I'm Dr Peter Fowler. I'm a sport scientist, and I co-own The Recovery Project with Amanda Fowler. I write the compression and recovery guides on this site. This page sets out my training, where I've worked and what I've published, so you can judge the advice for yourself.
Qualifications
- PhD, Sport Science, Charles Sturt University, Australia (2010 to 2014). My research focused on sleep and recovery in athletes, including the effects of international and domestic air travel on team sport performance and recovery.
- ESSA Accredited Sports Scientist (Level 2), Exercise & Sports Science Australia.
- MSc, Exercise Physiology (Distinction), Loughborough University, UK (2006 to 2007).
- BSc (Hons), Sport and Exercise Science, First Class, Loughborough University, UK (2003 to 2006).
Where I've worked
I've spent more than 15 years in high-performance sport, mostly on recovery, sleep and travel. The roles most relevant to recovery equipment:
- Australian Institute of Sport, Postgraduate Scholar, Department of Physiology (2009 to 2010). I delivered and supervised athletes' recovery sessions in the AIS Recovery Centre. I also ran an applied project on a medical-grade compression garment and repeat performance and recovery in elite junior basketball players.
- Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Qatar, Research Scientist (2014 to 2018). I established and directed the hospital's Performance Recovery Research Strategy. I was principal investigator on a large international project on recovery from long-haul air travel. I consulted to teams and athletes in the English Premier League, the Rugby Sevens World Series, rugby league, the NFL, cycling and motor racing.
- Professional football in Australia, as sport scientist with North Queensland Fury (2010 to 2011), Newcastle Jets (2011 to 2012) and Western Sydney Wanderers (2012 to 2013).
- Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Sports Science Intern (2007 to 2009), working with academy players from under-8s to under-23s.
- Queensland University of Technology, former Visiting Research Fellow. I supervised and mentored higher degree research students.
- The Recovery Room, Sunshine Coast. Amanda and I opened a sports recovery centre that provided recovery, sleep and education services to elite and recreational athletes. Through it I consulted on recovery, sleep and travel to clients including McLaren Racing and AFC Bournemouth.
The Recovery Room could only help people who could get to it. That's why we started The Recovery Project: to make good recovery equipment and honest recovery education available anywhere in Australia.
Research and publications
I've published 29 articles in international peer-reviewed sports science journals and two book chapters, mostly on sleep, travel and recovery in athletes. A few that shape how I think about recovery:
- Janse van Rensburg DC, Jansen van Rensburg A, Fowler PM, et al. Managing travel fatigue and jet lag in athletes: a review and consensus statement. Sports Medicine. 2021;51:2029-2050. A consensus of 26 researchers and clinicians.
- Field A, Harper LD, Chrismas BCR, Fowler PM, et al. The use of recovery strategies in professional soccer: a worldwide survey. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2021;16:1804-1815. A survey of 80 practitioners from 13 countries.
- Fowler PM, Knez W, Crowcroft S, et al. Greater effect of east vs. west travel on jet lag, sleep and team sport performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2017;49:2548-2561.
- Duffield R, Fowler PM. Domestic and international travel: implications for performance and recovery in team-sport athletes. In: Kellmann M, Beckmann J (eds). Sport, Recovery and Performance: Interdisciplinary Insights. Routledge; 2017.
I've presented invited symposia at the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport (Monaco, 2017) and at World Sleep (Vancouver, 2019). My full publication list is on ResearchGate. You can also find me on LinkedIn.
How I write about compression boots
I sell compression boots, so you should know the rules I hold myself to:
- Research first. Every scientific claim links to a published, peer-reviewed study. Where the evidence is weak or mixed, I say so, even when that's inconvenient for us.
- Official sources for competitors. Other brands' prices and specs come from their own Australian websites, with the date I checked.
- No fake testing. I don't claim lab testing we haven't done.
- Who it suits, not "we're the best". If another product fits your situation better, I'll tell you.
My honest position on compression boots is simple. The research shows modest, mostly short-term benefits for how your legs feel. The effects on performance are small or absent. That makes boots a useful addition to sleep, nutrition and sensible training load, not a replacement for them.
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