changes in tissue oxygen saturation with well- and tight-fitted compression sleeves during an incremental exercise on treadmill

Background: effects of lower-limb compression garments on hemodynamics during walking or running remain unclear. objectives: the purpose was to examine the changes in tissue oxygen saturation (sto2 ) with well- and tight-fitted compression sleeves - before, during and after an exercise on treadmill. methods: 14 athletes came to the laboratory three times to complete the same session with or without well- (comp) and tight-fitted (comp+) calf compression sleeves. the session included an incremental exercise on treadmill: 2 min at each intensity - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 km/h - each was preceded and followed by a 10-minute rest in a seated position. calf sto2 was recorded using near infrared spectroscopy before, during and after the exercise. results: sto2 significantly increased with comp and comp+ before (+ 25.2 ± 2.7 % and +22.5 ± 2.7 %) and after the exercise (+ 11.0 ± 1.5 % and +10.2 ± 1.7 %). sto2 also increased while walking but declined as the intensity progressed (+ 14.6 ± 1.9 %, +11.7 ± 1.7 %, +8.5 ± 1.8 %, +8.1 ± 1.8 %, + 5.2 ± 1.7, +3.1 ± 2.0 % and -1.3 ± 4.0 % with comp vs. +11.3 ± 2.0 %, +8.5 ± 1.7 %, +6.0 ± 1.9 %, +5.9 ± 1.7 %, + 2.9 ± 1.6 %, -0.2 ± 2.2 % and -6.5 ± 3.6 % with comp+). with comp+ the significance phased out earlier (2 km/h vs. 4 km/h with comp) and was altered at 7 km/h (while the effects were trivial with comp). the differential was considered small compared to without (cohen’s d = - 0.38; 95 % ci -5.46 to 4.69) and comp (d = 0.27; 95 % ci -5.30 to 5.84). conclusions: this study gives ground to the hypothesis that wearing calf compression sleeves may be useful during prolonged efforts involving sections of low-velocity walks (i.e. < 6 km/h such as nordic walking or ultra-trail races), by virtue of their effect on sto2 . it also appears that compression sleeves could be useful in re-oxygenating tired muscles after exercise. finally this work provides information about the modalities for using compression garments. indeed, using very tight-fitted compression garments may alter the hemodynamics and potentially jeopardize performances.