Compression clothing. I was having a discussion over lunch with someone who has bought some compression shorts (aka a girdle IMO!).

Is the jury still out on the benefits of this stuff or has someone produced empirical evidence to prove that it works?

Definitely works, if feeling/looking like a gimp is your goal.

LOL!

I am firmly of the belief that it is a load of old tosh and until someone proves it is beneficial outside of long haul flights and post operative recovery, I am not going to be parting with my hard earned.

It only works correctly when combined with Kinetic Sports Strapping Tape…

It only works correctly when combined with Kinetic Sports Strapping Tape…

and a healthy daily dose of vitamins and joint supplements 😛

I just write “placebo” on a post-it note everyday and chew it up.

Works for me 😉

The problem is that most of the studies aren’t 100% independent (same as studies of Sports drinks where most of them carried out are funded by the drinks industry). I know a lot of athletes who swear by them and personally I often feel better the morning after sleeping in pair of compression tights post hard days running/riding/gym, but that could do more with the fact that they keep the muscles warmer at night or just the placebo effect. Get a cheap Aldi/Lidl pair and experiment yourself. TH wife reckons wearing Skins arms under her jersey while riding reduces muscle ache and fatigue the next day, but who knows?

I have a white compression top. I wear it under a short-sleeved jersey in the summer to keep the sun off my arms. In hot weather it is pretty cooling and it seemed to help with breathing when I was blowing out my ar*e sizing up the back of the pelaton during races. I also have the long socks. Comfortable, but I have no idea whether there is any performance enhancement.

Compression socks certainly helped me reduce injuries while running and also decreased recovery time when worn overnight.

I wear a compression ‘cold’ baselayer in the velodrome under a short sleeved riding top. It does it’s job of cooling pretty well although the main purpose for me is to stop my skin sticking to the track if/when I fall off….