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, not the actual shape and size of the limb. Consequently, wide variation exists in the degree of pressure exerted by commercially available sports compression garments, and in some cases, this may be insufficient to enhance performance or recovery (Hill et al., 2015).
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., 2022). It was also shown that standard sized garments were no more effective than a sham treatment in facilitating recovery.
What is the difference between sports and medical grade compression?
Research has shown that medical grade compression socks exhibited a small but statistically significant difference in pressure profile compared to sports compression socks (Brophy Williams et al., 2020). The medical grade socks applied a higher interface pressure than sports compression socks. This questions the effectiveness of commercially available sports compression garments in achieving the required pressure and the associated physiological benefits that elite athletes are seeking.
Medical grade custom fit compression for athletes
Professional athletes deserve professional compression. All CAPE compression garments are medical grade compression garments, and are custom fitted to each individual athlete. CAPE garments have been designed based on years of research in the aerospace and medical industry, to provide athletes with the best possible compression garments with a perfect fit and optimum compression regime.
REFERENCES
- 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, 112(2): 187-191.
- 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.
- 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.
