After a slow start, Everyday Athlete is beginning to embrace the whole compression craze. What made us cautious were the wild claims from sales reps that their products would improve race times by up to five percent. Though such hyperbole was clearly a fiction, we did notice from our own trials and from first hand accounts from customers that there were some benefits to compression.
Our conclusion, and I think the consensus among the public, is that compression sleeves, socks, and tights, are most helpful as you recover from a hard workout or race. The support for the muscles and the marginal improvement in circulation may help speed up tissue repair. It is kind of like taking an ice bath as a treatment of “micro tears” after hard efforts. Compression is essentially first aid for your muscles. 
You will see more and more athletes, both pros and age-groupers, using compression in a competitive setting. I think at best they can only indirectly lead to better performance. The muscle support may stave off cramping for those athletes that know they have some sort of predisposition to the problem. I think the attitude is, “it can’t hurt”, so why not try it. It’s one of those things where the efficacy simply can’t be proved. Would Shalane Flanagan have finished second at the New York Marathon without compression socks? We will never know. Performance is based on too many variables, none of which can be controlled in any scientific way.
So ignore the crazy claims of the various companies, but still give compression a try, especially if you are in a particularly hard phase of your training, or if you are one of those poor souls who routinely cramps up 15 miles into your long runs.
At Everyday Athlete we carry compression socks from Sugoi and Asics, as will as calf sleeves from Sugoi and Zensah, and full compression tights, again from Sugoi and Asics. Come on by and check ‘em out.
