Compression products appear to be standard fare for those exercising, regardless of the type of sport. Even dancers can be seen training whilst wearing them to aid their performances and recovery. There are various compression products on the market, such as Coda Compression socks, which are aimed specifically at dancers and others, including Skins and 2XU, which are marketed to a more general athletic audience. These are also popular amongst dancers, particularly ballet dancers.
Amongst the many benefits these products claim to offer, dancers can experience better recovery from exercise, an enhanced warm-up due to increased skin temperature, increased jump height and power, and a reduction in delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
The ideology behind compression garments is nothing new: medical compression stockings have been used for several decades to improve venous blood flow in patients. According to studies, there is some evidence that compression garments may enhance the removal of lactate from muscles (linked to DOMS), improve jumping power (due to an improved warm-up) and reduce risk of injury. These positive effects are seen during exercise and during recovery periods following exercise, making them a useful training tool for athletes across a wide variety of sports. However, they must provide enough pressure to promote venous return for blood flow.
Many dancers use compression garments for recovery between shows and sometimes even overnight when legs are tired. If a dancer gets a lot of fatigue in the lower legs from a heavy workload and hard ballets, the socks help to ease tension and promote fast recovery. Some may even wear the garments overnight to restore and repair muscles. Others describe the effect of wearing compression garments during and post training like soaking the lower legs in ice or laying with the legs up the wall to aid recovery.