Athletic Compression Stockings- Do they work ?
The Effectiveness of Compression stockings- Research review update
It’s pretty common to see many athletes, particularly runners and cyclists training in Compression stockings hoping to get some extra performance or reduce pain. But are they effective ?
A recent research review published in the Open Access Journal of Sports medicine attempted to answer this question.
What they found when the looked at about 183 studies on this issue is that there is little evidence that they increase athletic performance by such things as improving your lap time etc. They is some weaker evidence that they help muscle recovery the next day but not much to say they reduce discomfort whilst you are competing.
If you are training in winter environments there is some benefit in keeping you warmer whilst still be very light and we have good reason to think they don’t do any harm or pose any risks. There doesn’t seem to be much affect on blood flow despite some manufactures making these claims.
In a nutshell if you find compression garments comfortable to compete in and you find some benefit in wearing compression garments you should continue to do so but they may not be the secret weapon that some clothing manufactures claim.
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