Compression and you

In our quest to be healthy we often overtrain. This is a fact evidenced by all the sore and aches in the various parts of the body. This happens to people trying to lose weight and also happens to athletes training for events.

So what's this got to do with compression?

The positive effect of wearing the compression clothing may arise due to an enhancement of the motion pattern by increasing proprioception (awareness of own self) and muscle coordination.

Wearing a lower-body compressive garment may reduce muscle fatigue by supporting more active muscles and applying pressure in such a way as to support muscle fibres in their contraction direction.

The favourable effects of compression clothing on the muscle pumping action of the cardiovascular system have led scientists to speculate whether increases in venous return could assist in the removal of blood lactate from exercising muscles. The investigators concluded that the compression stockings were increasing the lactate retained in the muscles, thereby reducing the amount released into the blood.

The small opposing torque may reduce injury by assisting the eccentric action of the hamstrings, eg at the end of the recovery phase whilst running. Further injury prevention may be afforded by compression clothing via the reported reduction in muscle oscillation such as on landing from a jump.

In addition to the above, there is evidence to suggest that compression clothing may improve exercise performance by reducing the impact of hot and/or humid conditions on the body’s thermoregulatory system. It is well documented that heat strain as a result of an elevated core body temperature can cause a reduction in exercise performance. It has been suggested that compression clothing assists the rate of evaporation by facilitating a faster transfer of sweat from the skin to the fabric.

Once there, the sweat can be transported through the fabric and dispersed more quickly and evenly over a larger area allowing evaporation to be maximised. If this is the case then athletes would feel cooler during exercise and perceive the activity as being less difficult.

Conclusion

I'm a through convert and now have several professional grade compression suits in my wardrobe for exercising. Though they are obviously good to use I must caution you guys that good suits like the ZOOT I use can cost upwards USD 150/-.

Hope this article helps you to decide on using a compression suit and prevents a lot of pain and fatigue.