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This systematic review investigated the effects of wearing below-knee compression stockings (CS) on exercise performance (or sports activity) and associated physiological and perceived indicators. We searched articles on PubMed using the following terms: “graduated compression stockings”; “compression stockings”; “graduated compression socks”; “compression socks” combined with “performance”, “athletes”, “exercise”, “exercise performance”, “fatigue”, “sports” and “recovery”, resulting in 1067 papers. After checking for inclusion criteria (e.g., original studies, healthy subjects, performance analysis), 21 studies were selected and analyzed. We conclude that wearing CS during exercise improved performance in a small number of studies. However, wearing CS could benefit muscle function indicators and perceived muscle soreness during the recovery period. Future research should investigate the chronic effect of CS on Sports Medicine and athletic performance.

The prevention of deep venous thrombosis is one of the first evidence-based benefits of wearing compression sleeve, demonstrated by a clinical experiment in which CS improved the venous return by increasing femoral vein blood flow velocity in hospitalized patients.1 Over time, the interest from the basic medical area has expanded to other fields like Sports Medicine.2 Nowadays, recreational and professional athletes have used CS as a tool for improving performance or accelerate recovery from training or competitions, and also to reduce lower limb volume,3,4 relieve symptoms of muscle soreness, and fatigue.3–6 Such popularity is probably boosted by the possibility to obtain potential ergogenic benefits with a simple and low-cost aid.
A systematic literature search was performed by two independent reviewers in PubMed. The following terms: (i) “graduated soccer cotton basketball compression sock”; (ii) “compression stockings”; (iii) “graduated compression socks”; (iv) “compression socks” were combined with “performance”, “athletes”, “exercise”, “exercise performance”, “fatigue”, “sports” and “recovery” (Figure 1).

The studies included in this review met the following inclusion criteria: 1) original studies; 2) comprised samples of adults (≥ 18 yr); 3) participants were healthy; 4) investigated the effects of wearing foot-to-knee (below knee) CS (during exercise) on exercise performance and physiological and perceptual indicators (e.g., muscle fatigue, muscle recovery, musle soreness); 5) trampoline sublimation weed white sock worn during the exercise/test/match; and 6) study protocol included exercise or effort tests and performance analysis.

Only two studies found some beneficial effect of CS on performance, and a third study improved subsequent performance (Table 2). Two studies did not find performance effects of CS for the group mean, but the authors highlighted that CS promoted benefits for some individuals. The main effects of CS are presented with compressions between 20 and 30 mmHg. The range between the anti slip wool compression sock values is 12 to 28 mmHg, while the maximum values range from 15 to 33 mmHg.