Wearing lower-body compression garment with medium pressure impaired exercise-induced performance decrement during prolonged running

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of wearing a lower body compression garment (CG) exerting different 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 consisted of 120 min of uphill running at 60% of VO(2)max. 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 monitored 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 compared with that in the HIGH trial (P = 0.04). Mean HR during the 120 min exercise was significantly 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/ml·120 min) compared with that in the CON trial (670 ± 86 pg/ml·120 min, P = 0.04). 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.