Compression recovery tights as part of sleep system

Interesting concept. How warm are they for sleeping in at night?

Do they make a hat for the morning after a big night of partying…JK

Have you tried sleeping in them at home? I personally find anything constrictive while sleeping will eventually cut off my circulation somewhere. YMMY

Sleeping in them is basically what they are designed for. They are just as warm as the running tights that I have used for years as my backpacking tights (same thickness, just a tad more compression). They definitely don't cut off circulation–in fact they increase it. This is taken from the Skins website:

"designed to provide engineered gradient compression. When compression is engineered to apply a balanced and accurate surface pressure over specific body parts, it triggers an acceleration of blood flow. This increases oxygen delivery to working muscles to enhance their performance. The circulation improvements also help the body to eliminate lactic acid and other metabolic wastes. The combination of these effects allows you to work at a higher rate for longer."

> When compression is engineered to apply a balanced and accurate surface pressure
> over specific body parts, it triggers an acceleration of blood flow

I have tried wearing compression tights at night in a sleeping bag – once. I got frozen legs. I took them off and warmed up immediately.

What might work during the day to assist with prevent pooling of the lymphatic circulation in your lower legs has the opposite effect at night: it restricts blood circulation through your legs. It can NOT accelerate blood flow: a contradiction in terms.

Mind you, I have never found any need at all to interfere with the natural functioning of my legs. They seem to work just fine without the benefit of someone's patented invention. Funny about that.

The marketing spin sounds great, and the claims for miracles are eloquent. But basically it is SPIN aimed at transferring money from your wallet to theirs.

Come in sucker.

Cheers

As noted, my experience is the same a Roger's, and I also note that the theory/spin behind these garments are to increase blood flow "to working muscles", not resting muscles. There isn't even a theoretical model for them to work like this on resting muscles, although they may minimise fluid retention kinda like flight socks. Either way, they definitely cut off my circulation when I'm not moving.

I'll have to see how my legs feel while sleeping out with them on. I'm also interested in hiking in compression socks, as my only real inhibiting factor when making big miles are tender/swollen feet.

I don't agree that it is spin–there is way too much data out their to dismiss the gains in performance. And it does increase blood flow, though I guess not in the legs but back to the heart. The increase in arterial pressure flushes lactic acid and decreases pooling blood, but the gains are most likely larger while wearing compression clothing during higher intensity activities.

I'll probably wear my recovery tights at home in the evenings after hard workouts and just try to elevate my legs a bit while sleeping in camp.

Sorry to come across so strongly, but when marketing spin threatens walkers' health I do speak out.

> there is way too much data out their to dismiss the gains in performance.
Ah, but how much is 'endorsement' and anecdotal? All of it as far as I have been able to find. And endorsements are always for money. But I welcome any independent research papers.

> And it does increase blood flow, though I guess not in the legs but back to the heart
Sorry, but I think that is dangerous waffle by the vendor. Carried to an extreme you have a tourniquet around your leg, and that does NOT increase blood flow. Half a tourniquet is still a restriction to your blood flow.

You can't increase blood flow back to the heart by restricting its flow through your extremities. Think about it!

> The increase in arterial pressure flushes lactic acid
First of all, lactic acid clears from the blood and tissues (and pH recovers) very quickly after exercise. Just let the blood flow freely back to the liver: don't restrict it.

> and decreases pooling blood
More waffle by the vendor. Blood (or lymph) may pool in your lower legs when you have been sitting for hours on end in an aeroplane, or even on a car seat. Or, for that matter, standing at attention on a parade ground for hours. But when I am lying down in my sleeping bag – hardly!

> my only real inhibiting factor when making big miles are tender/swollen feet.
Now trying to be helpful:
If you get swollen feet it may well be through ill-fitting footwear – generally too tight. The increased internal friction between bones and tendons causes irritation and inflammation.
It can also be due to feet not being fit enough for the load, but you can always fix that with more walking.

Cheers
Roger
(Speaking for myself only, not for BPL)

There are plenty of independent studies that can be found online–some see little to no benefit, others note increased performace, circulation and recovery. You can always read a few before you entirely dismiss compression garments as spin.

And I can get tender feet at mile 25 or mile 2500–it's when my daily mileage gets between 30 and 40 miles that I start to hear my dogs begin to bark.

"There are plenty of independent studies that can be found online–some see little to no benefit, others note increased performace, circulation and recovery"

Could you point us to those? I have scoured peer-reviewed scientific literature and can't find any, except maybe a very slight increase in sprint/explosive performance. Certainly nothing significant to warrant their use in endurance activities or recovery from it. However, science aside, if you feel 'better' wearing them then go for it. A lot of athletes just like the feel of the garments, and there is no doubt a pychological benefit to be had from *thinking* a garment is enhancing your efforts. I admit to sometimes (in winter) wearing a compression top sometimes as a subsitute for a bra. It feels better to not have bra straps under a pack, and the support is superb ;) But I would never dream of sleeping in something so constrictive.

I really didn't intend for this thread to turn into trying to convince people that compression garments are beneficial. However, here are some of the 4,000+ results that I pulled up on google within a few minutes (most deal with jumping, sprinting and throwing, unfortunately not endurance):

–shows little benefit beyond less perceived DOMS:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B82X6-4V9YNYN-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=5f219305dcd75daf93bb64048fea41a6

–shows increase in muscle temperature beneficial to injury prevention and increase in maximal dynamic performance:
http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:GWWu0a0goQoJ:www.bsu.edu/web/jkshim/scholarlywork/garment-kapherd.PDF+compression+garment+sports+performance+studies&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

–shows benefit as recovery tool:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/41/7/409

–shows benefit of lower body compression garment:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a714024221~db=all~order=page

–an article in Globe and Mail states:
"International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance found that 12 cyclists performing a one-hour time trial improved several physiological markers, including muscle oxygenation, when wearing full-length graduated compression leggings. The problem is that their performance in the time trial wasn't affected at all.
n contrast, a forthcoming study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that runners in below-the-knee compression socks ran farther and faster in a treadmill test, but didn't show any change in key physiological parameters such as aerobic capacity.

Part of the problem is that studies are using slightly different garments.

"No one has really figured out the definitive pressure to improve performance," says Aaron Scanlan of Australia's Central Queensland University, the lead author of the cycling study. Even within studies, the garments fit different people with varying amounts of compression."

> –shows increase in muscle temperature beneficial to injury prevention
> 12 cyclists performing a one-hour time trial improved several physiological markers,
> including muscle oxygenation, when wearing full-length graduated compression leggings.
> The problem is that their performance in the time trial wasn't affected at all.

This may well be where any benefit comes in: an increase in muscle temperature does increase physiological performance and recovery. But you could get the same benefits from wearing ordinary thermal longs – as many walkers do in cold weather anyhow. I often wear a bit more clothing for the first 1/2 hr on a cold morning, for the same reason.

In fact, it may well be that the so-called compression garments which gave some benefits are not particularly tight, and were really functioning just as thermal longs. I don't think any of the studies cited controlled for that factor, as Aaron Scanlan apparently noted.

Interesting, but the bulk of the evidence is hardly convincing beyond the warm-up factor. And ordinary thermals are a bit cheaper…

Cheers

"I really didn't intend for this thread to turn into trying to convince people that compression garments are beneficial."

I know, you were merely asking if anyone else had used them as part of their sleep system.

"–shows little benefit beyond less perceived DOMS:"

Ah yes, perception is a tricky thing to measure as it is very much influenced by expectations. No one has been able to find any differences in actual performance in the post-recovery period, in terms of strength or power, lactate or other markers of muscle damage and recovery. The problem is, you can't do a blinded study of this nature as the participants will always know which arm of the study they are in (either wearing compression or not). It's a lot like giving someone a tiny white pill and telling them it will make them feel better and Viola! That's why I advocate you just try it and see if you feel better.

"-shows increase in muscle temperature beneficial to injury prevention and increase in maximal dynamic performance"

In this experiment they used a custom fitted garment consisting of 75% closed cell neoprene and 25% butyl rubber with the thickness being approximately 0.476 cm. That's about a fifth of an inch thick. It is not a "slightly different" garment. "This garment is much more compressive, elastic and impact-absorbing than previously studied compressive garments and may elicit different benefits or detriments to athletic performance." Not too mention a lot warmer.

So essentially they used a wetsuit! Quite different to Body Armor (they actually call it AntiBody)…even then they didn't show it decreased injury, just speculated that it might contribute to a decrease due to rapid warmup (which would happen in a wetsuit). And the increase in jump perfromance was only 5%. Quite important if you are an olympic high jumper, but to a long distance hiker??? Hopefully you'll let us know if your perceived performance increases.

"shows benefit as recovery tool:"

No, they actually said "may help reduce postexercise swelling and reduce perceived muscle soreness and promote greater psychological comfort." Again, they didn't measure this, just speculated. They also cite a more relevant article that measured the effects of downhill treadmill walking where they treated one leg with compression and the other leg without. They found no meaningful differences.

"shows benefit of lower body compression garment:"

Well, the benefit was at the extreme ranges of motion (deep squat and full leg extension), again of little relevance to endurance activity. More importantly they used the same custom fitted 'wetsuit' material mentioned as above, which is nothing like the stuff you're likely to use (nor would you want to as you would sweat like a horse).

No one can say that currently available compression clothing will NOT increase performance or recovery during strenuous hiking. Just saying that there is no evidence that it will make a difference. And those of us that have tried sleeping in restrictive clothing have found it reduces circulation rather than increases it. You'll just have to try it and anecdotally report back to us. But being anecdotal and assuming you are *hoping* it will help, a scientist would still take it with a huge grain of salt.

I would recommend you jump in a cold creek at the end of the day. Not only is this proven to improve recovery, but then you can go to bed clean ;)

As a competitive road bike racer, I've tried several of the fads/current techniques to increase recovery, as that is the main factor that impedes improvement when it comes to racing. The faster you recover, the faster you can have another quality workout. The cold baths afterwards seem to work really well in constricting the muscles and flushing some of the "junk" out, but it is a pain to do after every ride. I now just use a foam roller on my legs (hurts!) and elevate my legs for 10-15 minutes. I seem to recover just fine.

I recently tore my calf muscle and had an abnormal response where my body started laying down calcium instead of connective tissue (heterotopic ossification). The ortho surgeon recommended I try calf compression sleeves to aid in the healing process by keeping my muscles slightly supported and warmer during exercise. They do seem to work (I have only worn one on my injured calf) and I've purposely gone without the sleeve to see what would happen–my calf fatigued and became aggravated quicker. The surgeon thought that I would experience some form of discomfort for the next 1-2 years, so I'll continue wearing the sleeve while cycling and hiking until I feel I don't need it.

On a positive note, the calcification has disappeared on both MRI and Xray, so it seems I've had spontaneous resolution (calcium reabsorbed). I wouldn't go as far and say the calf sleeve fixed me, but it has given me a definite psychological boost that is helping me to stay active. That's worth the $40 I paid for it in my opinion.

Congrats on your recovery. I don't think there's much doubt that compression bandages and clothing have medical and sports benefits, I'm just not entirely (or even slightly) convinced that the currently marketed garments are substantially beneficial to your average athlete (I do not mean to imply that YOU are average, just that most of the folks buying the stuff are just weekend warriors). But if you already own some, then why not try them out as part of your sleep system and see if they work.

A physiotherapist once told me that most support bandages were there a) to minimise swelling and b) to remind the patient to be careful with the injury.

I agree with being mindful of injuries–especially when the injured person is desperate to get back to the fitness level they were at before the injury. It's SO easy to just ignore pain until it is too late, and most elite athletes are very good at ignoring discomfort as that is often what you have to do to win. I've forced myself to believe in the idea that one day spent ignoring pain most likely equals an extra week of recovery.

"I've forced myself to believe in the idea that one day spent ignoring pain most likely equals an extra week of recovery"

Hmmm, I guess that's why many physicians are not too keen to give anti-inflammatories for more than a day or two after and injury. They make it too easy to over-use an injury which needs rest. However, 30-40 mile days are a lot to ask of your body over many days, and it may be that no amount of compression/cold water or whatever will make a big difference with that kind of training intensity.

Hi Lynn.
I will be trying out a compression hoody this summer on a 7 day Sierra trip as part of my sleep system. It offers a 4 oz weight saving if it works. It will be used primarily to keep my torso warm, secondarily my arms, although this is a big question in my mind for the same reasons you and Roger have mentioned. I will report back after the trip. I instinctively feel it would not be such a good idea for my legs. We'll see.

Just to share a non-scientific, anecdotal assessment of Nike's long sleeve compression shirt that I wore last winter: I didn't like it. I assumed that it would function as a thermal base layer, but instead it made me feel colder. Perhaps that was a result of the blood being forced out of the surface capillaries? And then on a sunny day it didn't wick away moisture quite the way I was used to with other fabrics. Given that experience I must say that compression clothing isn't something I'll include in my kit and certainly something I wouldn't be able to sleep in; however, YMMV.

I always thought that compression tights were meant to be worn while exercising not after? Perhaps its like strapping your entire body instead of strapping a joint, e.g. knee to give extra support.

Has anybody tried hiking in them?

"Has anybody tried hiking in them?"

Yup. They work well as long as I'm moving. And they DO suppress some of that jiggling stuff ;)