Benefits of compression clothing

We've all seen people wearing them, either out running wearing tights, or on the pitch with the skin-tight tops. So whats the deal with compression clothing? Is it simply to keep warm or are there other reasons behind it?

Well, like most things to do with sports, somebody somewhere has done research on it. Lots of it actually. A quick search on google scholar revealed the following...

• Wearing compressive garments can reduce energy cost in trained male runners, while running at about 80% of capacity, compared to regular shorts.
• Wearing full-body compression suits (3 different brands) for 24hrs after testing reduced muscle soreness and biochemical markers of muscle damage in male cricket players.
• Full leg compression garments reduced DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) in young, active females after leg plyometric exercises.
• Lower body compression garments worn by recreational male runners during steady runs at 10°C and 32°C kept the legs 1.5°C warmer under the cold condition. Runners also reported a lower RPE (rate of perceived exertion) while wearing the compression garments in the hot condition.

As is generally the way with sports science research, these tests all looked very closely at 1 or 2 conditions, and don't speculate as to any possible benefits outside the particular test(s) carried out. 

If you'd like to know more about how compression clothes are believed to work, or how they apply to your chosen sport, let me know in the comments and i'll go into detail about it.

References:

Int J Sports Med 2006; 27(5): 373-378

Br J Sports Med 2007;41:409-414

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY Apr 2010

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY Nov 2010