The elastic fabric of these garments is very popular with athletes because it would increase blood flow before training and reduce fatigue afterwards. But a review of the studies found no real benefits
In recent years there has been a growing interest incompression clothinggarments of elastic fabric for wearing on the arms, legs or hips during exercise. More and more often we see athletes, national teams, TV personalities wearing shorts, bodysuits and compression stockings with thegoal of improving performance, speed up recovery e decrease the risk of injury.
Possible benefits
In the medical world, compression garments and stockings have already been used for years for people with insufficient blood circulation, often due to sedentary lifestyle. to prevent blood clots. But in the world of sport is it really useful to wear this kind of clothing? Some small studies, often promoted by the manufacturers of these special garments, have shown how thecompression clothing can bring benefits when worn before training for aincrease blood flowor and thus speed up the heating or during sports activity to better control muscle movementlimit vibrations and increase resistance but above all after the work session because, with increased blood flow, the body would be able to get rid of waste products more quickly.
Doubts about the benefits
Now for a systematic review conducted by an international team he concluded that the‘compression clothing would not bring any benefit, at least as regards post-workout muscle recovery. The researchers, led by the professedr Jnos Ngyesi of the Graduate School Biomedical Engineering of the University of Tohoku, Japan, identified and synthesized data on previous studies, weighing them according to the size of the sample and the methodology followed. Contrary to the results highlighted in individual searches, global analysis of the data suggests that wearing a compression garment during or after training does not facilitate muscle recovery. The data from our previous study also supported the idea that these garments have the ability to speed recovery after a strenuous workout, – said Dr Ngyesi. However, studying the amount of overall data of all the studies relevant to the topic, we did not find any benefit in strength recovery, even taking into account the type of exercise and in which part of the body the compression garment is used. The results therefore seem not entirely clear and new more in-depth studies will certainly be needed to clarify possible and effective benefits. difficult to evaluate the possible advantages of an elastic compression – the comment of Gianfranco Beltrami, vice president of the Italian Sports Medical Federation – because there are many variables related to the method such as the extent of the compression, its duration, the type of physical effort performed. Certainly there are no contraindications to its use and in my experience some athletes practice it because they find a reduction in muscle pain after exertion…. but it could be a placebo effect
June 13, 2022 (change June 13, 2022 | 10:44)
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