RESEARCH ARTICLE
Wearing lower-body compression garment
with medium pressure impaired exercise-
induced performance decrement during
prolonged running
Sahiro Mizuno1, Mari Arai2☯, Fumihiko Todoko2☯, Eri Yamada2☯, Kazushige Goto3*
1 Graduate School of Sports and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan,
2 DESCENTE Ltd., Osaka, Japan, 3 Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu,
Shiga, Japan
☯ These authors contributed equally to this work.
* kagoto@fc.ritsumei.ac.jp
Abstract
Objective
To investigate the effect of wearing a lower body compression garment (CG) exerting differ-
ent pressure levels during prolonged running on exercise-induced muscle damage and the
inflammatory response.
Methods
Eight male participants completed three exercise trials in a random order. The exercise con-
sisted of 120 min of uphill running at 60% of VO2max. The exercise trials included 1) wearing
a lower-body CG with 30 mmHg pressure [HIGH]; 2) wearing a lower-body CG with 15
mmHg pressure [MED]; and 3) wearing a lower-body garment with < 5 mmHg pressure
[CON]. Heart rate (HR), and rate of perceived exertion for respiration and legs were moni-
tored continuously during exercise. Time-course change in jump height was evaluated
before and immediately after exercise. Blood samples were collected to determine blood
glucose, lactate, serum creatine kinase, myoglobin, free fatty acids, glycerol, cortisol, and
plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations before exercise, 60 min of the 120 min exercise
period, immediately after exercise, and 60 min after exercise.
Results
Jump height was significantly higher immediately after the exercise in the MED trial com-
pared with that in the HIGH trial (P = 0.04). Mean HR during the 120 min exercise was signif-
icantly lower in the MED trial (162 ± 4 bpm) than that in the CON trial (170 ± 4 bpm, P =
0.01). Plasma IL-6 concentrations increased significantly with exercise in all trials, but the
area under the curve during exercise was significantly lower in the MED trial (397 ± 58 pg/
ml120 min) compared with that in the CON trial (670 ± 86 pg/ml120 min, P = 0.04).
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OPEN ACCESS
Citation: Mizuno S, Arai M, Todoko F, Yamada E,
Goto K (2017) Wearing lower-body compression
garment with medium pressure impaired exercise-
induced performance decrement during prolonged
running. PLoS ONE 12(5): e0178620. https://doi.
org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178620
Editor: Massimo Sacchetti, Universita degli Studi di
Roma ’Foro Italico’, ITALY
Received: December 27, 2016
Accepted: May 16, 2017
Published: May 31, 2017
Copyright: © 2017 Mizuno et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the paper (not within Supporting
Information files).
Funding: This work was supported by the Ishimoto
Memorialfoundation for the Promotion of Sports
Science (http://www.descente.co.jp/ishimoto/) and
the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science,
Grant number; 15K12660 (http://www.jsps.go.jp/
english/e-grants/index.html). The funders had no
role in study design, data collection and analysis,
Conclusion
Wearing a lower body CG exerting medium pressure (approximately 15 mmHg) significantly
attenuated decrease in jump performance than that with wearing a lower body CG exerting
high pressure (approximately 30 mmHg). Furthermore, exercise-induced increases in HR
and the inflammatory response were significantly smaller with CG exerted 15mmHg than
that with garment exerted < 5 mmHg.
Introduction
During the past two decades, use of compression garment (CG) during exercise has been prev-
alent among a variety of team sport athletes as a strategy to enhance performance. Several stud-
ies have determined the beneficial effect of wearing CG on performance during exercise [1–3].
However, inconsistent results have been reported in the literature because of differences in
experimental conditions (e.g., exercise duration, exercise intensity and modality, CG pressure
level exerted and covered area) among studies. These differences in methodological criteria
may have masked the effectiveness of CG [4,5].
To date, a number of studies focused on the effect of CG on exercise performance during
running [6]. For instance, reduced energy cost of running, i.e. decrease in oxygen uptake
(VO2) slow component [1], and increased time to exhaustion [2] were observed when wearing
CG during submaximal running, whereas previous studies still contain conflicting results for
benefit of wearing CG during running [7–9]. Possible explanations for these discrepancies
may be due to differences in the levels of compressive pressure applied among studies [5].
Considering that higher compression (> 35 mmHg) may reduce local blood circulation
around muscle [10], moderate compressive pressures (15–20 mmHg) may be appropriate for
improving exercise performance. In this regard, Ali et al. [3] determined the effects of different
levels of pressure exerted by CG (covered knee to ankle) on 10-km time trial performance. As
a result, two different types of CG, exerting 12 or 18 mmHg pressure at the knee, significantly
attenuated the exercise-induced decrease in jump performance compared with the control
trial (0 mmHg), while CG with high pressure (23 mmHg at the knee) did not improve perfor-
mance. Furthermore, Miyamoto et al. [11] showed that wearing CG applying 15 or 20 mmHg
to thigh significantly attenuated exercise-induced increase in skeletal muscle proton transverse
relaxation times, which reflect the intramuscular pH and Pi levels, compared with wearing CG
applying 8 or 25 mmHg. The finding suggested that optimal pressure intensity would exist to
obtain beneficial effects of wearing CG. However, similar studies using different levels of CG
pressures did not show changes in running performance [12] or oxygen uptake [13]. Taken
together, appropriate levels of compressive pressure to improve running performance remain
unclear.
Prolonged running, such as marathon, elicits marked muscle damage and inflammation,
leading to impaired muscular function [14–16]. Del Coso et al. [16] reported that a decrease in
running velocity over a marathon was significantly correlated with an increase in blood myo-
globin (Mb) concentration immediately after exercise. Considering that sustained external
pressure while wearing CG attenuates mechanical stress by reducing muscle oscillation [17],
the use of CG during exercise might attenuate increases in muscle damage markers and
inflammatory cytokines. Another mechanism underlying effectiveness of wearing CG may be
improved venous return, resulting from assisted muscle pump action by the garments [18].
The augmented muscle pump action by wearing CG would be more advantageous when
Effects of wearing compression garment during prolonged running on exercise-induced fatigue
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decision to publish, or preparation of the
manuscript.
Competing interests: Three authors (Arai M,
Todoko F, Yamada E) are affiliated to DESCENTE
Ltd, which made garments for the present
experiment. Although they contributed to
conducting the present experiment (e.g., preparing
custom-made garments, evaluating pressure
levels), they were not involved in manuscript
writing, discussion or drawing conclusion, from
the viewpoint of conflict of interest. The first author
(Mizuno S) declares no conflict of interest. The
present study was conducted as a part of
collaborated research with DESCENTE Ltd
(principal investigator: Goto K), the Ritsumeikan
University received project fees for the present
study. However, corresponding author (Goto K)
does not have any personal relationships or
competing interests to DESCENTE Ltd.
exercise intensity is relatively lower, because muscle pump action is dependent on exercise
intensity. In addition, positive effect of wearing CG is suggested to be observed during pro-
longed exercise with accumulated fatigue [1]. However, most of these previous studies have
focused on the effectiveness of wearing CG on cardiovascular and metabolic variables during
maximal or intensive endurance exercise lasting less than 60 min [1,3,7,12,13,18–20]. There-
fore, little information is available on whether wearing CG during prolonged running (> 60
min) affects exercise-induced changes in muscle damage markers and the inflammatory
responses.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of wearing lower-body CG at three differ-
ent pressure levels (30 mmHg, 15 mmHg, below 5 mmHg) during 120 min of running on
exercise performance, muscle damage markers, and the inflammatory response. Based on pre-
vious studies [3,10], it was hypothesized that wearing CG exerting medium (approximately 15
mmHg) pressure would attenuate the decrease in exercise performance and increases in mus-
cle damage and inflammatory markers during prolonged running.
Methods
Participants
Eight male (mean ± standard deviation: age, 23.4 ± 2.4 years; height, 170.1 ± 2.2 cm; body
mass, 62.3 ± 3.3 kg; body mass index, 21.9 ± 1.6 kg/m2; VO2max, 50.6 ± 4.1 ml/kg/min) partic-
ipated in the present study. Two of ten subjects were not able to complete 120 min of exercise
(exhausted at 90 min). All participants were physically active (i.e., exercising at least 1 day/
week) but not well-trained athletes. They had several years of sports participation experience.
Exclusion criteria included a history of inflammatory condition and musculoskeletal disorders.
Smokers and individuals taking antioxidant supplements were also excluded. Participants
were instructed to maintain their normal diet and physical activity level throughout the experi-
mental period. They were also asked to refrain from strenuous activity for at least 72 h prior to
testing. All participants gave informed consent after being informed of the purpose and risks
associated with the present study. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Rit-
sumeikan University, Japan.
Experimental procedure
All participants visited the laboratory four times over the experimental period. On the first
day, they completed an incremental running test on a treadmill (Valiant; Lode B.V., Gro-
ningen, Netherlands) to determine individual VO2max. The initial velocity was set as 4 km/h
for 3 min, and velocity was increased by 2 km/h every 3 min. All participants were required to
walk both the 4km/h and 6km/h stages, and they started running from 8km/h stage. After
completing above three stages of submaximal running (9 min after exercise onset), running
velocity was increased by 0.6 km/h every minute until exhaustion. The treadmill gradient was
7% throughout the test. Respiratory gases were collected and analyzed using an automatic gas
analyzer (AE300S; Minato Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan). Participants also engaged in suffi-
cient practice of appropriate procedures for the counter-movement jump (CMJ) test and
reviewed the subjective rating scale of the measurements for familiarization.
From the second to fourth visits, participants performed three exercise trials with overnight
fast in a random order at the same time of the day. The exercise consisted of 120 min of uphill
running (slope: 7%) on a treadmill (Elevation series E95Ta; Life Fitness Corp., Tokyo, Japan)
at 60% of VO2max while wearing one of three different types of garment, separated with at
least 4 weeks among trials to eliminate repeated-bout effect. The average running velocity was
6.6 ± 0.5 km/h. Uphill running was selected to induce greater metabolic response under
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relatively lower running velocity. All participants maintained running throughout 120 min of
exercise. The present exercise protocol was determined on the basis of a pilot experiment.
Custom-made garments were utilized to match pressure levels among all participants
because interindividual differences in thigh and calf circumferences were reported to produce
different pressure levels for working muscles, even if the garment is the same size [5]. In the
present study, appropriate size of the garment was medium for all participants. However, we
prepared several types of garment (different width) for each trial (five garments for the HIGH
and MED trials, respectively, three garments for the CON trial), and a garment from several
types was selected individually to ensure equal pressure levels among all participants. The com-
pression levels at the thigh and calf were manipulated to match about 30 mmHg for HIGH
trial, about 15 mmHg for MED trial, and < 5 mmHg for CON trial, respectively. Accordingly,
the exercise trials consisted of 1) wearing lower-body CG exerting high level of pressure
(approximately 30 mmHg) [HIGH]; 2) wearing lower-body CG exerting medium level of pres-
sure (approximately 15 mmHg) [MED]; and 3) wearing a lower-body garment without specific
pressure level (< 5 mmHg) [CON]. Each garment covered the area from the waist to the ankle
and was custom-made by a sportswear manufacturer (DESCENTE Ltd., Osaka, Japan). Prior
to the experiment, the pressure levels were determined using an air-packed sensor (AMI3037-
2; AMI Techno, Tokyo, Japan). The sensor was placed between the skin and the garment at the
thigh (50% between the greater trochanter and patellar tendon) and calf (30% between the
patellar tendon and lateral malleolus). Participants were asked to maintain a standing position
for 15 s while the pressure levels were recorded, and mean values were calculated during 15 s.
The compression levels of each garment are presented in Table 1.
Participants wore identical upper body shirts, socks, and shoes during the 120 min exercise
and 60 min rest periods among trials. Time course changes in jump performance, rating of
perceived exertion (RPE), HR, and blood variables were compared among the three trials.
Jump performance
CMJ height was evaluated before exercise (after 20 min of rest) and immediately after exercise,
as an indication of maximal power output by the lower-limb muscles. We used CMJ height
rather than maximal isometric strength as an indication of muscle function, as a decrease in
CMJ height is reported to be related to muscle damage and decreased performance during a
marathon race [14]. All participants performed the CMJ on a jump mat (Multi jump tester;
DKH Corp., Tokyo, Japan) connected to a computer. They were instructed to jump as high as
possible while placing their hands on the lumbar area to eliminate any upper-limb effect. The
flight and contact time during the vertical jump were recorded. Each jump test was repeated
Table 1. Compression applied by CG at the thigh and calf.
Compression at thigh
Compression at calf
(mmHg)
(mmHg)
HIGH
26.9 ± 3.3
29.2 ± 3.8
[22.6–32.8]
[24.5–37.7]
MED
16.1 ± 2.0
17.9 ± 3.5
[14.3–20.1]
[14.9–25.5]
CON
4.4 ± 1.2
3.0 ± 1.6
[2.5–5.8]
[0.7–4.8]
Values are means ± SD. The values in parentheses indicate minimal and maximal pressure levels among all
participants.
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twice, and the highest CMJ height value was used for analysis in each case. The intraclass cor-
relation coefficient between jumps was 0.99. CMJ height was calculated from flight time using
the following formula:
Jump height ðcmÞ ¼ 1=8 ðflight timeÞ
^2  the gravity constant ð¼ 9:81 m=s^2Þ
Heart rate and rating of perceived exertion
HR, and the RPE values for respiration and legs were monitored every 10 min during 120 min
of uphill running. HR was measured continuously using a wireless HR monitor (RCX5; Polar,
Tokyo, Japan). The RPE values for respiration and legs were recorded using the modified Borg
scale ranging from 0 (nothing at all) to 10 (maximal exertion) [21]. Participants were instructed
to answer magnitude of strains for legs and respiration during running (“how do you feel the
levels of fatigue for leg muscles and respiration?”) to assess RPE values.
Blood sampling and analysis
Blood samples were collected from antecubital vein before exercise (after 20 min of rest), 60
min during exercise, and immediately and 1 h after exercise. Blood samples were used to mea-
sure blood glucose, lactate, serum creatine kinase (CK), Mb, free fatty acids (FFA) and glycerol,
cortisol, and plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations. In addition to indirect muscle
damage markers (CK and Mb) and inflammatory cytokine (IL-6), serum FFA, glycerol and
cortisol concentrations were assessed to evaluate metabolic responses to 120 min of running.
Serum and plasma samples were obtained by centrifugation (3,000 rpm, 10 min, and 4˚C) and
stored at −60˚C until analysis. Blood glucose and lactate concentrations were measured using
an automatic glucose analyzer (Free style, Nipro Corp., Osaka, Japan) and a lactate analyzer
(Lactate Pro; Arkray Inc., Kyoto, Japan), respectively. Serum CK, Mb, FFA, and cortisol con-
centrations were measured at the SRL Clinical Laboratory (Tokyo, Japan). Serum glycerol
concentrations were determined in duplicate using a commercially available kit (Cayman
Chemical Co., Ann Arbor, MI, USA). Plasma IL-6 concentrations were assayed with an
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). The intra-
assay coefficients of variation for each measurement were: 2.7% for CK, 2.2% for Mb, 1.5% for
FFA, 2.5% for glycerol, 2.9% for cortisol, and 4.4% for IL-6.
Statistical analysis
Data are expressed as means ± standard deviation. Time course changes in jump performance,
RPE, HR, and the blood variables were initially analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance
(Trial x Time) with repeated measures. When the ANOVA revealed a significant interaction
or main effect, the Tukey–Kramer post-hoc test was used to assess the difference. Where appro-
priate, partial eta-squared (η2) was used to quantify the effect size of ANOVA. A P-value <
0.05 was considered significant.
Results
The relative changes in CMJ height are presented in Fig 1.
A significant interaction (trial × time, P = 0.04, η2 = 0.368) and main effect for trial
(P = 0.04, η2 = 0.368) were detected, whereas no significant main effect for time was observed
(P = 0.172). Immediately after exercise, CMJ height was significantly higher in the MED trial
(101.1 ± 3.2%) compared with that in the HIGH trial (92.6 ± 3.4%, P = 0.04, η2 = 0.368).
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Fig 2A shows mean HR for early (0–60 min) and latter (60–120 min) halves of the exercise.
HR increased gradually during exercise in all trials (main effect for time: P < 0.0001, η2 =
0.844). Mean HR were significantly lower in the MED trial (0–60 min: 158 ± 4 bpm, 60–120
min: 167 ± 4 bpm) than those in the CON trial (0–60 min: 164 ± 4 bpm, 60–120 min: 177 ± 4
bpm, P = 0.01, η2 = 0.479 for mean HR for early half and η2 = 0.476 for mean HR for latter
half), respectively. Significant main effect for time was observed for RPE of respiration and
legs (P < 0.0001, η2 = 0.793 for RPE of respiration and η2 = 0.916 for RPE of legs). No signifi-
cant differences were observed in mean RPE of respiration or legs for early (0–60 min) and lat-
ter (60–120 min) halves of the exercise (P > 0.05, Fig 2B and 2C).
Table 2 presents the changes in blood glucose and lactate, as well as serum CK and Mb con-
centrations. Significant main effect for time was observed in all variables (P < 0.05). However,
no significant interaction (trial × time) or main effect for trial were observed.
Plasma IL-6 concentrations increased significantly during the exercise and post-exercise
periods in all trials (main effect for time: P < 0.0001, η2 = 0.849), but no significant interaction
(P > 0.05) or main effect for trial was detected (P > 0.05, η2 = 0.229, Fig 3A). However, the
area under the curve (AUC) for IL-6 during 120 min exercise period was significantly lower in
the MED trial (397 ± 58 pg/ml120 min) compared with that in the CON trial (670 ± 86 pg/
ml120 min, P = 0.04, η2 = 0.454, Fig 3B). No significant difference was observed between the
HIGH and CON trials.
Discussion
The major finding of the present study was that the MED trial showed a significantly lower
exercise-induced decrease in CMJ height compared with that of the HIGH trial and a smaller
increase in HR compared with that in the CON trial. Furthermore, the increased plasma IL-6
concentration during 120 min of running was also impaired in the MED trial than in the
CON trial. These findings suggest that optimal pressure (approximately 15 mmHg) exists for
decrease in exercise-induced fatigue during prolonged running.
A unique point of the present study was preparation of several types of custom-made gar-
ments to match pressure levels (approximately 15 and 30 mmHg) among participants,
because no consensus has been reached about the anti-fatiguing effect of CG, probably due to
Fig 1. Changes in CMJ height. Values are mean ± standard deviation. ¶; P < 0.05 between MED and HIGH.
Ex120; immediately after exercise.
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differences in the compressive pressures applied among studies [22] and participants [5].
Furthermore, we attempted to determine the influences of CG exerting different pressure lev-
els on exercise-induced decrease in jump performance. As a result, an exercise-induced
decrease in CMJ height was significantly greater in the HIGH trial than in the MED trial.
Fig 2. Mean HR values (A), mean RPE values for respiration (B) and mean RPE values for legs (C)
during 120 min of running. Values are mean ± standard deviation. †; P < 0.05 between MED and CON.
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Decreased jump height following prolonged running would be caused by several factors,
including impaired neuromuscular function [23], accumulated metabolites [24] and muscle
damage [14]. In particular, previous studies revealed that decreases in jump height and run-
ning velocity closely related to exercise-induced increases in Mb and CK concentrations
immediately after prolonged running [14]. Thus, greater jump height immediately after exer-
cise, as shown in the MED trial, may reflect maintained lower-limb muscle function during
prolonged running. A possible mechanism for improved jump performance may be aug-
mented removal of metabolites (e.g., H+ and inorganic phosphate) in working muscle
because the reduction in intramuscular pH inhibits muscle contractile function (e.g., short-
ening velocity) [25]. This notion is supported by previous findings revealing that adequate
external pressure assists muscle pump action and improves peripheral circulation, leading to
enhanced removal of H+ and inorganic phosphate from working muscle [11,26]. Notably, the
effect of lower-body CG on the exercise-induced decrease in jump height was not dependent
on the pressure level applied since the post-exercise jump height was significantly lower in
the HIGH trial compared with that in the MED trial. Although a high pressure CG would
theoretically augment venous return from working muscle, excessive pressure exerted by CG
(30–40 mmHg) significantly attenuates local blood flow [10,27]. The reduced local blood
flow associated with the strong external pressure applied by CG would aggravate the accumu-
lation of muscle metabolites [28,29]. Accordingly, impaired jump height immediately after
the exercise period in the HIGH trial might be explained by the accumulation of intramuscu-
lar metabolites under lower blood flow. Future applications evaluating local blood flow
would clarify this hypothesis.
Exercise-induced decrease in CMJ height was significantly correlated with increases in CK
and Mb concentrations immediately after prolonged exercise (triathlon race) [14]. In the pres-
ent study, no differences in CK or Mb concentrations were observed among the three trials. In
contrast, the exercise-induced increase in IL-6 concentration (evaluated by AUC) was signifi-
cantly lower in the MED trial compared with that in the CON trial. The finding suggests that
CG with medium pressure level attenuates exercise-induced inflammation. However, because
blood samples were collected during relatively initial phase (60 min) of post-exercise period,
we are not able to conclude the influence of wearing CG on muscle damage and inflammation
Table 2. Blood glucose, lactate and serum CK and Mb concentrations.
Pre
Ex60
Ex120
Post60
Glucose (mg/dL)
HIGH
94 ± 6
85 ± 11
79 ± 16 *
75 ± 11 *
MED
90 ± 6
84 ± 4
79 ± 10 *
77 ± 6 *
CON
90 ± 8
89 ± 8
79 ± 18 *
74 ± 12 *
Lactate (mmol/L)
HIGH
1.8 ± 0.9
2.1 ± 1.1
2.9 ± 1.4 *
2.0 ± 0.3 *
MED
1.6 ± 0.6
2.0 ± 1.1
2.3 ± 1.4 *
2.1 ± 1.0 *
CON
1.2 ± 0.3
1.7 ± 0.8
2.2 ± 0.8 *
2.0 ± 0.4 *
CK (U/L)
HIGH
142 ± 46
170 ± 51 *
196 ± 63 *
193 ± 58 *
MED
144 ± 57
172 ± 68 *
198 ± 73 *
195 ± 68 *
CON
191 ± 177
225 ± 195 *
259 ± 118 *
252 ± 189 *
Mb (ng/mL)
HIGH
31 ± 8
55 ± 21
72 ± 31 *
106 ± 36 *
MED
32 ± 13
59 ± 29 *
82 ± 30 *
106 ± 32 *
CON
36 ± 21
66 ± 49
92 ± 18 *
131 ± 61 *
Values are means ± SD.
*; P < 0.05 vs. Pre. Ex60; 60 min during exercise. Ex120; immediately after exercise. Post60; 60 min after exercise.
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after 60 min following the exercise. Future study is necessary to determine the changes in mus-
cle damage markers and inflammatory cytokines during longer period after exercise.
A large amount of evidence indicates that HR during exercise is not affected by wearing CG
[1–3,7,18]. However, the MED trial significantly attenuated the exercise-induced increase in
HR. These inconsistent observations among studies may be associated with differences in exer-
cise intensities, as previous studies required relatively high or maximal efforts during exercise,
whereas the exercise intensity in the present study was moderate (60% of VO2max). Further-
more, mean running velocity was low (6.6 ± 0.1 km/h) because we utilized uphill running.
MacRae et al. [18] pointed out that a plausible factor for lower HR during wearing CG was
Fig 3. Plasma interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations (A) and area under the curve (AUC) during 120 min of
exercise. Values are mean ± standard deviation. *; P < 0.05 vs. Pre. †; P < 0.05 between MED and CON.
Ex60; 60 min during exercise. Ex120; immediately after exercise. Post60; 60 min after exercise.
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augmented stroke volume associated with increased venous return. Considering that venous
return would be augmented depending on exercise intensity, the influence of CG on hemody-
namics is supposed to be minor during intensive exercise [3]. In fact, the wearing lower-body
CG during 6 km/h treadmill running significantly attenuated the exercise-induced increase in
HR, but not during 10 km/h or at 85% of VO2max running [30]. Besides, the majority of previ-
ous studies used CG that provided gradually decreasing pressure levels from the distal part
(ankle) to the proximal part (thigh) to enhance venous return. However, the pressures exerted
between the thigh and calf were not different in the present study (Table 1), suggesting that the
pressure levels were uniform across the lower-limb muscles. Therefore, wearing lower-body
CG exerting medium pressure (approximately 15 mmHg) at both the thigh and calf is thought
to be beneficial for reducing the exercise-induced increase in HR.
Some limitations need to be considered carefully in the present study. First, the number of
participants was relatively small. This is because several types of custom-made garments with
different width were prepared for each size of garments (five garments for the HIGH and
MED trials, respectively, three garments for the CON trial) to match pressure levels applied
among participants. However, further experiment with larger sample size would be informa-
tive to assist the present findings. Second, we were unable to identify changes in maximal
muscular strength, hemodynamics, cardiovascular response, intramuscular metabolites in
response to prolonged running. Therefore, how wearing CG attenuated exercise-induced
decrease in jump performance still needs further determination. However, the present findings
provide novel insight for the importance of compressive pressure in performance enhance-
ment. Since prolonged running under relatively lower running velocity was selected in the cur-
rent study, the findings would be specially applicable for recreational or amateur endurance
runners.
Conclusion
Wearing lower-body CG exerting 15 mmHg on the thigh and calf attenuated decrease in jump
performance compared with wearing lower-body CG exerting 30 mmHg. Furthermore, exer-
cise-induced increases in HR and IL-6 concentration with CG were significantly smaller in CG
exerting 15 mmHg than in garment with exerting < 5 mmHg.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all of the participants who participated in the study.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization: SM MA FT EY KG.
Formal analysis: SM KG.
Funding acquisition: KG.
Investigation: SM.
Methodology: SM KG.
Project administration: KG.
Resources: KG.
Supervision: KG.
Validation: KG.
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Visualization: SM KG.
Writing – original draft: SM.
Writing – review & editing: KG.
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Wearing lower-body compression garment with medium pressure impaired exercise-induced performance decrement during prolonged running.
Mizuno, Sahiro,Arai, Mari,Todoko, Fumihiko,Yamada, Eri,Goto, Kazushige