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These items provide groundbreaking orthopedic support with patented product designs. Giving support without having the burden of weight or reduced mobility these items can ease your pain and return your movement and freedom.
How Does Compression Wear Work?
Stated simply, this compression wear has two main positive impacts : 1) it improves blood circulation and 2) it provides extra support to weakened or tired muscles.
Keeping oxygenated blood flowing to muscles is important for performance and a sense of well bing. The more oxygen the cells have, the better they function. During exercise, the body produces lactic acid as a waste product. If this chemical is not removed from the muscles, it causes soreness and decreased ability to perform. Another factor in decreased performance is muscle fatigue. Muscular vibration during physical activity contributes to fatigue. Think about how much shock and vibration is going through your leg muscles as you run or walk over hard surfaces. Over time, those little vibrations of the muscles add up and they become fatigued.
Compression socks and sleeves provide graduated compression (surrounding pressure), meaning the amount of compression is higher (tighter) at the lower extremeties. This type of compression helps to fight the effects of gravity and assist the body in returning deoxygenated blood back up to the heart.
Studies show that with an optimal level of consistent compression, the walls of the arteries will dilate, increasing the blood flow through them. Arterial blood flow has been shown to increase up to 40% during activity and 30% during recovery. This means more oxygen and nutrients flowing through the body!
The walls of veins are thinner than the walls of arteries, as the blood they receive from the capillaries is at a much lower pressure. The walls have fewer elastic fibres and the lumen is wider to allow for easier blood flow. Because of this, the walls of the veins will constrict under compression, which helps to increase the velocity of blood flow through them. Increased velocity of blood flow through veins means that deoxygenated blood and lactic acid will get back to the heart quicker. This helps the rate of recovery. What you feel is reduced soreness. Compression will also help to stabilize the muscle and decrease the amount of muscular vibration, resulting in decreased fatigue.
So are compression socks or sleeves good for minor injuries? All injuries should be assessed so that the real cause can be addressed but wearing compression can help reduce the discomfort associated with things such as shin splits, plantar fascitis, etc. Proper rest, massage, stretching / strengthening, footwear, and progression of training are all integral parts of recovery.
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