With the start of the new year, it’s a good time to consider whether you are getting the most of out of your compression garments.
Athletes have been using compression garments for many years to optimise recovery and performance. Until recently the only options available to athletes were commercially available, off the shelf garments, sized based on height and weight. These garments are not made to specifically fit each individual athlete. For example, one size in a commercially available brand is suggested to fit athletes ranging from 150-185cm and 65-90kg!
With such a large size range, it is impossible for every athlete to receive the correct level of compression. This was clearly demonstrated in the study of Hill et al., 2015 which compared the pressure exerted by 3 different brands of commercially available compression garments. There was considerable variation in the size of the subjects within each garment size meaning that all subjects did not receive the same level of compression from the same sized garment. It has been reported that poorly fitting garments have no effect or even a detrimental effect on recovery (Wannup et al., 2016) which is why correct fit is so important.
More recent research is suggesting the use of custom fit compression garments for elite athletes to account for differences in body shape and size (Brophy Williams et al., 2020). A recent study comparing custom fit compression garments against standard sized garments, showed that the custom fit garments improved strength recovery and markers of muscle damage in Rugby players compared to standard sized garments (Brown et al., 2020).
Over the past few years, CAPE have been providing many elite athletes with medical grade, custom fit compression garments based on a 3D scan. By taking exact measurements from the 3D scan and using CAPE’s own Auto Tailor program designed by aerospace engineers, CAPE provide garments that are tailored to each individual athlete to ensure that they receive the optimum level of compression to maximise recovery and performance. Many elite sports teams are now choosing CAPE, including the 2021 AFL Grand Final Winners Melbourne Demons.
To read more about why elite athletes need custom fit compression, click here to read our white paper.
REFERENCES:
1. Brophy-Williams, James W. Fell, Shona L. Halson, Cecilia M. Kitic & Matthew W. Driller (2020): Pressure gradient differences between medical grade and sports compression socks, The Journal of The Textile Institute, DOI: 10.1080/00405000.2020.1730664
2. Brown, F, Jeffries, O, Gissane, C, Howatson, G, van Someren, K, Pedlar, C, Myers, T, and Hill, JA. (2020): Custom-fitted compression garments enhance recovery from muscle damage in rugby players. J Strength Cond Res.
3. 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.
4. Wannop JW, Worobets JT, Madden R, Stefanyshyn DJ. (2016) Influence of Compression and Stiffness Apparel on Vertical Jump Performance. J Strength Cond Res. 30(4):1093-101.
