Do Compression Sleeves or Socks Help? (+ Zensah Review)

02. Mar, 2012 6 Comments  Print This Article

If you’ve ever watched an Ironman  triathlon, you will have undoubtedly have seen many of the athletes wearing compression socks or calf sleeves. Long distance runners such as Paula Radcliffe have worn compression socks while running in marathons and have seemed to benefit from their use. For recovery, compression socks and leg sleeves have been shown to truly be beneficial. But for actual performance during a race, the jury is still out. The companies that make the compression calf sleeves and socks state that there are true performance benefits in wearing them either for performance. In terms of science, you can find studies that show some benefits to performance while other studies do not show the effectiveness of compression while running. For healthy, in shape athletes, the effects could be more psychological than anything.

Zensah Compression Leg Sleeve

Over the years compression socks and leg sleeves have been put to the test in dozens and dozens of studies. Tests have been done on subjects who ran, cycled and jumped. Some studies showed benefits during performance while a few showed no perceptible benefits during training.   Most of the studies seem to point to slightly better blood oxygenation and less lactic acid build-up in the leg muscles. Many of the studies showed clear benefits with recovery in the days following and none of the studies showed any negative effects on performance or recovery for healthy athletes.

Some of the positive study results have shown:

   As the run portion of the triathlon is at that end when fatigue and muscle stress are more of an issue, triathletes often do pull on compression socks for the last part of their race. If it helps you to keep on going, it may be worth it.

Product Review: Zensah- Seamless Compression Technology 

As a cyclist and runner with varicose vein leg pain, I started using the Zensah compression leg sleeves and the ache and soreness have been minimized and the sleeves have helped me to be able to run longer without feeling like my legs are “heavy”. They are extremely comfortable and I find myself wearing them on walks, to work and also just around the house.
Zensah compression leg sleeves are designed to help with performance, increasing blood flow to lower legs, reduce recovery time, reduce muscle vibration, provide moisture wicking and pin-point compression to shin and calf muscles.

Why Compression?

Gravity can cause a build- up of fluid in the muscles and surrounding tissue, which increases muscle damage, including micro-tears leading to inflammation. Compression helps with stabilizing the muscle tissue, keeping the swelling of muscle fibers at a manageable level, allowing the muscles to rebuild themselves. It also reduces the Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). The Zensah compression sleeves provide graduated compression and the seamless technology makes them very comfortable also. Zensah product also include sports bras, arm sleeves, compression socks, thigh sleeves and high compression bottoms. I would highly recommend them! They come in sizes xs to xl and they come in fun colors. Check out the Zensah website  for further information
 (Review by Paula Heyn)
Note: It’s true!  Scientific studies have shown that compression socks have been shown to truly help with varicose veins.
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Apparel, Product Reviews, Triathlons
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6 Responses to “Do Compression Sleeves or Socks Help? (+ Zensah Review)”

  1. SDol 02. Mar, 2012 at 5:09 pm

    I’m still a bit lost, do I wear them during a run or a ride or do I wear them after and in between for recovery?

  2. stacey 02. Mar, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    Love my pink Zensah’s! Dont run without them!

  3. Rebecca 04. Mar, 2012 at 11:56 am

    Looks like I should try some of those!

  4. Tara McKee 06. Mar, 2012 at 11:24 am

    @SDol-Sorry you’re confused. The scientific answer isn’t truly cut & dried at this point. Most studies show that the compression socks/sleeves are best worn for recovery. However, there are some studies and some athletes who find that they work well for the them during a run and even a few who found some advantage during a ride.

  5. Maggie 21. Apr, 2012 at 5:35 pm

    I have big calves (boot shopping is always a nightmare) so I always see these and wonder if they sell in various sizes? one size? will it work for me?? I think it could be very comfy because I have the heavy leg when running you wrote about.
    Any other big calf gals out there that use compression socks/sleeves??

  6. John 14. Dec, 2012 at 12:55 am

    Maggie, are the calves the only two bigs things you have?