Effects of Exercise Compression Stockings on Anterior Muscle Compartment Pressure and Oxygenation During Running: A Randomized Crossover Trial Conducted in Healthy Recreational Runners

Abstract

Background Exercise compression garments have increased in popularity among athletes at all levels during the last 10 years. However, the scientific grounds for this are unclear. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of wearing exercise compression stockings (CS) on the anterior compartment pressure, oxygenation of the tibialis anterior muscle, and early blood biomarkers change for muscle damage during a 10-km treadmill run in healthy subjects. Methods Twenty healthy subjects completed two identical treadmill runs, with or without CS. The subjects were randomized regarding the order in which the sessions were performed. Intramuscular pressure (IMP) and muscle oxygenation in the one leg were continuously measured before, during, and after running sessions. Blood samples were collected just before and directly after these sessions and analyzed for myoglobin and creatine kinase concentrations. Results The use of CS during running resulted in significantly higher IMP (by 22 ± 3.1 mmHg on average) and lower tissue oxygenation index (by 11 ± 1.8%) compared to running without CS ( p < 0.001). In addition, the Δ change in median serum myoglobin concentration measured before and after running was significantly higher when CS were used: 58 (9‒210) µg/L as compared to 38 (0‒196) µg/L with no CS ( p = 0.04). No difference in post-running early serum creatine kinase concentration was observed between using CS and not using CS. Conclusion Wearing exercise CS during and following a 10-km treadmill run elevated IMP and reduced muscle tissue oxygenation in the anterior compartment of healthy runners. Furthermore, the use of exercise CS did not prevent early exercise-induced muscle damage, as measured by serum biomarkers.

Putting the Squeeze on Compression Garments: Current Evidence and Recommendations for Future Research: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…The vast majority of studies (n = 53) reported no effect of compression on heart rate [2, 5, 7-9, 13-15, 27, 35, 47, 49, 50, 52, 56, 64, 87, 92, 94, 97, 99-108, 114, 115, 117, 123, 124, 126, 127, 131, 135, 136, 148, 156, 162, 163, 165, 171, 177-183], while 12 studies [22,31,36,119,122,132,133,164,173,175,176,184] reported positive effects of compression, and three studies [14,166,185] reported negative effects. Blood pressure was largely not influenced by compression, with seven studies [106,107,123,156,162,165,186] reporting no change and only two studies [122,173] reporting a positive effect. There is some evidence to suggest compression garments positively influence cardiac output, with three studies [106,173,176] reporting positive effects of compression and two studies reporting no effect [15,156].…”

“…Muscle oxygenation, often used to reflect changes in peripheral blood flow, was largely not influenced by compression, with ten studies [15,22,49,56,100,104,107,108,127,187] reporting no change and seven studies [9,104,122,133,136,156,188] reporting a positive effect. In addition, two studies [35,186] reported negative effects of compression on muscle oxygenation. Of the 11 studies investigating arterial blood flow, six studies [22,104,106,162,176,178,184] reported positive effects of compression, while three studies [107,109,156] reported no effect and one study [189] reported a negative effect of compression.…”

Eficácia das meias de compressão no desempenho e na recuperação do exercício: revisão narrativa

“…A maioria dos estudos não relatou alteração nas medidas de creatina quinase (CK, principalmente medida no plasma) 7,25,26 com exceção de uma redução moderada na CK com o uso de meias de compressão durante uma competição de triatlo meio Ironman 13 . No entanto, deve-se notar que a CK como uma medida de dano muscular induzido pelo exercício é questionável, uma vez que é influenciada pelo status do treinamento, parece inespecífica para a zona danificada e é considerada mais precisa para estabelecer a ocorrência de dano muscular do que a magnitude de tais danos 26 .…”

“…Brazilian Journal of Health Review, Curitiba, v. 7, n. 1, p. 7202-7216, jan./feb., 2024 Isso pode oferecer algum valor prático para atletas que procuram acelerar a recuperação após o exercício. Além disso, um aumento significativo na concentração de mioglobina foi encontrado em corredores recreativos usando meias de compressão até o joelho durante uma corrida submáxima de 10 km em esteira; embora sem qualquer desempenho ou medidas de resultados perceptivos registrados, não está claro como isso afetou os participantes 26 .…”

“…Também, foi sugerido que existe uma relação linear entre a mudança relativa do índice de oxigenação tecidual (TOI) e o nível de compressão aplicada externamente (em mmHg), o que justifica investigações adicionais. No entanto, estudos mais recentes usando protocolos de exercício prolongado relataram resultados conflitantes nessa área, com nenhuma alteração na perfusão do tecido muscular ou na captação máxima de oxigênio durante uma corrida com polainas de compressão 29 e uma diminuição significativa no TOI muscular durante uma corrida em esteira com meias de compressão até o joelho, coincidindo com um aumento significativo na pressão intramuscular no músculo tibial anterior 26 . Conforme discutido por Rennerfelt et al 26 esses resultados mais atuais não sugerem que corredores saudáveis obtenham benefícios circulatórios com o uso de roupas de compressão Brazilian Journal of Health Review, Curitiba, v. 7, n. 1, p. 7202-7216, jan./feb., 2024 durante exercícios prolongados.…”