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, however for garments to be effective it is essential that they fit correctly and apply the correct compression regime. Research has shown that standard sized (off the shelf) compression garments provide variable levels of compression and inconsistent benefits (Hill et al., 2015). Custom fit compression garments are individually sized to every player and are proven to improve player recovery by 10% compared to off the shelf garments (Brown et al. 2021).
For professional teams wanting to improve player recovery between games, custom fit medical grade compression is the only compression to maximise recovery and performance for every player.
To learn more about how custom fit compression can improve your players recovery, contact us.
REFERENCES:
- Brown, F, Jeffries, O, Gissane, C, Howatson, G, van Someren, K, Pedlar, C, Myers, T, and Hill, JA. (2022): Custom-fitted compression garments enhance recovery from muscle damage in rugby players. J Strength Cond Res. 36(1): 212-219
- Hill, J., Howatson, G., Someren, K., Davidson, S., & Pedlar, C. (2015). The variation in pressures exerted by commercially available compression garments. Sports Engineering (Springer Science & Business Media B.V.), 18, 115-121.
