Compression Clothing for Recovery

Dear Forum,

I'll admit it, I've probably fallen for the latest marketing scam. After watching letour.fr and seeing the interview with Lance Armstrong, where he talks with Robin Williams about compression socks, I started wondering. At the time, I was just back from a ride and hurting.

Does compression clothing really help? The engineer in me can't believe that increasing pressure normal to a vein can really improve blood flow (speed speed perhaps but not flow).

I tend to hurt most in the upper legs but see the pros wearing knee socks. Should I be looking at shorts with compression legs?

Most of the stuff I've found in the internet seems to be sponsored by makers of the clothes so I'm looking for more objective data.

My problem is that I train with two different groups and get two high-intensity rides with only a day between. I'm not sure that I'm recovering quick enough to give my best on the second ride of the week. I'm doing this for fun rather than to be quick on the bike so I don't want to change the timetable. The rest of the week is taken with lower intensity or no training. The second ride is MTB so I need full strength to be safe on the jumps and downhills. Any tips on recovery would be great.

Thanks a lot in advance for your advice


Rich

The return flow of blood from the legs back to the heart and lungs is usually kind of weak due to gravity. Couple that with the partial or full failure of the vein valves that comes with age and you get varicose veins with pooling of blood in the lower legs which results in swelling of the ankles and lower leg pain. Compression socks help by regulating bllod flow, not allowing back flow if you have vein valve failure, and not allowing the ankles to swell which prevents the lower leg pain. I don't know if they would help your upper leg pain but I doubt it. You should really check with your doctor before trying anything so that you don't inadvertently injure yourself.

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One life, one chance. Don't waste it!

The pain is probably from the pooling of blood in your legs due to gravity. One way I combat this when on long, multi-day hikes is to sleep with your legs slightly elevated above your heart. This will prevent blood from pooling and cause it to be circulated more efficiently thus less pain in your legs.

Compression socks might be a good alternative if you have to get in a car right away after a hard ride. But a simple way to achieve similar results is to elevate the legs for 5-10 minutes immediately after the ride, maybe combined with some self-massage. Seems to work for me after a hard ride....at least it feels like it's helping.

I was having the same problem, but after reading through these forums found out the best thing to do is to either run cold water over your thighs or have an ice bath.

Have noticed other professional sports people do this, so thought there must be some merit to this.

I usually have sore thighs after a ride as well, have only just taken cycling up after a 15yr absence, so tried this method of when i was in the shower to running just cold water over my thighs for a minute or so & then going back to warm water and back to cold. Did this 2 or 3 times.
And i can tell you now, i really notice the difference, my thighs are no where near as sore as they used to be. So this will be something i will be doing from now on.

As long as you dont live too far away from your rides, give this method a try as well.

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Always Remembered Never Forgotten

I am new to biking, have read the books, visit the forums and listen a lot....but buy little of the whizz-bang stuff. Fact is, all the big name trainers and riders and manufacturers sell product.
You can make your own ride cookies and drink...easily and cheaply. Nutritionally there is no better ride snack than a banana and/or a handful of sultanas.Post -ride I believe it is a good idea to walk casually for 10-15 minutes ( I walk the dog). This gets a lot of the blood back out of my legs which are really pumped after a near three hour ride. I then have two 10 minute sessions on a calf massage machine ( this is the best investment I have ever made...and it is an investment in your future health ) before showering. I suggest elevating your legs in bed and preferably relax in a recliner type chair at other times. I used to suffer from chronic leg pain before I adopted this regime.