Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative Review
Nowadays, compression garments (CGs) are widely used in winter racing sports, such as speed skating, short-track speed skating, alpine skiing, and cross-country skiing. However, the effect of wearing CGs on athletic performance in these specific sports is still not fully examined. Thus, the aim of t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Physiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2020.00970/full |
| _version_ | 1818526369450033152 |
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| author | Chenhao Yang Yongxin Xu Yang Yang Songlin Xiao Weijie Fu Weijie Fu |
| author_facet | Chenhao Yang Yongxin Xu Yang Yang Songlin Xiao Weijie Fu Weijie Fu |
| author_sort | Chenhao Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nowadays, compression garments (CGs) are widely used in winter racing sports, such as speed skating, short-track speed skating, alpine skiing, and cross-country skiing. However, the effect of wearing CGs on athletic performance in these specific sports is still not fully examined. Thus, the aim of this narrative review is to summarize the research and application of CGs in winter racing sports and to discuss how the CGs help athletes improve their performance in an integrative manner (i.e., physiology, aerodynamics, and biomechanics). A total of 18 experimental studies dedicated to CGs in winter racing sports were identified from the peer-review scientific literature. The main findings are as follows. (1) Currently, CG studies have mainly focused on drag reduction, metabolism, muscle function, strength performance, and fatigue recovery. (2) The results of most studies conducted in wind tunnels showed that, for cylindrical structures similar to the human body, clothing with rough surfaces can reduce air drag. Notably, the effect of CGs on drag reduction in real competition has not been fully explored in the literature. (3) Compression can reduce muscle vibrations at high impact and help athletes control the center of pressure movement, a function that is important for alpine skiing. Future studies are needed to improve current understanding of the effects of compression clothing microstructure on drag reduction and their stretching in different parts of the body. Furthermore, the design of experimental protocol must be consistent with those during the competition, thus providing a full discussion on energy metabolism, fatigue, and recovery affected by CGs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:22:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33eb6d3a03db48a19bad933942e73ba3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-042X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:22:02Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Physiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-33eb6d3a03db48a19bad933942e73ba32022-12-22T01:17:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physiology1664-042X2020-08-011110.3389/fphys.2020.00970534448Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative ReviewChenhao Yang0Yongxin Xu1Yang Yang2Songlin Xiao3Weijie Fu4Weijie Fu5School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, ChinaSchool of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, ChinaSchool of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, ChinaSchool of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, ChinaSchool of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, ChinaKey Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, ChinaNowadays, compression garments (CGs) are widely used in winter racing sports, such as speed skating, short-track speed skating, alpine skiing, and cross-country skiing. However, the effect of wearing CGs on athletic performance in these specific sports is still not fully examined. Thus, the aim of this narrative review is to summarize the research and application of CGs in winter racing sports and to discuss how the CGs help athletes improve their performance in an integrative manner (i.e., physiology, aerodynamics, and biomechanics). A total of 18 experimental studies dedicated to CGs in winter racing sports were identified from the peer-review scientific literature. The main findings are as follows. (1) Currently, CG studies have mainly focused on drag reduction, metabolism, muscle function, strength performance, and fatigue recovery. (2) The results of most studies conducted in wind tunnels showed that, for cylindrical structures similar to the human body, clothing with rough surfaces can reduce air drag. Notably, the effect of CGs on drag reduction in real competition has not been fully explored in the literature. (3) Compression can reduce muscle vibrations at high impact and help athletes control the center of pressure movement, a function that is important for alpine skiing. Future studies are needed to improve current understanding of the effects of compression clothing microstructure on drag reduction and their stretching in different parts of the body. Furthermore, the design of experimental protocol must be consistent with those during the competition, thus providing a full discussion on energy metabolism, fatigue, and recovery affected by CGs.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2020.00970/fullspeed skatingalpine skiingcross country skiingair dragmuscle functionstrength |
| spellingShingle | Chenhao Yang Yongxin Xu Yang Yang Songlin Xiao Weijie Fu Weijie Fu Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative Review Frontiers in Physiology speed skating alpine skiing cross country skiing air drag muscle function strength |
| title | Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative Review |
| title_full | Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative Review |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative Review |
| title_short | Effectiveness of Using Compression Garments in Winter Racing Sports: A Narrative Review |
| title_sort | effectiveness of using compression garments in winter racing sports a narrative review |
| topic | speed skating alpine skiing cross country skiing air drag muscle function strength |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2020.00970/full |
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