When it comes to recovery, wellness, and living an optimized life, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. We’re all unique — genetically, biologically, and emotionally. That means that not every technology, therapy, or supplement will work the same for everyone.

A personalized approach requires curiosity, discernment, and documentation. Whether you’re an athlete recovering from injury, someone bouncing back from illness, or simply looking to thrive as you age, you must become your own best advocate and data collector.

Let’s break this down into three areas you should continually evaluate:

1. Technology: What’s Out There and What Works for You?

The recovery and longevity space is evolving fast. From wearable biofeedback devices to shockwave therapy, red light therapy, or hyperbaric oxygen chambers — it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Example:

  • Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) has been shown to effectively treat tendinopathies and musculoskeletal injuries (Speed, 2014).
  • Near-infrared light therapy has evidence supporting its benefits for tissue repair and reducing inflammation (Leal Junior et al., 2015).

📌 Tip: Identify what resonates with you. Attend local recovery centers, wellness expos, or clinics offering trials. Document how you feel pre- and post-therapy. Over time, you’ll see patterns.

2. Therapies & Clinicians: Who Do You Trust to Lay Hands on You?

Recovery is as much about the practitioner as the practice. Whether it’s acupuncture, chiropractic care, frequency therapy, or muscle activation technique — the right hands and energy matter. First, interview and do some homework on the individual who is working on and with you. If they are experiencing trauma, poorly managing life, or worse, this can hinder and be counter productive to your own wellness.

Energy Transfer:
When a clinician lays their hands on you, there’s an exchange. Research has shown that the therapeutic alliance (the trust and connection between patient and provider) directly influences outcomes (CE Institute).

🧘 Key Point: Vet your clinicians. Ask:

  • What is their personal wellness journey?
  • Are they energized and grounded or burned out?
  • Do they listen to you and adjust, or just run a generic protocol?

Document what modalities truly help. Just because a friend swears by acupuncture doesn’t mean your body responds the same way.

*Pro Tip: Get your clinicians talking to each other and even start an email or text chain for collaboration and thorough understanding of your recovery. They can then work together for your benefit. This is how the pros get back in the game faster!

3. Supplements: Test, Observe, and Track

The supplement market is booming — collagen peptides, NAD+ boosters, colostrum, mushrooms, nootropics — you name it. But more isn’t better if you can’t identify what works.

Example:

  • NAD+ supplementation has shown promise for healthy aging and cellular repair (Pub Med).
  • Colostrum can support gut health and immunity (Pub Med).

📝 Best Practice: Try only one new supplement at a time. Note changes in energy, sleep, digestion, or mental clarity. Keep a simple journal or use a bio-tracking app. See our partners for our trusted science and personally tested products.

Your Personal Protocol: Document Everything

At the end of the day, becoming your own N-of-1 experimenter is key.

  • Keep a wellness journal: What you tried, when, and how you felt.
  • Cross-reference with any lab work or biomarker tests. See our 10X Health and Thorne Partners
  • Be open to change — your needs will evolve with age, stress, and lifestyle. This is a moving target. Have fun with the journey and pay attention to how you feel.

🔑 Remember: What worked for you at 30 might not work the same at 50. Stay curious, keep testing, and always advocate for your unique path to optimized living.

Ready to create your personal protocol? Keep asking: “Does this work for me?” — and you’ll stay ahead in your journey to recover, thrive, and live optimized.