Athletes - CAPE Bionics

Compression Garments – Athlete perception of recovery

April 14, 2025

Research into the effectiveness of compression garments has focused largely on the impact on athlete recovery. Both objective and subjective markers have been used in research and practice to determine the recovery status of an athlete. Objective markers may be performance markers, physiological markers or biochemical markers, whereas subjective markers are feelings reported by the athlete often by using a questionnaire. A recent review comparing objective and subjective measures of athlete well-being, demonstrated that subjective measures reflected training load with more sensitivity and consistency than objective measures. It was concluded that subjective measures may be used with confidence to monitor

Compression Garments for Team Sports – What, When and How?

April 7, 2025

Compression garments have been used by team sport athletes for many years to improve recovery and enhance performance. We take a look into the what, when and how of compression garments for team sport athletes. What garment type, size and compression regime is most effective? Garment Type Research has reported beneficial effects on recovery with various types of compression garments including calf sleeves, tights, shorts, and arms sleeves. A recent study with junior elite basketball players showed that all garment types (shorts, socks, tights) improved venous return, muscle blood flow and muscle oxygenation with full length tights being the most

Enhancing recovery in a busy schedule

March 11, 2025

Multi-day sports events, whether it’s an intense multi-stage cycling race, cricket test match or major football tournament, demand effective recovery strategies to achieve peak physical performance. Unlike one-off races or competitions, the extended nature of these events can lead to cumulative fatigue. Optimising recovery between stages or days is therefore critical to maintaining high performance levels. One way that this can be achieved is through the use of compression therapy – and the research is compelling around its efficacy! Compression therapy works by applying controlled pressure to a select part of the body. This pressure helps improve circulation, reduce swelling,

Why custom fit compression is so important

December 20, 2024

Ever wondered why your compression garments aren’t working? Standard sized (off the shelf) compression garments are proven to provide variable compression and inconsistent benefits. Custom fit compression is the only way to ensure genuine and consistent benefits for every individual. Click on the video below to see why custom fit compression is so important.

Why it’s impossible to achieve accurate and effective compression with standard sized compression garments.

November 28, 2024

For compression garments to be effective, the compression regime must be accurate. Standard sized (off the shelf) compression garments have generic sizes (S, M, L, XL) and individuals are assigned a size based on their height and weight. Given the differences in body shape and size, it is impossible for every individual to receive optimal compression from off the shelf garments. In a popular commercial compression brand, a medium garment is recommended for individuals ranging from 150cm/65kg all the way to 180cm/85kg. Given such a wide range for a single size, it is not possible to achieve accurate and effective

Not all compression garments are the same: The differences between sports compression garments and medical grade custom fit

October 30, 2024

You may think all compression garments are the same, however there are significant differences between standard sized sports compression garments and custom fit medical grade compression garments. The importance of custom fit For compression garments to be effective, it is important that they fit correctly and apply the optimum compression regimes. If the compression is too low then there will be insufficient pressure to affect blood flow, whereas compression levels that are too high may be restrictive and consequently hinder athlete performance and recovery (Wannop et al., 2016). Sports compression garments are sized on measures of height and body mass,

How CAPE’s world leading technology has revolutionized compression

October 9, 2024

In the compression world, accuracy matters. CAPE garments are sized to each individual based on a unique 3D scanning process and our patented design system AutoTailor. This provides the highest level of precision compression regimes for every individual, generating genuine and consistent benefits. Furthermore, it’s quick and easy to prescribe, as it only takes 2 minutes for us to scan an athlete. This is why professional sports teams around the world are now choosing CAPE to provide custom fit compression for their athletes. It’s not just athletes that are choosing CAPE. NASA plans to deploy our technology on orbit to understand how

How can professional football players benefit from custom fit compression?

August 20, 2024

Players may not fully recover between games in such congested seasons, and this may impact performance on the field. Players participating in two or more games per week with less than 4 days recovery are also at greater risk of injury (Alterriba – Bartes et al., 2020). Compression garments are widely used by professional footballers to reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery during the competitive season. However, for compression garments to be consistently effective, it’s important that they fit correctly and accurately. Standard fit (off the shelf garments) which are sized on height and weight, have been shown to provide

Custom fit compression improves player recovery

July 9, 2024

Fixture congestion in team sports reduces time available for player recovery, increases injury risk and can affect player wellbeing. This can reduce a team’s performance over the course of a season and have significant financial implications. In the days following an intense match, reductions in muscle function, increases in muscle damage, and increases in perceptions of fatigue and muscle soreness have been reported amongst players. Muscle soreness is reported to peak around 24-72 hours post competition, therefore strategies to reduce feelings of muscle soreness can enhance player recovery and readiness to train post match. Compression garments can improve player recovery,

Travelling soon? Why custom fit compression garments are so important.

June 3, 2024

Air travel can increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and other circulatory problems due to prolonged periods of reduced mobility. Compression garments have been shown to reduce the incidence of DVT, superficial vein thrombosis and oedema during travel (Clarke et al., 2021). Who should use compression garments for travel? Anyone who undertakes frequent travel such as air crew, athletes, business or recreational travellers would be well advised to use compression garments to maintain health whilst flying. Due to intense competition schedules, many elite athletes are required to travel extensively throughout a competitive season. Therefore, adopting strategies to minimise

When NASA and the European Space Agency call – Cape answers

April 30, 2024

3D scanning allows us to produce highly accurate and beneficial custom-fit compression garments. Scanning is much faster than traditional measuring tapes, it takes more measurements, it is more accurate, and it has a theatre about it that athletes love. We initially used professional scanning units, but soon developed smaller, cheaper, easier and more deployable technologies based on iPads. Our technology is now recognised as world leading. We were recently requested to demonstrate it to the European Space Agency, and trial two of our scanning technologies at NASA in Houston. NASA plans to deploy our technology on orbit to understand how the body changes

Introducing the new CAPE Custom-fit Therapy range

March 12, 2024

CAPE now offers you more garments! Introducing the new CAPE custom-fit Therapy range, with specific garments for rehabilitation, joint stability, exercise recovery and activity for different muscle groups. New programs of multiple garments and regimes have been developed for optimum Grade 2 and 3 rehabilitation, such as ACL surgery. Using an iPad and our own CAPE app, you can 3D scan your clients and offer medical-grade compression that actually works. Why do Physical Therapists love CAPE? Why do patients love CAPE? For more info on CAPE Therapy, please click here: Contact Us – CAPE Bionics

New Year – New Compression

January 18, 2024

With the start of the new year, it’s time to rethink compression. Until recently athletes could only choose retail compression, which means that lots of different players are wearing the same size garments. This means the compression is all over the place, and the outcome is a guess. For example, one size in a commercially available brand is suggested to fit athletes ranging from 150-185cm and 65-90kg! Hill et al. (2015) showed considerable variation in the pressure exerted by commercially available compression garments, and it has also been shown that poorly fitting garments have no effect or even

Can compression garments assist in reducing risk of injury?

December 8, 2023

Compression garments have been shown to improve athlete recovery, but what about injury prevention? We take a look into some of the latest research on whether compression garments can play a role in reducing risk of injuries. What do athletes think about compression for injury? In a recent study investigating lower body compression garment use by athletes, over 500 athletes were asked to provide information regarding their reasons for using compression garments and their perceived benefits (Franke et al., 2021). The primary reason that these athletes used compression garments was to prevent reinjury, with 48% of athletes reporting this as

Introducing Lindsay Trimmings

November 23, 2023

For the past decade, I have worked for Swim England, the National Governing Body for Aquatic sport in England. I was initially employed in the talent development space and more latterly in coach development. Over the past few years, I held the role of Head of Coaching and led the creation of the first strategic plan for aquatics coaching in England. Prior to moving to Swim England, I worked as a swimming and strength and conditioning coach in a private school that ran a scholarship programme for aspiring junior athletes. Swimming was always my passion and whilst I had chosen

“It takes our level of care and player recovery to the next level” Dr Ian McKeown on 3D-scanned compression

November 3, 2023

Dr Ian McKeown, Vice President of Athlete Performance and Wellness, at the Philadelphia Flyers, always wants to make sure his players feel more prepared than anyone else. “We’re covering all bases with them and this is a great tangible example of us giving each individual exactly what they need.” By using 3D scanned compression, each player receives custom fitted garments which apply accurate compression for proven benefits. Dr McKeown emphasises how important this is to professional athletes. “In professional sport, players are all shapes and sizes, they don’t fit standard sized garments. The players love the custom fit of CAPE,

Category: Athletes