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Compression Garments Reduce Soft Tissue Vibrations and Muscle Activations during Drop Jumps: An Accelerometry
Liqin Deng1, Yang Yang1, Chenhao Yang1
1Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 28, 2021
Summary
Compression shorts reduce muscle vibrations and activity during drop jumps without affecting performance. This suggests external compression can mitigate impact vibrations in strenuous activities.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Sports Science
- Human Movement Analysis
Background:
- Athletic activities like drop jumps involve significant impact forces.
- Understanding how external devices affect the body's response to impact is crucial for injury prevention and performance enhancement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of compression shorts on joint mechanics, soft tissue vibrations, and muscle activation during drop jumps.
- To determine if compression garments alter neuromuscular performance during high-impact activities.
Main Methods:
- Twelve male athletes performed drop jumps from varying heights (30, 45, 60 cm) wearing either compression shorts (CS) or control shorts (CON).
- Measurements included sagittal plane kinematics, ground reaction forces, accelerations of quadriceps femoris (QF) and hamstrings (HM), and electromyography (EMG) of rectus femoris (RF) and biceps femoris (BF).
Main Results:
- Compression shorts significantly reduced quadriceps femoris and hamstring peak acceleration at certain heights.
- Wearing CS increased damping coefficients for QF and HM and lowered peak transmissibility across most soft tissue compartments and heights.
- Muscle activity (EMG) of RF and BF was reduced during specific phases of the jump with CS, while joint moments, power, and jump height remained unaffected.
Conclusions:
- External compression effectively reduces soft tissue vibrations during strenuous, impact-inducing activities.
- Compression garments can be applied without negatively impacting neuromuscular performance, offering a potential tool for managing impact-related stress.
