When recovery isn’t just physical: trauma, stress, genetics and nutrition in practice

In performance and rehabilitation settings, outcomes often vary more than expected. Two people can follow the same programme, yet one recovers efficiently while another experiences prolonged inflammation, disrupted sleep, persistent pain sensitivity or recurring performance blocks. This keynote explores how stress physiology, nervous system state and nutrigenomic variation can influence resilience, tissue repair and recovery capacity. It will outline how chronic sympathetic activation may affect inflammatory signalling, cortisol regulation, oxidative load and pain perception, while common gene variants can shape individual responses to stress, training load and recovery demands. The session will also consider how earlier experiences, repeated stress exposure and inherited family or cultural patterns can influence how the body responds under pressure. Designed for physiotherapists, sports clinicians and multidisciplinary teams, it translates nutrigenetic and nervous system insight into practical awareness that can sit within existing rehabilitation and performance frameworks.