Fitness: Compression clothing might fit the bill

Jill Barker, The Gazette 

Fitness: Compression clothing might fit the bill

Angelo Battista runs in compression socks on the track at McGill University. Some athletes say wearing them leaves their legs less tired after a workout.

John Mahoney / The Gazette

The endless pursuit of the perfect performance is matched only by the endless pursuit of the perfect training aid. Some of these gadgets, gizmos and potions work. And some don’t. And some fall somewhere in between, showing promise but with little in the way of science to back them up.

Compression clothing falls into that last category. Worn by a variety of athletes, including basketball, baseball, football and soccer players, as well as runners, cyclists and triathletes, compression clothing comes in the form of socks, T-shirts, tights and sleeves – all of which are designed to fit tight enough to affect blood flow.

The snug fit isn’t like that of a pair of skinny jeans. The kind of tight found in compression clothing is designed to enhance blood flow and stabilize the muscles, which in turn is alleged to improve exercise performance, endurance and recovery between workouts.

The idea was borrowed from medically prescribed compression socks (often referred to as support hose) that were originally designed to reduce the risk of blood clots and ease the discomfort of varicose veins. Using this same principle of enhanced circulation, the athletic community designed its own brand of compression clothing, but pitched it to athletes as a performance booster. Compression shorts hit the market in the mid 1990s, but the market took off in the early 2000s

To qualify as compression clothing, the pressure exerted on the muscles has to be enough to speed up blood flow. In most cases, the pressure is graded: Tight at the extremities, compression eases along the length of clothing as it moves closer to the heart.

Does it work?

Some athletes think so. Anecdotally, there seems to be a general belief that compression clothing aids in recovery and reduces post-exercise muscle soreness. Wearing socks or tights during an extended or high-intensity bout of exercise and leaving them on for several hours afterward has reportedly left legs feeling fresher the morning after.

Compression socks are also popular among some endurance athletes who believe that wearing them after a long competition will reduce the risk of blood clots (deep leg thrombosis) associated with spending long hours post competition sitting in a car or plane.

The number of studies on these claims isn’t overwhelming. Nor are the studies consistent in their findings. Lower blood-lactate levels (a byproduct of high-intensity exercise) has been noted in athletes wearing compression garments, which suggests an improved ability to recover from the stress of a long or tough workout, but the body of evidence is still too sparse for an unequivocal endorsement.

Heart rate, aerobic power and the level of perceived exertion have generally not been affected by the use of compression garments, either, despite claims otherwise.

As for assertions of improved performance, almost all relevant studies failed to support the claim that compression clothing helps athletes run faster, jump higher or exercise longer. And in those few studies where performance gains were noted, the subjects were moderately trained athletes whose performance improvements were slight. Among elite and well trained athletes however, the results have been inconclusive.

There is some data showing the ability to maintain vertical jump height after exercising while wearing compression clothing, which suggests their ability to reduce the time to muscular fatigue. But there needs to be more corroborating research before it can be definitively stated that compression garments preserve muscular power.

It’s worth noting that some of the published studies didn’t blind the athletes to the experimental procedures, which leaves them open to experiencing a placebo effect. And not all studies use garments that boast the same grade of compression, which further hampers the ability to compare one set of results to another.

So who do you believe? The manufacturers who sell the product, the athletes who wear it or the scientists who test it?

Why not try it yourself?

Buying a pair of compressions socks may be worth the investment (socks sell for about $60 a pair), if claims of a quicker recovery and less post-exercise soreness have some merit.

But keep in mind that declarations regarding enhanced performance, added muscular power and improved circulation may be overstated.

And then there is the comfort factor. Some people don’t like wearing tight clothing. But without the compression effect, the garments are indeed more like your skinny jeans than a piece of technical sportswear.

Many of the garments come in low, medium and high grades of compression. Since there is no science stating that tighter is better, feel free to choose a degree of compression that feels the most comfortable.

If you do want to try some of the more popular brands (Skins, CEP, Zoot, 2XU), take a close look at the product information and be wary about paying for something that may or may not get you to the finish line before the next guy.