Influence of a compression garment on repetitive power output production before and after different types of muscle fatigue

Compression shorts have become a very popular item of sports apparel. Few data exist about whether they influence athletic performance. The purpose of this study was to determine whether compression shorts affected vertical jump performance after different fatigue tasks (i.e., endurance, strength, and power). In addition, experiments on the influence of a compression garment on joint position sense at the hip and muscle movement velocity upon landing impact was also studied. Healthy college age men and women participated in the various studies. Subjects were thoroughly familiarized with the jump tests and all other experimental techniques. Jumps were performed on an AMTI force plate which was interfaced to a computer with customized software used to determine jump power. Ten consecutive maximal counter movement jumps with arms held at waist level were performed. The compressive garment had no effect on the maximal power of the highest jump in either men or women. The compressive garment significantly enha...