Timing Matters: Effectiveness of Compressive Garments on Recovery in Trail Runners

The effectiveness of compressive garments (CGs) for postexercise recovery remains contentious in scientific research. Variability in findings may arise from different garment properties and exercises used to induce fatigue or muscle damage, particularly when tasks involve eccentric actions, such as downhill running. This study investigates the effects of medium compression shorts on recovery after a 26-km trail running race. Fifty-six trail runners (13 women and 43 men, age: 33.9 ± 8.1) were recruited and allocated to 3 groups: wearing CGs during the race (RACE) or during a 48-hour recovery period (REC), and a control group (CON). Inflammatory biomarkers (lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase (CK) and C-reactive protein), neuromuscular (NM) parameters (maximal voluntary contraction, rate of force development, local endurance of the knee extensors, countermovement jump [CMJ], drop jump), and perceptual parameters (perception of delayed-onset muscle soreness) were assessed before, immediately after (POST-0) and 48 hours (POST-48) post-race. Neither relative effort nor total race time differs between groups. Both RACE and REC groups showed attenuated CK increases from POST-0 to POST-48 compared with CON (+16.4%; +9.3%; +107.2%, p < 0.001), but CMJ height performance recovered significantly from POST-0 to POST-48 only in the RACE group (+9.9%, p < 0.001; +3.7%; +9.3% for RACE, REC, and CON). No other significant differences were found. The attenuated CK increase suggests that CGs may reduce muscle microtrauma and enhance metabolic clearance. Using CGs only during the race improved CMJ performance at POST-48, indicating that limiting muscle damage is crucial for promoting neuromuscular recovery after a trail race.