Effect of compression garments on delayed-onset muscle soreness and blood inflammatory markers after eccentric exercise: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how compression garments, applied after eccentric exercise, can affect delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and inflammatory markers. Sixteen healthy male university students enrolled in this study and were randomly assigned to either the compression garment group (CG, n=8) or control group (CON, n=8). All participants performed two sets of eccentric exercise using elbow flexor with 25 repetitions per set on a modified preacher curl machine. Maximal isometric strength was measured before exercise and immediately, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr after eccentric exercise. Muscle soreness was measured before exercise and 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr after eccentric exercise. Creatine kinase (CK) activity and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels were also measured before exercise and 3, 6, 24, and 48 hr after exercise. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis. The CG group reported faster recovery of maximal isometric strength following exercise (P<0.001) and lower muscle soreness during the recovery period than the control group (P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in either CK activity or TNF-α levels between the two groups (P>0.05). In conclusion, wearing compression garments during the postexercise period can be an effective way to reduce DOMS and accelerate the recovery of muscle function.

Advances in Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) – Part II: Treatment and Prevention

“…Wearing compression garments during the post-exercise period has been shown to be an effective way to reduce clinical symptoms of DOMS and to accelerate the recovery of muscle function, strength and power recover at a faster rate with the use of compression garments [32,33]. Some previous studies reported that compression garments reduced muscle oscillation and stabilized the array of muscle fibers during the recovery period, which could ease the mechanical stress on tissues [34,43,44]. Continuous wearing of compression garments (18 -21 mmHg) during the inflammation phase of DOMS (60 h) showed a premature normalization of muscle stiffness in the gastrocnemius muscle assessed with acoustic radiation force impulse [45].…”

“…Further reductions in CK levels have been reported, which have been attributed to an attenuation in the release of CK into the bloodstream, improved clearance from the circulation and enhanced repair of the damaged muscle tissue [33,47]. However, the exact underlying mechanisms remain unknown, as no study of the use of compression therapy during recovery has shown an impact on inflammatory markers or a clear relation between regeneration and applied pressure or wearing time [32,34].…”

Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative Review

“…Dealing with fatigue during a match and the recovery after the match are both vital to the performance of athletes. Research have proven that CGs promote fatigue recovery after exercise (Kim et al, 2017;Machado et al, 2018;Nguyen et al, 2019;Pérez et al, 2019). Govus et al (2018) tested 32 elite cross-country skiers for blood lactate, creatine kinase, urea, countermovement jumping (CMJ) height, and perceived muscle pain before and after competition.…”

“…Nowadays, high-tech compression garments (CGs) (e.g., compression clothes, shorts, and socks) are becoming increasingly popular among sports elites and enthusiasts. Meanwhile, the physiological benefits of CGs in enhancing athletic performance have been widely recognized, i.e., improvement of fatigue recovery ( Brown et al, 2017 ), promotion of blood flow ( Privett et al, 2010 ), regulation of blood lactate and creatine kinase levels ( Kim et al, 2017 ), and the enhancement of muscle functions (e.g., reducing muscle vibrations and activation) ( Broatch et al, 2019 ). Aside from the aforementioned advantages, CGs have also been commonly used and have shown potential benefits in winter racing sports ( Sperlich et al, 2013 ; Chowdhury et al, 2015 ; Moon et al, 2016 ), including speed skating, short-track speed skating, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton.…”

Promoter Polymorphism (−308G/A) of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-α) Gene and Asthma Risk: An Updated Meta-Analysis

“…Previous studies revealed that tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) is implicated in pathogenesis of asthma. TNF-a gene encodes a multifunctional proinflammatory cytokine that is versatile and very popular (Kim et al, 2017a). TNF was derived from the ability to control endotoxininduced tumor necrosis gene (Carswell et al, 1975).…”