training, or those ready for the pro or NCAA recruiting process, we have it all here under one roof—simply the best in the business.”
For Hinsdale area families, there’s one familiar face you might see at DR3: Craig Kruse, the head strength and conditioning coach for Hinsdale Central High School. He’s also a physical therapist, former colligate athlete, and current masters athlete. “Trust is so important,” Kruse says. “Coaches and parents need to know their athletes can be taken care of in every aspect, from a sprained ankle to a concussion, and with respect and full communication throughout the process” he adds—and it’s unique to be able to find all of those options in a single facility.
“I’m excited to make this a place where every athlete and active adult wants to be,” Pongetti says. “Our experience as a collective group allows the art of implementing science into lives to far surpass anybody’s expectations.”
DR3 and Diamond Edge Academy host professional athletes from across the country for strength and sports performance assessments for everything from national team gymnasts to Ironman athletes. To learn more, call 630-601-7171 or visit diamondedgeacademy.com.
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