PowerPlay Athlete Makenna “Kenna” Miller is making waves as a volleyball player for the University of Texas at Austin, a team that’s gunning for a third NCAA championship win after taking the title in both 2022 and 2023.
As an outside hitter, Kenna is using PowerPlay cold compression wraps to help maintain peak performance and minimize shoulder pain and inflammation this season.
“I’m using my PowerPlay shoulder wrap basically every single day if my arm gets tight, and it feels so good”
Warming Up with Compression Therapy
As an outside hitter, Kenna puts a lot of strain on her shoulder during practice and games. This year, PowerPlay’s compression shoulder wrap has been doing wonders for both warmup and recovery.
“I can take the cold gel out, and I feel like the compression is really good if I’m about to go play,” she explains. “Obviously, if I’m about to go warm up, I don’t want to put anything cold on my arm.”
Kenna has also found that by using compression therapy and rotation activities of her shoulder, she’s been able to increase mobility and flexibility before playing.
“Whenever I’m warming up with the compression wrap, I’ll grab a ball and kind of lift it up a little bit as far as I can. After I take it off, it feels so much looser. I can move it around so much more. It’s like when you’re warming up, jumping with bands, and then you take the bands off, and you just feel like you’re jumping so much higher.”
Defending Against Pain and Inflammation
After workouts and practice, Kenna will get back on cold compression to reduce pain and swelling and speed up recovery.
“I recently got done with Summer workouts, and I literally could not even lift my shoulder up above my head,” she said. “I could go get a massage, but I can’t do that every single day. So I’m just gonna lay there with my shoulder wrap and just let it do its thing, and it feels really good afterward.”
Whether she’s at home or on the go, Kenna loves that her iceless battery-powered device is portable and convenient.
“I recently brought it on the plane with me as one of my personal items, and I put it under my seat. It’s really easy. I literally looks like a big lunch box.”
Recovery Culture at UT Austin
As a committed high school and club player, Kenna used to play competitive volleyball practically nonstop. Now, as a college athlete, she’s learning the importance of athletic recovery, and, UT Austin has a strong culture around recovery and injury prevention.
“Our trainer Deanne is super hands-on,” shares Kenna. “Our coaches are like ‘If something hurts in practice, you tell us immediately, and we’re sending you to Deanne.’ I really like that about them because it’s really hard to find coaches like that.”
The team is also no stranger to innovative technology, finding new and creative ways to maximize training and recovery. Each athlete uses a wearable device to track their training load, and that data helps drive team decisions. Some days, when they’re close to their maximum load, practices will be short but intense. Other days, it will take hours to push the athletes as far as they can safely go.
Follow Kenna Miller
You can catch Kenna and the UT Austin Longhorns in action as their 2024 season ramps up. Check out their full schedule here.
Off the court, you can follow Kenna on Instagram @kenna.marie_9.
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