Compression Garments Reduce Soft Tissue Vibrations and Muscle Activations during Drop Jumps: An Accelerometry Evaluation

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the effects of wearing compression garments on joint mechanics, soft tissue vibration and muscle activities during drop jumps. Methods: Twelve healthy male athletes were recruited to execute drop jumps from heights of 30, 45 and 60 cm whilst wearing compression shorts (CS) and control shorts (CON). Sagittal plane kinematics, ground reaction forces, accelerations of the quadriceps femoris (QF), hamstrings (HM) and shoe heel-cup, and electromyography images of the rectus femoris (RF) and biceps femoris (BF) were collected. Results: Compared with wearing CON, wearing CS significantly reduced the QF peak acceleration at 45 and 60 cm and the HM peak acceleration at 30 cm. Wearing CS significantly increased the damping coefficient for QF and HM at 60 cm compared with wearing CON. Moreover, the peak transmissibility when wearing CS was significantly lower than that when wearing CON for all soft tissue compartments and heights, except for QF at 30 cm. Wearing CS reduced the RF activity during the pre-, post-, and eccentric activations for all heights and concentric activations at 45 cm; it also reduced the BF activity during post- and eccentric activations at 30 and 60 cm, respectively. The hip and knee joint moments and power or jump height were unaffected by the garment type. Conclusion: Applying external compression can reduce soft tissue vibrations without compromising neuromuscular performance during strenuous physical activities that involve exposure to impact-induced vibrations.

Whole leg compression garments influence lower limb kinematics and associated muscle synergies during running

“…Both of them are hip flexor muscles, we then speculate that the decrease in peak hip flexion angle and the increase of peak hip extension angle during the stance phase may be related to the decrease of flexor muscle activation weights in SYN6. On the other part, in a prior study, wearing CGs resulted in a decrease in thigh muscle activation during landing, while concurrently increasing the measured damping coefficient at the thigh (Deng et al, 2021). The author proposed that a portion of muscle activation during the landing phase serves the mitigating the soft tissue vibrations caused by the impact, and CGs may aid in this process, consequently leading to a reduction in thigh muscle activation.…”

“…For instance, a study have reported that wearing CGs led to a reduction in hip flexion angle and an increase in stride length during sprinting (Born et al, 2014); in a study of female athletes, CGs were found to reduce only hip abduction angle in the drop vertical jump task (Zamporri and Aguinaldo, 2018). However, previous studies have not found that CGs immediately affect kinetics during activity, such as joint force or power (Wannop et al, 2016;Deng et al, 2021). Some studies found no significant performance improvement in jumping (Berry and McMurray, 1987;Ali et al, 2010), running (Vercruyssen et al, 2014), or sprinting (Atkins et al, 2020) with CGs.…”

“…These inconsistent results may be due to the different types of CGs used, varying in structure, fabric, pressure, etc. While CGs did not affect muscle strength acutely, it did reduce the EMG activities and maintained similar power output during repetitive muscle contractions (Born et al, 2014;Deng et al, 2021). Researchers have therefore attempted to understand the effects of CGs in terms of proprioception and neuromuscular control.…”

Ankle biomechanics of the three-step layup in a basketball player with chronic ankle instability

“…Prior research, both domestic and international, has predominantly concentrated on dissecting and explicating the kinematic and mechanical attributes of the lower extremities, encompassing the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Such studies have formulated optimized movement patterns for diverse actions through a thorough examination of pertinent indicators 38 . However, there remains a dearth of inquiries into the impact of CAI on the ankle joint biomechanics during basketball players’ execution of the three-step layup.…”

Compression Sportswear Improves Speed, Endurance, and Functional Motor Performances: A Meta-Analysis

“…For example, the use of lowercompression sportswear reduced blood lactate, blood flow, and heart rate during endurance exercises [6][7][8]. Further, participants wearing waist-to-ankle tights showed more efficient movement executions (i.e., greater muscle activations in the agonists and less hip flexion angle during sprint performances [9] and wearing compression sportswear might modulate soft tissue movements (i.e., reduced muscle oscillations) attenuating excessive impact forces [10,11]. Presumably, these physiological and biomechanical effects of compression sportswear positively influenced an individual's perceptual pain and fatigue [12].…”