Earth & Performance Series - Grounding & DOMS

Written By Robert Iron Shell

We now transition to another crucial domain of electrical grounding—performance. This area initially sparked my interest in grounding and inspired the establishment of my platform, The Grounded Athlete. While the name suggests a focus on athletes, I perceive athleticism as inherent in everyone. Humans evolved over millions of years for movement.. Our bodies are optimized for walking, running, jumping, throwing, and climbing. Our anatomy, from bipedal gait and opposable thumbs to powerful leg and gluteal muscles emphasized this evolutionary adaptation.

Physiologically, our cardiovascular system excels in oxygen transport and supports sustained aerobic activity. Bones and muscles adapt to mechanical stress and grow stronger with regular physical demands. Movement is thus a fundamental human need crucial for physical and mental health which can reduce chronic disease risk and enhance quality of life.

My athletic journey began as a sprinter, eventually expanding into Olympic Weightlifting and amateur mixed martial arts. Grounding significantly contributed to my longevity in track and field—a sport known for repetitive, high-impact stress leading to frequent injuries such as shin splints, stress fractures, IT band syndrome, and tendonitis.

Initially plagued by overuse injuries, I encountered grounding through a podcast featuring Clint Ober. Intrigued, I integrated grounding into my warm-ups, cool-downs, sleep, and even work breaks. Remarkably, grounding virtually eliminated my foot pain, hamstring tightness, and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), while notably improving training intensity and recovery.

Exercise-induced muscle damage involves structural disruption of actin and myosin during eccentric contractions. This damage triggers calcium influx, activating enzymes that degrade damaged muscle fibers, prompting inflammation and oxidative stress. While necessary for muscle repair, excessive inflammation can prolong recovery and impair performance.

In a 2010 study by Brown, Chevalier, and Hill, grounding's impact on DOMS was comprehensively evaluated. Eight healthy individuals performed eccentric calf exercises designed to induce DOMS, with half of them grounded and the other half serving as controls. Extensive evaluations included blood analysis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spectroscopy, and subjective as well as objective pain measures.

Grounded subjects demonstrated notable physiological advantages: lower white blood cell counts, indicating a reduced inflammatory response; decreased neutrophil and lymphocyte levels, signifying moderated immune activity; less depletion of bilirubin, suggesting enhanced antioxidant protection; and significantly lower creatine kinase levels, indicative of reduced muscle damage.

MRI spectroscopy results revealed improved metabolic conditions in grounded subjects, characterized by lower ratios of inorganic phosphate (Pi) to phosphocreatine (PCr). This suggests more efficient energy metabolism and less mitochondrial stress. Additionally, grounded subjects exhibited significantly higher levels of glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC) and phosphorylcholine (PC), reflecting optimized lipid metabolism and greater cellular integrity.

Crucially, the grounded group experienced significantly lower subjective pain ratings and greater tolerance to pain in objective measures compared to the control group. This reduction in pain aligns with diminished inflammatory and oxidative responses.

The researchers concluded that grounding uniquely accelerates recovery and mitigates DOMS, marking a critical advancement in athletic performance and recovery methodologies. Grounding effectively supports our natural athletic potential, significantly enhancing the body's ability to manage physical stressors and inflammation.

Grounding is more than a passive intervention.. it actively optimizes our physiological and biochemical responses to physical activity. By reducing inflammation, improving antioxidant capacity, and mitigating muscle damage, grounding promotes faster recovery, improved athletic performance, and overall physical resilience.

We’ll keep the discussion going in the next part of this series.

As always, if you’re interested in learning more about grounding, check out Earth & Water.

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