The effects of compression garment pressure on recovery from strenuous exercise

Compression garments are frequently used to facilitate recovery from strenuous exercise. Purpose: To identify the effects of two different grades of compression garment on recovery indices following strenuous exercise. Methods: Forty five recreationally active participants (n=26 males and n=19 females) completed an eccentric exercise protocol consisting of 100 drop jumps. Following the exercise protocol participants were matched for body mass and randomly but equally assigned to either a high (HI) compression pressure group, a low (LOW) compression pressure group, or a sham ultrasound group (SHAM). Participants in the high (HI) and low (LOW) compression groups wore the garments for 72 h post-exercise; participants in the SHAM group received a single treatment of 10 minutes sham ultrasound. Measures of perceived muscle soreness, maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), counter movement jump height (CMJ), creatine kinase (CK), C-reactive protein (CRP) and myoglobin (Mb) were assessed before the exercise protocol and again at 1, 24, 48 and 72 h post exercise. Data were analysed using a repeated measures ANOVA. Results: Recovery of MVC and CMJ was significantly improved with the HI compression garment (p < 0.05). A significant time by treatment interaction was also observed for jump height at 24 h post exercise (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed for parameters of soreness and plasma CK, CRP and Mb. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that the pressures exerted by a compression garment affect recovery following exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD), with a higher pressure improving recovery of muscle function.