If you walked into a gym 15 years ago, you would find people exercising in baggy clothes. Loose clothing seemed to be pretty standard; not only for comfort, but to hide areas that needed to get into shape. Today when you go to the gym you would see people running on the treadmill, lifting weights, or doing Zumba in tight work out gear. This tight clothing is known as compression clothing. The snug apparel is made for nearly every part of the body, compression shorts, skull caps, hoods, arm sleeves, shirts, and socks. The trend of wearing snug workout clothes is booming, but more importantly there are medical benefits to this craze.
There are a lot of benefits associated with wearing compression clothing—particularly compression socks (though the other types of compression clothing are useful as well).
Compression Socks
As blood flows up from the feet through the veins, one-way valves assist in preventing back-flow. These valves sometimes become less effective, resulting in backflow of blood and weakening of the vein walls. Compression socks help offset this by applying a firm continuous graduated pressure to the muscles and veins in your legs. It exerts maximum pressure at the ankle to encourage blood to flow up the leg, decreasing compression as it moves higher on the leg. This graduated compression forces the veins to constrict to normal diameter, making the valves function correctly.
In addition to Increases arterial blood flow, which improves muscle efficiency, when circulation is boosted it brings much needed nutrients and oxygenated blood into the legs and feet. Increasing blood circulation throughout your body, which helps boost energy levels and reduce swelling, tiredness, and soreness in your legs and lower body. Athletes often see noticeably improved race times with less overall energy expended and less impact on the body.
Given that most men and women develop venous disorder at some point in their lives, compression hosiery should be used as a preventative measure by many people. At risk people include those who have family members with venous disorders, who stand up at work, or who are pregnant. Because circulation in the legs is increased immediately, compression hosiery has immediate benefits. Compression hosiery quickly relieves the pain and swelling associated with venous disorders, while at the same time preventing more serious problems, such as blood clots in the deep veins. They also support the arch and Achilles, which prevents Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
Compression Shirts and Shorts
Like compression socks, shirts and shorts accelerate blood flow to exercising muscles which delivers oxygen and removes lactic acid. These garments are widely known for helping to keep your muscles warm during your workout, which can help prevent aches and injuries. They also provide muscular support, which combined with improved blood flow from graduated compression, offers strength and less energy being exerted. This gives athletes the benefit of improved endurance and less fatigue and can even help with posture and alignment while keeping the body safe from injuries. Compressive garments accelerate blood flow to exercising muscles which delivers oxygen and removes lactic acid.
Some people have reported that compression shirts and shorts have offered relief from sciatica or back pain. By compressing the sciatic nerve that runs down the outer thigh, it is believed that compression shorts prevent irritation to this sensitive nerve.
These garments help wick away moisture; preventing chafing and rashes. Lack of moisture also keeps you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer and compression shorts in particular are great because they offer extra support in the groin area as well as a cup for men.
An added bonus, there are shorts (tommiecopper.com for example) made with anti-bacterial material, which means even though you’re sweating, you’re less likely to have the undesirable side effect of body odor and some compression clothing is built to offers 50- plus SPF UV protection
Compression for Recovery
Compression is great for recovery. The theory is that compression forces the blood in your legs to flush out the lactic acid built up from racing or working out to improve and speed up your recovery. Compression used for recovery is stronger and tighter than compression that someone would wear to work out in. Compressing an actual injury localizes the swelling, prevents fluid from escaping into the tissue and aids in pain relief. If you don’t compress, you could delay the healing process.
A 2007 study in the Journal of Sports Science showed that wearing compression reduced delayed-onset muscle soreness 24 hours after active males did 10K time-trial runs.
Compression clothing can make someone appear to be more toned. Seeing results, helps motivate people to keep going with their exercise routine. Even if you aren’t an athlete; wearing compression garb may benefit you even during exercise or daily activities.
This featured post was brought to you by our contributor, Amanda.
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