Muscle recovery is always a worry, whether you’re a weekend warrior or a professional athlete. Keeping your muscles from getting sore after a workout lets you return to your activities and training faster and keeps you more comfortable. If you want to work out longer, you must give your muscles time to heal. Suppose your muscles are allowed the time for recovery. In that case, you will see the effects of your workouts much better than if you do not allow time for your muscles to recover. Consider muscle recovery like sleep for the body. If you get enough sleep, your whole day can go well, but if you don’t get enough sleep, bad things could happen. Proper rest allows for higher alertness and stamina.
It’s hardly surprising that much research focuses on muscle recovery, with several items claiming to speed up the process, reduce discomfort, and cut the time it takes to rebuild your muscles after strenuous training sessions.
Compression clothing is an example of one of these items. Athletes and other active people who want to recover faster use compression clothing.
What Exactly Are Compression Garments?
Compression garments are tight-fitting articles worn on various body areas that provide compression. Though other materials are utilized, they often comprise a spandex and nylon combination.
There are different levels of pressure in compression clothing. A doctor usually prescribes higher levels of stress for medical use.
In sportswear, compression garments improve performance and expedite muscle recovery.
Compression Garments Types
Medical compression garments are used to help people get better after surgery or to help people with poor circulation. On the other hand, athletic apparel compression garments are designed to be worn alone or as part of an outfit to cover the majority of your body. Some sleeves merely cover a portion of your body.
Sports compression garments come in a variety of styles, including:
Tights with a total length
Sleeves for the knees
Pants three-quarter length
Shorts
Sleeves for the knees
Sleeves for the calves
Shirts with long and short sleeves
Socks
Four sleeves
Do Compression Clothes Help Muscle Recovery?
Before you use compression garments or muscle recovery, you need to know if they are effective for this goal. There are numerous claims to investigate. However, encouraging data supports the use of compression clothing to aid muscle rehabilitation. Understanding what causes muscle discomfort and which compression garments can help is also a good idea.
Make time to rest and heal. Working out the same muscles too quickly can damage the tissue and slow muscle growth. Muscles usually need 24 to 48 hours to mend themselves.
The Source of Muscle Pain
Exercise is supposed to generate minute tears in your muscles as a natural process that builds new muscle fibers, making you stronger and faster. Muscle pain may be caused by an inflammatory response caused by these tears.
The length and intensity of your workout will determine how much muscle pain you feel afterward; this is called DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness.
Pain from an injury, such as a sprain or muscle strain, is distinct from normal muscular pain. While those injuries necessitate medical treatment, delayed onset muscle pain can be addressed at home. DOMS typically has its maximal effect 48 to 72 hours after your workout.
Sharp pains, sprains, swelling, or prolonged pain may indicate something more severe and necessitate medical attention. Consult a doctor if anything looks out of the ordinary with your muscular pain.
What Science Has to Say
Compression clothing can help with muscle rehabilitation, according to numerous hypotheses. Using compression clothing for repair has been shown in studies to have clear benefits.
According to the evidence, compression garments provide the following advantages:
May Decrease Muscle Damage: Compression garments have been demonstrated to lower a biomarker of muscle damage called creatine kinase (CK) following exercise. When CK levels go down, it takes longer to recover because more waste metabolites must be removed, and muscle tissue needs to be fixed.
Decrease Pain and Inflammation: Compression clothing help reduces both pain and inflammation after a workout.
Reduce Soreness and Fatigue: Two meta-analyses found that wearing compression garments reduces post-workout leg soreness, muscle fatigue, and exercise-induced muscle damage. The researchers contend that an increase in blood and lymphatic outflow is to blame for these effects.
Helpful for a Wide Range of Athletes: A 2017 meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine investigated whether compression garments are helpful for recovery in various workout modalities, such as strength, power, and endurance performance after an initial bout of resistance, running, or non-load-bearing endurance exercise.
Resistance training provided the highest clear recovery advantages from compression clothing, followed by cycling, allowing for next-day performance increases, according to the study.
When worn post-workout, it promotes recovery: Most evidence suggests that wearing compression garments for muscle rehabilitation is best done immediately after exercise. According to conflicting data, their usage during training needs to be fully supported.
Additional advantages of compression garments that may improve performance include: Several athletes wear compression clothing to help them perform better. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to support this practice. Most studies show that wearing compression clothes does not affect performance.
Increase Upper Body Strength Recovery Times: According to a 2014 study, wearing compression clothing can aid in the recovery of muscular strength following resistance training. This effect was more noticeable in the upper body. 10 After exercise, the recuperation time ranged from 3 to 8 hours.
Decrease Muscle Vibration and Improve Muscle Control During Particular Activity: Compression clothing may benefit athletes like alpine skiing by reducing muscle vibrations and increasing control.
Further research is needed to determine whether or not there is a definite advantage.
Here are some suggestions for selecting compression clothes that are appropriate for you.
Any compression level is acceptable: According to research, the actual compression level makes little difference in muscle healing, so choose whichever level of compression you desire.
Sport-specific: If you primarily engage in jogging, cycling, or similar cardiovascular endurance exercise, a lower-body compression garment makes sense.
Particular aches and pains: If you frequently feel muscular discomfort in a specific body part, such as your calves, investing in a sleeve for that area is a sensible investment.
Support vs. adaptability: Certain compression garments provide more support and compression, while others are more flexible. Before deciding whether or not to wear the apparel while exercising, examine the type of exercise, you will be doing. Running and other activities may require more flexibility than weightlifting and yoga.
Additional advantages include: You should look for compression clothes that provide extra benefits, such as moisture-wicking, breathability, or pockets.
Alternative Methods for Muscle Recovery
There are numerous different strategies to assist your body in recovering after exercise. You can experiment with several approaches. Here are a few examples:
Active recovery employs low-intensity activity following a workout to keep blood flowing to needy tissues, giving nutrients and blood to the areas to reduce inflammation and speed healing.
Ice bath therapy, known as cryotherapy, employs ice to relieve muscle pain and inflammation.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen operate by reducing inflammation and pain. Before taking over-the-counter drugs, including NSAIDs, always consult your doctor.
Sports massage therapy can help relieve inflammation and stiffness by increasing muscle blood flow.
Finally, compression clothing is a good way to speed up muscle recovery after exercise, reduce soreness, and get back to your exercise program sooner. There are many options, depending on your workout type and which parts of your body you think need recovery the most. Listen to your body, get rest, and recover when necessary. Speak with a healthcare practitioner if any pain appears intense, long-lasting, or unusual.