Abstract
Purpose
Compression socks are frequently used in the treatment and prevention of lower-limb pathologies; however, when combined with endurance-based exercise, the impact of compression socks on haemostatic activation remains unclear.
Objectives
To investigate the effect of wearing compression socks on coagulation and fibrinolysis following a marathon.
Methods
Sixty-seven participants [43 males (mean ± SD: age: 46.7 ± 10.3 year) and 24 females (age: 40.0 ± 11.0 year)] were allocated into a compression (SOCK, n = 34) or control (CONTROL, n = 33) group. Venous blood samples were obtained 24 h prior to and immediately POST-marathon, and were analyzed for thrombin–anti-thrombin complex (TAT), tissue factor (TF), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), and D-Dimer.
Results
Compression significantly attenuated the post-exercise increase in D-Dimer compared to the control group [median (range) SOCK: + 9.02 (− 0.34 to 60.7) ng/mL, CONTROL: + 25.48 (0.95–73.24) ng/mL]. TF increased following the marathon run [median (range), SOCK: + 1.19 (− 7.47 to 9.11) pg/mL, CONTROL: + 3.47 (− 5.01 to 38.56) pg/mL] in all runners. No significant post-exercise changes were observed for TAT and TFPI.
Conclusions
While activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis was apparent in all runners POST-marathon, wearing compression socks was shown to reduce fibrinolytic activity, as demonstrated by lower D-Dimer concentrations. Compression may reduce exercise-associated haemostatic activation when completing prolonged exercise.
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Abbreviations
- DVT:
-
Deep vein thrombosis
- ELISA:
-
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
- TAT:
-
Thrombin–anti-thrombin complex
- TF:
-
Tissue factor
- TFPI:
-
Tissue factor pathway inhibitor
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Acknowledgements
We wish to disclose that this project received financial support through compression garments being provided in-kind by sporting clothing manufacturer 2XU and the Australian Institute of Sport; however, this company was neither involved in the study design, the process of data collection, nor data analysis. The authors would like to thank Mr Samuel Hughes, Ms Kaylee Orton, Mr Mohammed Jawad Yousaf Zai, Ms Chris Heenan, Ms Sarah Trehearn, Ms Jasmine Wadham, Ms Laura Blay, Ms Franca Helman, Dr Shi Zhou, and Events Queensland for their assistance with this project.
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EKZ contributed to the concept of the study design, data collection, interpretation and analysis, and wrote the manuscript. MJA contributed to the study design, data interpretation and analysis, and the revision of the manuscript. SSXW contributed to the study design, data collection, and the revision of the manuscript. CMK contributed to the study design, data interpretation and analysis, and the revision of the manuscript. IS contributed to data collection and revision of the manuscript. AK contributed to data collection and revision of the manuscript. NB contributed to data collection and revision of the manuscript. ANBJ contributed to the study design and the revision of the manuscript. JC contributed to the concept of study design and revision of the mansucript. ACB contributed to data collection and revision of the manuscript. SLH conttibuted to the study design and revision of the manuscript. JWF contributed to the concept of the study design, data interpretation and analysis, and the revision of the manuscript.
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Communicated by Fabio Fischetti.
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Zadow, E.K., Adams, M.J., Wu, S.S.X. et al. Compression socks and the effects on coagulation and fibrinolytic activation during marathon running. Eur J Appl Physiol 118, 2171–2177 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3929-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3929-5