SKINS - Studies Insights

Summaries_1

Exercise Performance 1

The effect of compression garments during simulated netball trials

– T Higgins, The Australian Catholic University, Australia

This thesis from Australian Catholic University examined Skins™ in elite netball players using a range of performance parameters in a simulated game drill. This thesis presents an excellent and detailed review of existing literature. The results showed improvements in time spent at higher pace.

There were no difference in lactic acid but the levels indicate that lactate accumulation did not occur.

Garment quarterly heart rate means

Garment quarterly distance means

Means heart rates quarterly Mean heart rates

155 150 145 140 135 130

Distance covered

1150 1130 1110 1090 1070 1060

Distance in metres

Netball garment

Placebo garment

Compression garment

Netball garment

Garment quarterly means slow

Garment quarterly means fast

Distance travelled at a slow pace

Distance travelled at a fast pace

610 560 510 460 410 Garments Netball garment

Placebo garment

Compression garment

Key Research Studies

Compression garment

Distance in metres

01

Distance travelled

Garments

Netball garment

Distance in metres

Distance travelled

610 600 590 580 570 560 550 540

Placebo garment

Garments

Garments

Placebo garment

Beats. min-1

160

Mean distance covered quarterly

Compression garment

Summaries_2

Exercise Recovery & DOMS 1

Compression garments and recovery from eccentric exercise

– M I Trenell, K B Rooney, C M Sue and C H Thompson Published in Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 2006; 5: 106-114

This study on 11 subjects used magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) to demonstrate the muscle changes during recovery. The results showed significance improvement in enzymes involved in muscle membrane restoration after only 1 hour wearing Skins™ (long tights) after controlled muscle injury.

7.14 7.12

pH

7.10 7.08 7.06 7.04 7.02 7.00 1hr

Baseline

48hrs

Skeletal muscle pH at baseline. 1hr and 48hrs following eccentric muscle exercise in control (diamonds) and compression (circles). p<0.05 compared with baseline.

2

Effectiveness of post match recovery strategies in Rugby players

– N D Gill, C M Beavan and C Cook Published in British Journal of Sports Medicine 2006; 40: 260-263

This study compared recovery strategies after elite rugby union games and found that ice baths,

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

01

Per cent recovery

Skins™ and active recovery improved recovery rates by a similar but substantial amount.

ACT CWT PAS GAR

*

*

0

36 h

84 h

Time post-match

The percentage recovery post-rugby match as examined by interstitial creatine kinase activity at 0, 36 and 84 hours, grouped by recovery strategy. Error bars show the standard error of the differences (SED) at the respective time points.

ACT, active recovery; CWT, contrast water therapy; GAR, compression garment; PAS, passive recovery. *Significantly different (p<0.05) from other interventions.

Key Research Studies

Summaries_3

3

The effect of 4 recovery techniques post competitive rugby matches plasma creatine kinase

– N Gill

This study conducted in NZ examined different recovery modes on blood CPK, a marker of muscle damage. This study showed similar reductions in CPK with all recovery strategies, including wearing Skins™, compared with no intervention.

Flight 1

A randomized, crossover, open-label study of the effectiveness of Skins™ travel and recovery garments in reducing in-flight ankle oedema

– M Hagan, S M Lambert Published in Medical Journal of Australia 2008; 188 (2): 81-84

Hagan & Lambert (2006) did prospective measures on 50 passengers on flights of greater than 5 hours it showed significant differences in ankle circumference and symptoms of Economy Class Syndrome. Measurements were made on both the outgoing and return flights for each passenger – one wearing Skins™ and one not wearing Skins™.

Subjects reported that: • they experienced increased concentration, alertness and energy levels • their legs felt significantly better after the flight when they wore SkinsTM

1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0

01

• they experienced a significantly better night sleep after the flight

Difference in ankle circumference cm

Key Research Studies

Pain

No SkinsTM SkinsTM Number non-alcoholic drinks

Summaries_4

Injury Prevention & Treatment 1

The effect of compression garments on the recovery from eccentric exercise induced muscle damage

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; M I Trenell, Kolling Medical Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

This pilot study used magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) to demonstrate the muscle changes during recovery. The results showed significance improvement in muscle pH after only 1 hour of wearing Skinsâ&#x201E;˘ (long tights) after controlled muscle injury.

Results: The 31P-MRS results suggest that eccentric exercise reduced intramuscular pH and elevates intramuscular ADP, a sign of metabolic stress one hour after exercise (diagrams below). The use of a compression garment maintained intramuscular pH and ADP. pH

7.08 7.07 7.06 7.05 7.04 7.03 7.02 7.01 7 6.99 6.98 6.97 Pre

48 hrs

1 hr

0.18 0.17 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.1 0.09 0.08 Pre

Control

Control

Treatment

Treatment

01

A

Pi/PCr

Ratio

Ratio

B

Changes in T2 weighted images following before (A) and after 48hrs after (B) exercise in the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle.

Key Research Studies

1 hr

48 hrs

Summaries_5

2

The effects of wearing sports tights during training on lower leg volume in professional rugby league players

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; K Morgan, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

This thesis compared leg volume (swelling) effect in 24 rugby league players and found that compression tights (including Skinsâ&#x201E;˘) significantly reduced muscle swelling and had the greatest effect on sprint training (where more eccentric injury occurs)

70

*

*

30 10 -10 -30 -50 -70 Endurance

Sprint

01

Mean volume change (m)

50

Key Research Studies

Weight

Summaries_6

Strength, Proprioception & Muscle Awareness 1

The effect of graduated compression garments (Skins™) on distance running biomechanics

– I.S.P.O.R.T

This independent study in 6 subjects (a totals of 30 repeats) showed that there was no inhibition of running stride at the knee when wearing Skins™ long tights but there was improvement in propulsive forces from the hip.

164.1°

156.3°

Hip angle at ground contact determined by the markers on the knee and hip.

Independent Samples Test (n = 30)

Hip angle at propulsion determined by the markers on the knee and hip.

t

Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference

Contact Knee Angle

-396

.694

-.4967 deg

Peak Knee Angle

-.973

.335

-.6067 deg

Contact Pelvic Angle

-104

.918

-.1100 deg

Propulsion Pelvic Angle

1.109

.273

1.4233 deg

Change in Pelvic Angle

-1.699

.0.96

-1.8033 deg

Contact Hip Angle

-671

.505

-.3000 deg

Propulsion Hip Angle

-2.275

.027

-.1.4767 deg

Change in Hip Angle

-1.324

.191

-.1.1767 deg

Contact Time

-689

.493

-.3.3333 sec

Velocity

-.374

.709

-.0213 m/s

01

Variable

2

The effect of Skins™ compression garments on ballistic strength in elite rugby league players

– B T Duffy

This internal study looked at ballistic strength as indicated by the distance a medicine ball can be repeatedly thrown. The group with Skins™ half-tights and short sleeved tops threw the medicine ball consistently further.

Key Research Studies

Summaries_7

Blood Flow & Oxygenation 1

The physiological and performance effects of the lower body compression garments in high performance cyclists

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; B Dascombe, A Scanlan, M Osbourne, B Humphries, P Reaburn

This independent study in 12 elite athletes showed dramatic improvements in muscle oxygenation during 1-hour time trials (1HTT) and maximal efforts, including increases in anaerobic threshold and increased muscle oxygenation during the recovery from intense exercise.

mOxy (%)

1HTT

Recovery

100

LBCG

80

CONT

60 40 20

0

10

30

20

50

40

60

70

Time (min)

16

LBCG

14

Ë&#x153;15 W

[BLa] (mmol/L)

12

CONT

10 8 6 4

2 0 200

300

400

01

100

An T

Representation of a right-ward shift in the lactate curve between the control and LBCG conditions in a single subject.

500

Power (W)

1HTT Recovery

Incremental test

100

mOxy (%)

80 60 40

Cuff Ishemia LBCG CONT

20

0

5

10

15

20

25

Time (min)

Key Research Studies

30

35

40

45

A typical representation of the mOxy responses in the control and LBCG conditions across incremental tests.

Summaries_8

Wicking & Thermoregulation 1

Thermographic survey of high tech compression garments

– Thermovision Services, Farmborough Heights, New South Wales, Australia

This report used thermographs of two elite football players alternating between wearing Skins™ and not wearing Skins™. There are clear differences between the surface temperatures when wearing Skins™ of between 3 and 5 degrees at the working muscles.

Area 2

Area 1 29.7 30.3

29.5 29.2

27.8

Area 1

25.5

27.2

28.0

27.3

27.1

Area 4

Area 3

Area 3

28.4

Area 2

25.0 27.8 25.3

26.9

Area 4

26.7

28.2

2

The effects of Skins™ in different temperature conditions

– The Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand

This detailed study conducted at the Waikato Institute (NZ) compared the effects of Skins™ in different temperature conditions. The measurements include heat rate, core body temperature perception and heat stress, all of which improved when wearing Skins™ compared to controls.

Thermal sensation and RPE response to exercice

20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0

01

RPE & thermal sensation

during three different environmental conditions

10

20

30

40

SkinsTM RPE SkinsTM TS Cold RPE SkinsTM TS No SkinsTM TS Cold TS

50

60

Thermal sensation and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during three separate trials, exercise in the cold, exercise in the heat with SkinsTM. During the first 30 minutes there was no observed difference in RPE for any of the trials.

After the 30-minute mark, at any point in time, three was a trend for a higher RPE during the hot-no SkinsTM trial when compared with the hot-SkinsTM and cold trial.

Key Research Studies

Summaries_9

Fatigue 1

Performance effects of wearing compression garments (Skins™) during exercise and recovery

– C K Argus, The Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand

This report is a post-graduate’s report of the effect of Skins™ on a large number of parameters over a seven day period. These studies found significant improvements in repeated sprint times at day 2 and 7; greater concentric and eccentric strength; and lower post-exercise pain.

Percentage change ( = SD) in fastest sprint time

6

*

Change in sprint time

4 2 0 -2 -4 -6

Compression

-8

Control Baseline

2

3

4

5

6

7

Day

Percentage change (= SD) in fastest sprint time for 12 repetition of 20 meter sprints between COMP (n=9) groups over three days of testing followed by one day testing four days later. There was a small worthwhile positive effect on day seven for the COMP group (ES = -0.39).

* Denotes small worthwhile positive effect.

01

Key Research Studies