ISOBAR

In July 2024, the UK-based technology company ISOBAR announced a multi-year innovation partnership with Aquatics GB to deliver advanced, custom compression wear designed to enhance recovery for athletes across all aquatic disciplines.

With over 20 years of expertise in medical and materials science, ISOBAR has been a leader in personalised athletic recovery solutions. Their custom compression wear aims to accelerate recovery, improve performance, and has become essential to the recovery strategies of elite athletes and sports teams.

This partnership will also foster collaboration between Aquatics GB and ISOBAR to drive future innovation in the sport.

Physiological impact of sports compression

There are key areas in sports where compression therapy can have a positive physiological impact.

Compression level, profile and protocols can be tailored to improve athletes travel, performance, recovery, injury prevention and injury rehabilitation.

Sports travel

• Deep-vein thromboses (DVT) can kill and are a significant risk for frequent and long-haul travellers, with 4-10% suffering a blood clot without symptoms.
• The fitter you are, the lower your resting heartrate tends to be. Consequently, when travelling, athletes can be more prone to DVTs. The use of compression socks when travelling can significantly reduce this risk.
• Studies have also shown that, when travelling, using ISOABR compression socks prevent swelling, the feeling of heavy legs and jetlag.

Sports recovery

• Reduce Muscle Damage: A biomarker of muscle damage called creatine kinase (CK) has been shown to be reduced after exercise when compression sportswear are worn. When CK levels are reduced, recovery time is improved due to the increased elimination of waste metabolites and the repair of muscle tissues.
• Decrease Soreness and Fatigue: The results of two meta-analyses showed that compression sportswear use decreases post-workout leg soreness, muscle fatigue, and muscle damage from exercise. These effects are due to an increase in blood flow and lymphatic drainage.
• Reduce Pain and Inflammation: When it comes to inflammatory response, compression sportswear can reduce both pain and inflammation after a workout.

Sports injury rehabilitation

• Reducing pain: Swelling also causes more pain to the injury since it puts a lot of pressure on the injured area. Since compressing can reduce swelling, it helps with lessening your pain as well.
• Improving blood and fluid circulation: When applied correctly, compression can help prevent the build-up of lymph fluids, which need to flow properly to transport waste from cells and tissue. It also helps get oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the injury to fuel the cells and tissue for improved healing.
• Reducing swelling: Swelling is the body’s way of protecting the injury. Compressing the injury helps reduce and prevent swelling.