What, Why & How to Buy a Compression Garment – Especially If you’ve had Surgery Recently.

Compression garments are elastic clothing with an engineered compression gradient that can be worn on limbs, upper, lower, or full body for therapy and sports. These garments are special clothing containing elastomeric fibres and yarns used to apply considerable mechanical pressure on the surface of somebody parts for stabilizing, compressing, and supporting underlying tissues. 

Compression garments are majorly advantageous in the fields of medical applications, athletic applications, and body-shaping applications.

Hol’up….if the grammar is confusing you, let’s take it slow, shall we!

Looking at a compression garment, you’d think it’s just like the popular workout wears that you see in the gym or on Instagram. It is different though because it is woven tightly to support and restrict your body’s tissues. 

Just before you begin to think this sounds comfortable, hear this! Compression socks, tights and tanks give you a feeling of being held in and supported but not in a painful or bad way.

So, let’s answer some general questions about compression garments

Why are they worn during exercise?

If you participate in the type of workouts that usually involve higher volume and intensity of cardio work, wearing compression garments will aid in minimizing the muscle damage caused by the continuous vibration of cardio activities like running or spinning and aid recovery by enhancing circulation during and after exercise.

Why are compression garments worn after liposuction?

Using a compression garment after liposuction helps your body recover quickly and increases your comfort during the healing process. Because the body naturally produces fluids during recovery, these fluids can accumulate and cause swelling and discomfort hereby prolonging your healing process. 

A compression garment applies considerable pressure across the treatment area, preventing excessive fluid buildup and helping your body absorb any accumulated fluid.

Bruising always happens after liposuction but it can be minimized by wearing a compression garment. The consistent pressure of a compression garment helps stop bleeding and prevents blood from moving toward the skin’s surface to reduce the appearance of bruises.

I must add that if you are concerned about scarring, wearing a compression garment will put enough pressure on the area which helps soften and greatly reduce the appearance of liposuction’s scars.

Other benefits of compression garments during liposuction 

A compression garment will help you achieve optimal liposuction results which equate to smoother, tighter, more defined liposuction results. A lot of people also find that wearing a compression garment improves their posture and quickens mobility after a body contouring procedure.

Why wear a compression garment for lymphedema?

For lymphedema in the lower limb, wearing compression stockings is speculated to improve the calf muscle pumping on the veins as well as to help the propulsion of the lymph by enhancing the contractions of the skeletal muscles opposite the lymphatic vessels. Another conceivable benefit of wearing compression stockings is to reduce capillary filtration.

How to Buy Compression Garment. 

If you’re ready to buy your first piece of compression wear, I’ve got a few tips. First, remember that sizing is important to get the most potential. 

Also, remember that compression is meant to be tight but not uncomfortable or restrictive, but certainly tight enough that you feel supported. So which compression garments should you buy? I know this question is on your mind. 

Well, that depends largely on your body and your reasons for wearing the garment. For instance, to get exercise benefits during and after your workout, I advise that you begin with compression leggings/tights because your legs will be involved in most cardio activities for weight loss.

Just like you would need an arm sharper if your focus is on reducing the extra skins around your arm. In General, your decision should start with the question “What do I want to achieve?”

Have you used a compression garment before? What was your experience? Please share with us in the comment section.