Category: Athletes

The effects of compression garments on performance and recovery have been widely researched over many years. So, what is the current research telling us about the effectiveness of sports compression garments, and what is the future of athletic compression wear?     Recovery   Research has shown that compression garments worn during recovery may assist recovery of power, strength, and endurance, as well as muscle damage and feelings of muscle soreness. These findings have been supported by the results of recent meta analyses (Brown et al., 2017, Hill et al., 2014) in which the findings of many research studies were analysed collectively. 

Compression garments have been widely used by soccer players for many years. We take a look into the demands of the game, competition schedules and how compression garments can assist soccer players with performance, recovery, and busy travel schedules. Demands of professional soccer The physiological demands of a professional soccer match are high. It has been reported that professional soccer players on average cover 10-12 km during a game at various different intensities (Di Salvo et al., 2013). On average, during a high-level soccer game, players engage in physical activities of high intensity every 60 seconds and can perform up

With the Paralympic Games underway, we look at the research into the benefits of compression garments for Para athletes and discuss the advantages of custom fit compression garments for these athletes. Compression garments are widely used by athletes as a way to improve performance and recovery and minimise the negative effects of travel. Extensive research has been conducted with able bodied athletes and a few key studies have focused on the effects of compression garments specifically for Para athletes. The circulatory benefits of compression such as improved venous return, an increase in stroke volume and cardiac output can have benefits

Wearing a compression garment is a bit like getting a localised, encapsulating hug from an item of clothing! But how tight should that ‘hug’ be? Well, it turns out that pressure measurement underpins the science of solving that puzzle… Direct pressure measurement Direct pressure measurements typically involve placing some form of force or pressure sensor between the compression garment and the surface of the wearer’s skin (in the case of on-the-body measurements), or between the compression garment and the surface of the replica/model body or body part (in the case of off-the-body measurements); see Figure 1. In this way, we

Wearing a compression garment is a bit like getting a localised, encapsulating hug from an item of clothing! But how tight should that ‘hug’ be? Well, it turns out that pressure measurement underpins the science of solving that puzzle…   Pictured above: Andreas Mogensen in the SkinSuit. Image Credit: European Space Agency   There are various end-uses for compression garments, including sport, therapeutic medicine, and even future spacesuits. While the context of use and functional purposes of these ‘garment’ types are varied, they all share a common aspect in that they apply a force (in Newtons) directly to the surface of the