Influence of Material Properties and Garment Composition on Pressure Generated by Sport Compression Garments

Sports compression garments (SCG) have been used by athletes for years as means of enhancement of their performance and speed of recovery. In this research, the investigation into the effects the physical attributes of suitable materials and their composition and orientation in SCG have upon the amount and distribution of pressure generated to the underlying body was undertaken. Two different knitted fabrics suitable for compression sport garment with different physical properties and elastic performance attributes were chosen. Experimental fabric sleeves were assembled, so that they provided different fabric strains around the circumference of the different diameter of cylinders they were placed on. The pressure generated by sleeves was measured using Salzmann pressure-measuring device MST MK IV and Salzmann MST 2007 software. It was determined that different material composition of fabric assemblies influenced the pressure delivery of garment. However no clear relationship between the fabric percentage in assembly composition and the generated pressure was established.