Can compression help cyclists recover faster? (2024)

Applying compression has widely been cited as helping to improve circulation, reduce inflammation, and accelerate overall recovery, while also mitigating the dreaded DOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness.

Compression can come in a few forms – namely garments that are tight, compressive forms of clothing and worn while moving around and boots, which work via pneumatic compression (more on this later) and are usually worn while stationary. Compression boots have gained in popularity in recent year and Jennifer Aniston was recently seen wearing a pair.

So should we all be wearing compression garments after a ride?

How does compression work?

‘Compression garments were originally used in the treatment of pulmonary embolisms, oedemas, deep vein thrombosis and leg ulcers, guided by original theories on tight bandaging for wound healing,’ explains Alana Leabeater, researcher and PhD candidate at La Trobe University, Melbourne.

‘The main theory behind their use in the sport and exercise setting, is that they apply mechanical pressure to the limb, altering blood-flow and reducing muscle movement.’

‘There are different ways depending on what function we’re looking at,’ adds Dr Jessica Hill, a recovery specialist and an associate professor in Applied Sport and Exercise Physiology at St Mary’s University Twickenham.

‘Exercise induced muscle damage is in simplest terms a result of micro damage to muscle fibres, it is an inflammatory response. The application of compression garments can reduce the space available for swelling to occur, as you are compressing the tissue and muscle compartment which stops fluid leaking out of the blood vessels and sitting into the cellular spaces where it shouldn’t be. That’s what causes the pain – DOMS. You’re just reducing the level of influence inflammation, which then minimises soreness and can help with the recovery of muscle strength.

‘The other way is that if you think about a cyclist who’s just finished a race, they’re going to have a high amount of metabolites in their muscle like waste products that they need to remove – lactic acid, and other like hydrogen ions and things like that. They’re going to need to remove that from the muscle as quickly as they can, so compression is thought to help with venous return [the rate of blood flow back to the heart].’

Can compression improve performance?

In a cycling compression study, researchers found a 1.2% improvement in 40km time-trial finish times after a 24-hour recovery period for cyclists who wore compression tights, when compared to non-compressive ‘placebo’ tights. So is it just marginal gains?

‘One of the most well-marketed benefits of compression garments is their potential to reduce perceived muscle soreness, which is generally supported by scientific literature,’ says Leabeater.

‘A reduction in perceived muscle soreness can be seen from the use of compression garments (including socks, tights and leg sleeves) for recovery for as little as 60 minutes after exercise, and may continue to be recognised up to 96 hours following exercise.

‘This also extends to other perceptual measures such as overall fatigue, alertness and perceived recovery, which may be relevant during periods of travel for competition.If compression garments alleviate feelings of perceived soreness and fatigue, they might allow athletes to train sooner, or with greater quality and/or higher volume and intensity.’

When should a cyclist use compression garments?

‘You’re not getting an awful lot of benefit from compression during exercise, but it’s in the recovery after the exercise where it’s important,’ says Hill. ‘The advice that I would always give is to apply your compression as soon as possible after the exercise is finished, and wear it for as long as you can, ideally, sleeping in it overnight, if it’s comfortable to do so. The difficulty is that we don’t know how long is optimal.

‘For example, a cyclist who is taking part in an event where there’s a number of different heats, and they’ve got a couple of hours between heats, wear those compression garments for as long as you can between the heats.’

What is a good level of compression?

‘You open a whole can of worms when it comes to a good level of compression,’ says Hill. ‘There are studies that suggest that higher levels of pressure are more effective during recovery, but a lot of people won’t know how much compression they’re getting from their garments.

‘For instance, compression garments are usually universal sizes that work by your height and weight. But the difficulty is that a lot of sports men and women have different body profiles, some people have really big quads and smaller calves, some people have massive calves and so on, so they are going to get a real range of pressures.

‘My advice is if you’re not going to go with made to measure, then choose a company that’s fitting the garments based upon circumferences. This is going to be a better fit than something based on your height and your weight.’

Are compression boots better than compressions socks?

‘My understanding of the boot is that you apply an awful lot of a higher level of compression and you can’t move around,’ says Hill. ‘When you are walking around wearing compression socks for example, your muscles are working to help remove the toxins from the muscle, and this will aid venous return.

‘Whereas my understanding with the boots is that you’re still and you’re lying down so you’re not getting the same action.’

However there are now pneumatic compression products on the market that can reportedly work just as well, if not better, than compression socks.

‘Movement (particularly of the lower extremities) naturally helps the body return venous blood back to the heart where it can then complete its journey to the lungs and exchange the carbon dioxide it is carrying for fresh oxygen to be returned to the tissues,’ says Nikos Skevis, Master Trainer and Educational Consultant for Hyperice. ‘For this reason, a compression sock is going to work better when you are active.

‘On the other hand, pneumatic air compression was originally designed as a way to significantly enhance this process without the need for movement, allowing us to completely rest during the process and thus engage the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest branch), achieving a state of maximal recovery. This process is extremely effective due to the specific compression pattern used combined with the general power of pneumatic air compression and is intended to be a passive treatment, meaning there is certainly no disadvantage to being stationary within this context.’

Are there any downsides to compression garments or boots?

Both Hill and Alana agree that a really high level of compression could be uncomfortable or painful over time.

‘The good thing about compression is that it’s safe and convenient,’ says Hill, ‘but there is one possibility that could potentially be detrimental, and we’ve seen it a lot with ice baths.

‘If we are applying a compression garment constantly to reduce the inflammatory response after training. Potentially we could be blunting muscular adaptation.

‘With ice baths, we have started to see that if you have two groups of people doing a strength training exercise over a period of six weeks, one group has ice baths, the other group has nothing, the group that had nothing had a greater level of adaptation. So the theory is that the ice baths could be blunting adaptation is a possibility and I wouldn’t rule it out with compression.

‘I think you just have to be tactical about when and how you apply it, and that’s the same for any recovery strategy that you use.’

Want to try some compression garments?

Here a few products to get you started:

Therabody Recovery Air Pro

An effective pneumatic compression system for fast recovery with impressive customisability.

• Read our full review

Normatec 3 Legs

Slightly cheaper than the Therabody Recovery Air Pro, the Normatec 3 offers seven levels of dynamic air compression and promises to deliver precise treatment to five overlapping zones.

Normatec Lower Legs

Made specifically for the calf muscles, the Normatec Lower Legs can be worn on the go and are fully portable.

• Buy now from Hyperice for £429

Endura compression socks

The socks feature a tight and compressive fit that supports muscles and encourages improved circulation. The socks come in sizes S to XL.

2XU Compression Calf Guards

Utilising what 2XU calls MCS (Muscle Containment Stamping) the Calf Guard offers powerful, targeted compression.

The guards come with flatlock seams that reduce chafing with Invista Lycra that the brand says ensures an exceptional fit.