At the highest level, ice hockey places repeated stress on the body in ways that are both obvious and invisible. Explosive skating, high-impact contact, and rapid directional changes tax muscles and joints. Just as importantly, constant competition keeps the nervous system in a heightened state.
For Sarah Nurse, a professional forward in the PWHL and a two-time Olympic medallist with Team Canada, performance is shaped as much by how her body recovers as by how it trains.
Research shows that incomplete recovery leads to accumulated neuromuscular fatigue, reduced power output, and slower reaction times over a season. In elite athletes, even small declines in recovery quality can translate into measurable performance loss and increased injury risk.
At this level, recovery is not optional. It is physiological maintenance.
Recovery Starts With Slowing Down.
After competition, the body remains in a sympathetic, high-alert state. Cortisol levels are elevated. Muscle tissue carries micro-damage. Blood flow is unevenly distributed toward areas of acute stress.
For recovery to truly begin, the body must transition back toward parasympathetic dominance, the state associated with tissue repair, circulation normalization, and restorative sleep.
This is where red light therapy becomes relevant.
Photobiomodulation, the scientific term for red and near-infrared light therapy, has been shown to act directly at the cellular level. Specific wavelengths in the red spectrum are absorbed by mitochondria, particularly by cytochrome c oxidase, an enzyme involved in ATP production. The result is increased cellular energy availability, reduced oxidative stress, and improved circulation in treated tissues.
For athletes, this translates to a recovery environment that supports the body’s natural repair processes rather than forcing them.
Recovery in Real Time: From the Rink to the Evening Reset.
Sarah’s recovery routine is built around how professional sport actually works. It is not limited to one moment or one environment.
During breaks and downtime at the ice rink, she uses the Kala Mini 2.0 for targeted recovery. Its compact design allows her to apply red light directly to areas under stress, right where training and competition happen. This kind of real-time support helps manage fatigue before it accumulates, supporting circulation and muscle recovery without interrupting the flow of the day.
Later, recovery deepens.
In the evening, Sarah transitions into her wind-down routine with the Kala Red Light Elite Panel. The panel provides full, consistent red light coverage across major muscle groups, supporting a broader reset after the demands of the day. Used regularly, it becomes part of the body’s signal to slow down, repair, and prepare for what comes next.
Together, the Mini 2.0 and the Elite Panel reflect a complete recovery system. One supports targeted recovery at the moment. The other supports full restoration at the end of the day. Both are designed to work quietly in the background, supporting consistency rather than chasing quick fixes.
Why Kala Belongs in Professional Recovery
At the highest level of sport, trust matters. Athletes choose tools that are proven, dependable, and aligned with how they live and train.
As Canada’s #1 Red Light Therapy brand, Kala has earned that trust by combining science-backed technology with thoughtful, human-centered design. The Elite Panel reflects that philosophy. Powerful enough for professional use, refined enough for daily routines.
For athletes like Sarah Nurse, recovery is not a trend. It is a discipline. It is the work done quietly, consistently, and intentionally between performances.
With Kala, light becomes part of that discipline. A steady presence. A reliable reset. A way to prepare, night after night, for the demands of elite performance.
Recovery does not need to be complicated. It needs to be done well.
