Research helps distance runners
2009-08-13
SPORTS scientists are constantly coming across new ways to take athletic performance to the next level. Recently some positive effects of compression therapy in athletes have been discovered and the Stellenbosch Sport Science is looking for long distance athletes to test their compression socks during the Bainskloof Ultramarathon on 24 September (Heritage Day). The compression sock is specifically designed, together with the type of fabric, to apply most of the pressure at the ankle and this pressure subsides towards the knee. This is call graduated pressure. Studies conducted at Stellenbosch University between 2006 and 2008 suggest that participants wearing the compression socks showed a faster lactate recovery rate after exercise as well as less swelling in their calf muscles than those that wore a normal sport sock. This suggests that compression socks accelerate recovery after taxing activities, which indirectly improve athletic performance. Distance runners who wish to particpate, can contact the main researcher Karen Welman at the Sport Physiology Laboratory on 021-808-2818 or 082 098 53 87 or researchproject2009@gmail.com. Runners will obtain invaluable information about their fitness and performance status, as well as contribute to the development of distance running and the recovery.
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