Twelve hours of a compression sleeve is not enough to improve the muscle recovery of an exercise-damaged upper arm

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the efficacy of a compression sleeve worn for a short-time period (12h) on the recovery from the symptoms of exercise-induced upper arm muscle damage. MethodsA randomized controlled study was conducted on thirteen healthy young men using a standardized and exercise-induced upper arm muscle damage protocol, and they were immediately placed into two groups: TREATED (n=7) and CONTROL (n=6). Isometric elbow flexion strength, upper arm circumference, and muscle soreness measurements were taken before and at 24, 48, 72 and 96h after the damaging exercise, and were used as criteria of exercise-induced muscle damage. Group comparisons were made for each variable using a two-way ANOVA design (2 groups×5 measurements), and with a significance level of P<0.05. ResultsA significant impairment (P<0.001) was observed in muscle strength (∼43% and ∼34%, for CONTROL and TREATED groups, respectively, 24h after exercise), as well as a significant increase (P<0.001) in upper arm circumference (UAC) and muscle soreness (F4,55=6.49 for UAC and F4,55=6.95 for muscle soreness) among the measurements after exercise for both groups, with no significant differences between them. ConclusionsThese results, together with previous findings, suggest that the use of a compression garment for 12h is not enough to improve the recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in the upper arm, and longer periods of compression may be necessary to achieve positive outcomes.