Compression gear. Does it work?

Oryx

I have never used compression wear, something about it just leaves me unconvinced, even though I used to suffer from cramping in my calves (I have solved that through nutrition). Plus I never pulled up my socks in school, and the look of compression socks reminds me of the school prefects.

I just wonder if compression wear is a fad? Two reasons for asking this. In a wetsuit (which is tight on my calves) I often cramp. Rarely do my calves ever cramp swimming without the suit.

In the IM this year I met a guy who wore compression tights on his calves for pretty much the whole time beforehand and during his race, had to pull out of the bike leg because his feet swelled up really badly. He blamed the compression on his calves.

It just has me wondering if there is an actual benefit or if it is a placebo which people used because they see other people doing it.

BennyMul

the last number of reports I read said it was a load of ... and purly a placbeo.

in the head or not I have a pair of compression socks and love them after a long hard run,

dont know if I would wear them in a race do.

Izoard

Personally, it works -for the calves at least.

However, you get what you pay for.

IMHO, the Compressport stuff is great, most of the others are decorative....

dx22

Personally they 'feel' like they help...so they do help
A placebo doesnt imply it has no beneficial effect, placebos can be a very effective form of treatment/therapy!

tunney

Define work.

Oryx

tunney wrote: »

Define work.

The amount of work done by, or energy transferred by, a force acting through a distance.

According to advocates of compression wear in testimonials on one particular site:

• optimises my recovery.
• I always suffered from swollen legs before after a long journey and that’s all gone now.
• They provide comfort and support, gone with sore calves thereby boosting my performance
• No cramps
• I recommend them to everybody to improve your performance
• I had no cramps or muscle pain for hours at length
• The compression at the calf was perfect for improved muscle recovery

How much of that is real?

miller82

slightly different, but i use the below for my shin splints. Its a far thicker material, and they are the only thing (physio, excercises, stretches,orthodics) that i feel work on me. I wear them a lot. most days at my desk and always before and after a race



the price of that compression gear is mental

sconhome

Oryx wrote: »

I have never used compression wear, something about it just leaves me unconvinced, even though I used to suffer from cramping in my calves (I have solved that through nutrition). Plus I never pulled up my socks in school, and the look of compression socks reminds me of the school prefects.

I just wonder if compression wear is a fad? Two reasons for asking this. In a wetsuit (which is tight on my calves) I often cramp. Rarely do my calves ever cramp swimming without the suit.

In the IM this year I met a guy who wore compression tights on his calves for pretty much the whole time beforehand and during his race, had to pull out of the bike leg because his feet swelled up really badly. He blamed the compression on his calves.

It just has me wondering if there is an actual benefit or if it is a placebo which people used because they see other people doing it.

Oryx wrote: »

The amount of work done by, or energy transferred by, a force acting through a distance.

According to advocates of compression wear in testimonials on one particular site:

• optimises my recovery.
• I always suffered from swollen legs before after a long journey and that’s all gone now.
• They provide comfort and support, gone with sore calves thereby boosting my performance
• No cramps
• I recommend them to everybody to improve your performance
• I had no cramps or muscle pain for hours at length
• The compression at the calf was perfect for improved muscle recovery

How much of that is real?

A lot of the replies you will get will mostly be anecdotal from people who bought it to sort a problem & are getting relief in some form either directly or coincidentally.

There is a lot of evidence that supports venal return in cases of DVT and varicose vein sufferers which by extension leads to lactic acid flushing & support in athletic performance.

My anecdotes:
I suffer(ed) from cramping calves whilst swimming OW yet never in pool so started using calf guards. Helped, some, but not cured, so started looking at training, bike setup etc. by logically tracking back I figured the issue was to do with 'throwing' out a leg in rougher OW swims as a stabiliser leading to cramping. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't use the calf guards, and I don't train with them at all, just racing.

I do use quad guards. I have a quad running habit coming from quad cycling and the guards give me support. I've started addressing the quad issue & use them less.

I do swear by my compression stocking. Proper recovery compression 2XU or Compressport. After every run session they go on. I find because I'm on my feet all day in work I don't recover properly. The stocking do help me and I don't have tired legs going out the next day. Well worth the money!

IronmanJNR

I feel naked without calfgaurds on ..


also, nicely put amphking +1

peter kern

There is a lot of evidence that supports venal return in cases of DVT and varicose vein sufferers which by extension leads to lactic acid flushing & support in athletic performance.


The first part of your statement is well researched and proven the 2nd part is not proven.
Seems to be mostly proven if the study was paid for by the compresion industry.....
the nice saying never trust a study you did not manipulate yourself comes to mind.

if you use them after training and they keep you warm chances are high that they work, but a lot of researchch comes to the conclusion its the keeping warm more than the compresion that works for healthy people...
At the same time if you think it works they will work but the scientific evidnece is sketchy especially during races and higher intensities

that dosnt mean they cant work for some people. but to say their is a lot of evidence.... is marketing language
at the same time there is a risk in slightly decreased performace using them for some people (ie if too tight)
Everybody should try them but not read those bull **** lables and useles tesimonials just decide for yourself. and like a saddle if you use them the first pair you get might not be the right one as differetn pressures can give different results.

ps the most likely reason why people cramp in the open water is due to the cold irish sea ;-) I totally fail to see how compresion socks could make an improvement when this is the time where the least blood is in your calves due to a horizonatal position ........
so again it would suggest they might help you to keep warmer ;-)
but if compresion socks work while horizonal that sounds like very counter argumentative when most people say they work best when standing long time to prevent to much blood comming down
and in a way a neopren is compresion by itself ;-)
( i have no reaserch for this just trying to apply common sense and could well be wrong )

sconhome

amphkingwest wrote: »

There is a lot of evidence that supports venal return in cases of DVT and varicose vein sufferers which by extension leads to claims of lactic acid flushing & support in athletic performance.

Peter, you are correct and the key bit I missed when typing earlier is inserted above.

As stated there is plenty of anecdotal evidence but zero unbiased evidence to either prove or disprove compression garments.

BTW re the other thread on Boards.ie gear, i did think today of blue Compressport calf guards with the logo on it

Brick Session

Simply put, I felt a benefit from my pair of knee length compression socks from Lidl (6.99) after becoming a Hardman 3 weeks ago.

Dalken

I tried them last winter for shin splints and found they made no difference. What worked was a stretch where u sit down on your heels and lean back for 10 - 15 secs, really gets a good stretch on the inside of the shin but takes a while to get used to, no problems for me there though since I started doing it.

GKiraly

Yep they sure do work, I wear them on my quads all the time now and all my upper leg mid run niggle problems have all but ceased to bother me since I began using them for all my running. Kudos to Compressport!