When discussing compression clothing I default to what I
call my “Rocket Man Song Defense” which is a nice way to say “All the science I
don’t understand”.
The Science – That I’ve Read
The gist of compression garments is that creating varying
compression of parts of your body can assist in strategically increasing blood
flow to either improve performance and/or improve recovery.
Great right? Who
doesn’t need help keeping the wolves at bay deep into a race or training
run? And what would you pay to shorten
the recovery time between racing and training or between training runs when the
legs feel like lead and the kids want to kick the soccer ball around the
yard. Seems like a drug free and natural
way to help the body perform better.
EC3D Product
I
want to disclose up front that I have both paid for and also received free product
from EC3D for testing.
EC3D
is a proud Canadian company that got their start with this technology making
compression garments for the medical market.
Their
claimed advantage is the variable compression that their products provide. The compression varies in the garment in
order to offer specific compression in specific areas in order to elicit the
result of improved performance or improved recovery.
EC3D Calf Sleeves
I
bought this product when wanting to try compression sleeves to help with my
training efforts. My legs were often
fatigued when increasing mileage and I thought they would help.
I
went to my trusty Running Free location and the store rep quickly ran a
measuring tape around my calf to assist in picking the specific size I needed. This is very important as they are sized
based on calf circumference. I was
concerned that the garment might be too long as I am quite short but they fit
just fine.
What
drew me to this product was the variable compression claims and also the fact
they were made in Canada. They were very
competitively priced so I felt it was 3 strikes against the competition.
The
first thing you will notice is that these suckers are tight and hard to get
on. But once on you appreciate the fact
the compression isn’t uniform as your legs aren’t uniform in shape.
Secondly,
the box advertised that the product works for both performance and recovery
which is what I wanted.
The
other cool thing about this product is that is uses Antimicrobial fibres (Rocket
Man) that thwarts the stink of frequent use.
I can tell you first hand it works incredibly.
EC3D 3 in 1 Hybrid
This
product is for someone who wants it all.
It includes three garments: Performance
compression sleeves, recovery compression sleeves and compression socks.
The
difference in the performance vs. recovery sleeves are the placement of the
varying compression components. It makes
sense in theory that specifically designed sleeves for differing purposes could
deliver better results vs. one garment.
The compression socks are great as well. They fit tight and feel very thin. They feel great on and I have had zero rubs or hot spots wearing them. I put them into the sock rotation immediately.
Does It Work?
I think the scientific and running community jury may be out
a bit on whether there is a lasting effect provided by compression. It’s kind of like the ice bath debate. As long as I see ultra runners wearing
compression and jumping into ice baths I have to think it’s a bit more than a
theory.
In this case I don’t care if it’s a placebo effect or a real
medicinal effect, it works for me.
Putting on the garment elicits an immediate cooling
effect. It’s as if you can feel the
blood flow improve instantly. In recover
situations it definitely seems to shorten the fatigue.
The additional effect is a reduction of damage resulting
from the constant pounding and vibration of thousands of steps on the road or
trail. This is a real benefit to me as
well and is a noticeable effect.
In closing, if you haven’t tried compression it’s a good
time to give it a shot. Buying new cool
stuff is a definite side benefit to running and EC3D has the science behind it
at a great price while being made in Canada.
