title: The effects of compression garments on performance of prolonged manual-labour exercise and recovery.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of wearing compression garments during and 24 h following a 4-h exercise protocol simulating manual-labour tasks. Ten physically trained male participants, familiar with labouring activities, undertook 4 h of work tasks characteristic of industrial workplaces. Participants completed 2 testing sessions, separated by at least 1 week. In the experimental condition, participants wore a full-length compression top and compression shorts during the exercise protocol and overnight recovery, with normal work clothes worn in the control condition. Testing for serum creatine kinase and C-reactive protein, handgrip strength, knee flexion and extension torque, muscle stiffness, perceived muscle soreness and fatigue as well as heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) responses to 4-min cycling were performed before, following, and 24 h after exercise. Creatine kinase, muscle soreness, and rating of perceived fatigue increased following the exercise protocol (p < 0.05) as did RPE to a standardised cycling warm-up bout. Conversely, no postexercise changes were observed in C-reactive protein, handgrip strength, peak knee flexion torque, or stiffness measures (p > 0.05). Knee extension torque was significantly higher in the control condition at 24 h postexercise (3.1% ± 5.4% change; compression: 2.2% ± 11.1% change), although no other variables were different between conditions at any time. However, compression demonstrated a moderate-large effect (d > 0.60) to reduce perceived muscle soreness, fatigue, and RPE from standardised warm-up at 24 h postexercise. The current findings suggest that compression may assist in perceptual recovery from manual-labour exercise with implications for the ability to perform subsequent work bouts.
authors.affiliation: Sport and Exercise Discipline Group, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Lindfield, Australia.|Sport and Exercise Discipline Group, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Lindfield, Australia.
authors.forename: Val
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Sport and Exercise Discipline Group, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Lindfield, Australia.|Sport and Exercise Discipline Group, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Lindfield, Australia.
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duffield
authors.affiliation: Sport and Exercise Discipline Group, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Lindfield, Australia.|Sport and Exercise Discipline Group, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Lindfield, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watsford
mesh_terms: D003020:Clothing; D058128:Compression Bandages; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018763:Muscle Fatigue / Q000502:physiology*; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: douleur musculaire; exercise recovery; fatigue professionnelle; industrial work; muscle soreness; occupational fatigue; ouvrabilité; récupération postexercice; travail industriel; workability