Whereas your physical therapist may know exactly what setting to put you on, depending on your current training and feedback, it’s not always so obvious for the layperson who is using boots at home.Īlso, while there is research on the benefits of compression boots (as explained above), most of the studies involve a small number of participants. Some of the most popular systems cost around $1,000-a significant amount of money for many runners.Īnother downside is that the systems are not always intuitive for the average user. The real negative to compression boots? They can get kinda pricey. The NormaTec app lets you integrate your recovery data-using pre-programmed or custom massages that mimic the body’s natural recovery process-into your training plan. Daily treatments using a pneumatic compression device also reduced recovery time from DOMS when compared to a continuously-worn compression sleeve, according to research published in 2018 in the International Journal of Exercise Science, which involved eight participants. The more nutrients your muscles are getting, the faster they can repair and rebuild.Ī clinical trial published in 2016 in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, involving 72 ultramarathon runners, found that post-exercise pneumatic compression therapy offered the same benefits as post-exercise massage, specifically when it came to lowering overall muscular fatigue immediately after a run. “When that metabolic waste from a workout is sitting there in your cells taking up space, that’s space that your blood could be bringing new nutrients to in the muscle,” says Leninger.

That swelling will go away naturally if you’re recovering appropriately (think: staying off your feet, elevating your legs, resting), but compression can help shorten the amount of rest you may need by preventing swelling from pooling in a certain area when you have to go straight from a run into life. “You may not even notice it, but edema, or swelling, occurs when your body starts to repair those microtears,” says Leninger. No matter what kind of run you do, whether it’s a 5K or a 50K, your muscles experience microtears from repetitive stress. (Keep in mind, this study only involved 12 healthy participants.)Ĭompression boots can also reduce swelling. This can potentially contribute to changes in exercise performance and recovery, according to the authors. According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2018, intermittent compression applied during recovery from exercise resulted in increased limb blood flow. Luckily, there are some scientifically-proven benefits when it comes to this method of exercise recovery.įor starters, the boots enhance blood flow and circulation. And “if the only benefit you get is sitting down and relaxing for 20 minutes while you use them, that’s still worth it,” says Leninger. If you’ve ever worn a pair of these puffy sleeves, you know it just feels good-kind of like a massage.

“The sheer amount of compression you’ll receive from a mechanical device will work exponentially faster than socks,” Eric Madia, assistant performance director at Athletes Warehouse in Pleasantville, New York tells Runner’s World. It’s somewhat similar to the difference between an active stretch and a passive stretch. Many compression boots allow you to control the amount of pressure and all of them offer more active compression than socks. Typically, compression socks are tighter at the bottom and get progressively looser to improve blood flow from the feet upwards, reducing swelling and discomfort in the legs. Compression boots actually go all the way up to the top of your thighs, so your entire leg reaps the benefits.Ĭompression socks, on the other hand, squeeze the legs without movement or increases or decreases in pressure. As mentioned, compression boosts use intermittent pneumatic compression, meaning they mechanically inflate and deflate segments of a sleeve at different times. There are two types of compression athletes use: compression and intermittent pneumatic compression. How are compression boots different than compression socks?

What Is Contrast Therapy & Does It Help Recovery?.

Electric leg compression machine