Compression garments used by athletes
Much of the research on the benefits of lower extremity compression garments (CGs) has focused on their impact on post-exercise recovery and performance improvement. Since less is known about why athletes actually use CG, how often they use CG, and the perceived benefits of using CG, this study will focus on which athletes use CG, why athletes use CG, when they wear CG, and injury and injury prevention injuries, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether CG is used in the case of injuries.
This cross-sectional study will include
512 athletes who used CG of the lower extremities participated in this cross-sectional study. Athletes completed a questionnaire about the type of CG they used, when and why they used it.
Their participation in sports, past and current sports injuries, and perceived benefits of using CG were reported.
Results.
88.1% of the athletes were endurance athletes and 11.9% were non-endurance athletes. Endurance and non-endurance athletes reported running (84.7%) and steeplechase (24.6%) as their primary sports, respectively.
The most used CG was compression socks, which were found to be used by (59.2%) 47.5% to prevent re-injury and 14.5% to reduce the symptoms of sports injuries.
Other purposes were primary prevention (13.6%), post-exercise recovery (14.3%), improving sports performance (8.8%), and looking good (0.2%).
The prevalence of sports injuries among the participants was 84.2% in the past and 20.2% among those who were currently injured. The most common sports injuries were shin and tibia injuries. 90% of the participants reported that CG was used in the following situations: during training (56.8%) and competition (72.9%), with the aim of preventing re-injury, and to help prevent secondary injuries.
Franke, T.P.C., Backx, F.J.G. & Huisstede, B.M.A. Lower extremity compression garments use by athletes: why, how often, and perceived benefit. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 13, 31 (2021). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-020-00230-8
Summary
This study reported that many athletes wear some type of compression garments and feel good about wearing them.
What are the benefits of compression wear? For those who are wondering what the benefit of compression wear is, the purpose of compression wear is to prevent muscle vibration and reduce impact on the ground during exercise, but this is a theory that has not been proven to be causal. However, this is a theory that has not been proven to be causal. Therefore, since this theory does not prove that it can prevent injuries, the following explanation is considered to be the most promising.
The physiological benefits of wearing compression wear can be explained by the difference in serum CKC and lactate levels, and the fact that the compression easily stimulates blood flow, but this is also theoretical and does not seem to prove causality.
However, since the results of the study also show a "real" feeling, the benefits of wearing the product are explained, so there is no need to be negative about wearing the product unless you don't like it without a theory.
One limitation of this study is that the compression wear was provided by a single manufacturer, so it may not be possible to draw the same conclusions for other manufacturers because of comparisons with others and the possibility that the reported pressure may be different from the actual pressure.
