Running into other players at top speed is hard enough without cutting recovery time in half. Thursday night NFL games – called a ‘poopfest’ by Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman—present a challenge to players and coaching staffs as they try to prepare in three days rather than the standard six.

Critics, like Sherman, claim that the quality of play suffers when teams are left with less time to prepare a game plan. And though the NFL is quick to point out that injury rates are no greater for Thursday games, players also complain that for a league ostensibly concerned with safety, playing while fatigued heightens the risk of injury.

Most teams don’t care to officially comment on the difficulties of playing on Thursday instead of the usual Sunday, but don’t confuse that silence for ignorance. It isn’t that NFL teams ignore the difficulty of playing while still bruised and tired, much of sports science in the NFL is dedicated to monitoring fatigue and optimizing recovery. In fact, the ability to bounce back after a hard practice or game has been recognized as an integral part of success, and a league wide acceptance of technology has been part of this movement.

With improved recovery comes greater training and practice potential, and if that can be achieved, player performance should in theory improve as well. Because injuries, or a lack of them, can have dramatic effects on success, translating recovery into the prevention and recuperation from injury is also critically important.

“Organizations are very aware of the challenges of a short week, so they plan a lot of recovery, with walk-through practices and light workouts with no contact,” says Erik Lorig, a former fullback who played six seasons for the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If not addressed, the accumulation of physical and mental fatigue, without the proper recovery, can negatively influence later performance. According to Fergus Connolly, past director of elite performance for the San Francisco 49ers and author of Game Changer, that process of physical recovery generally takes three days, barely enough for the Thursday game.

Connolly, who now directs football operations and performance for the University of Michigan and Jim Harbaugh, believes that recovery is both a physical and mental challenge. “With less time to prepare, how quickly and efficiently the coaching staff can communicate the game plan – condensed into specific teaching points – is a big part of success for the Thursday game.”

According to Connolly, readiness is a factor for players and coaches alike, “The fatigue of the coaching staff is a variable that many don’t consider, especially that of the offensive staff, where creativity and adaptability are important game day skills.”

While sloppy play has defined many of the Thursday games, the difficulties involved with the short week of recovery might even be more apparent in future games maintains Connolly. “The problem many NFL teams have is not with recovery and performance for the Thursday game, but the following Sunday’s game.”

To the NFL newcomer, perhaps used to the running clock and constant movement of soccer, the game of football seems to consist of inactivity interspersed with brief bursts of intensity. After all, the length of the average play in the NFL is only around give seconds with an average rest between plays of 30 seconds. But football is an intense, physical sport where the players leave it all on the field every week. Players are operating at 100% effort on each play, regardless of position.

Sports medicine staffs have the difficult job of trying to put everybody back together again in time to play the next game, a task that is harder with less rest and recovery time. As the season progresses, virtually every player is banged up, and trainers work hard to reduce the impact of injuries, big or small, on a player’s ability to perform. To do that, players follow a comprehensive recovery approach including sleep, rehydration, nutrition, and the use of recovery technology to facilitate speedy recovery from the extreme stresses of the sport.

Of course, the recovery needs of each player may differ, as linemen may potentially have more contact than skill position players (quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs). The age of the player and amount of playing time also play a role in the amount of recovery needed. “Generally speaking, veteran players have developed very disciplined recovery routines,” says Lorig, “Young players are usually less likely to have a routine.”

“There is a lot of technology dedicated to recovery – everybody is in ice baths and has NormaTec recovery machines (a dynamic compression device used to improve circulation) strapped to them as soon as the game ends – with stuff available even on the plane ride home after an away game,” emphasizes Lorig.

On any given week, half the teams in the NFL are trying to do all of this while on the road, wanting to recover while climbing on planes and living out of hotels. When road teams have Thursday games they likely have less time and space to recover.

The drive to improve recovery isn’t unique to the NFL, as teams and individual athletes have realized that recovery is an integral part of success. “Recovery is important for all athletes, but because football is such a high contact, physical sport, a consistent dedication to proper and efficient recovery is crucial,” says Gilad Jacobs, CEO of NormaTec. NFL teams use technologies like NormaTec to treat acute and chronic swelling, reduce pain and soreness, and as a rehabilitation device if they are injured.

The impact of the Thursday game is likely greater for some teams more than others. “As with many sports science factors, game context is king,” says Connolly, “Early or late in the season, the score of the previous game, and travel are all factors that can influence recovery and readiness.”