How Supportive Clothes can Prevent Workout Injuries

When you wear high-quality, supportive clothing during your workouts, you're able to focus wholeheartedly on the task at hand. Two of the most important things you can do to prevent injury while exercising are concentrate and maintain proper form. Supportive clothing, like compression wear, sports bras, and the right pair of shoes, keep pain and fatigue away so that you don't get distracted because when you're not distracted, you can crush all your workouts safely and completely.

Compression Wear

One type of supportive clothing that can prevent workout injuries is compression wear. Compression wear keeps your muscles warm, which can help you avoid potential muscle strain and fatigue, but it also improves blood circulation between your heart and your legs. Even if you do pull a muscle during a workout, it won't be nearly as painful or intense as it'd be if you weren't wearing compression shorts or sleeves. Improved blood circulation and reduced muscle oscillation help minimize the pain you feel during your workouts and helps your muscles recover faster even after the workouts are over. As a bonus, increased blood circulation prevents blood clots, which are dangerous and potentially life-threatening.

Compression wear is helpful for athletes, like baseball and American football players, who regularly slide onto bases or get tackled by the opposing team. A lot of baseball players wear compression pants that are padded at the hips to keep their underwear in place while they slide, preventing extremely painful injuries. Additionally, compression pants reduce the impact force felt by American football players by about 25 percent.

A smaller benefit of compression wear, particularly compression shorts, is the prevention of leg-chafing. Many men and women with larger thighs have a hard time wearing shorts because the skin on their thighs rubs together and chafes, blisters, or both. Compression shorts are great because they come low enough to protect that skin from friction.

Believe it or not, there are other types of socks besides those made from 100% cotton. Some socks have padding for different pressure points on the foot, like the heel, making them ideal for activities like weightlifting. Don't settle for discomfort and blisters when you don't have to.

It's important to make sure you're wearing the right kind and size of compression wear in order to prevent numbness in the body, so speak to a healthcare professional to make sure you know which compression wear is right for you. Also, be wary of clothing with tags that say "compression" but don't really offer any of the therapeutic benefits of real compression wear.

Sports Bras

When most women hear the term "supportive clothing," they automatically think of sports bras, and for good reason. Women's chests need to feel secure during their toughest and most vigorous workouts, because not only can bouncing distract a woman from her workout, but it can also cause a great deal of soreness and pain. The right sports bra should keep a woman's breasts firmly in place so that there's as little movement as possible. For women who enjoy running, the right sports bra is just as important as the right pair of shoes.

The most common breast injuries during a workout are breast bruising and nipple chafing, though some experts have also suggested that wearing the wrong size bra could damage the ligaments within the breast. To prevent those injuries, you need to look for a bra that offers good sweat management, support, and comfort. Just like wearing compression shorts can prevent leg chafing, a good sports bra can prevent nipple chafing for women. Look for materials that don't cause as much friction or perspiration as cotton, like spandex. Also, look for straps in an X or Y shape in order to get the most support from your sports bra. For women with larger breasts, this will help distribute the weight of their breasts more evenly across their backs, relieving pressure from their necks and shoulders. The same principle applies to women with smaller chests, too, since the same amount of soreness, especially after running, is felt by all women.

The Right Pair of Shoes

It can be tempting to wear the same pair of sneakers for every workout, whether you're running, dancing, or lifting weights. Wearing shoes that support you correctly and take into account the physical demands of each activity is one very easy way to avoid potential injuries.

For example, running shoes shouldn't be worn in the weight room. Weightlifting is all about getting low and grounding yourself in a stable position. Conversely, a lot of running shoes have cushions that don't allow your feet to get close to the ground in the first place and are meant to assist in continual movement. With all the extra cushioning, it'd be very easy to lose proper weightlifting form, lose your balance, drop the weight, injure yourself, or do all of the above. On the flip side, if you enjoy running, wearing shoes that don't have the extra cushioning will leave your joints, bones, and muscles vulnerable to a series of harsh impacts, which will damage your legs in the long run. As straightforward as it may seem: running shoes should be worn for running, and weightlifting shoes should be worn for weightlifting.

Another way to prevent injuries while running is to throw out old running shoes when needed. Don't wear your old ones into the ground before buying a new pair; you need all the support high-quality running shoes can give you to prevent the injuries we mentioned earlier. Indulge yourself in new running shoes when the time comes, and be prepared to toss out your old ones.

No matter how you like to exercise, everyone needs to wear supportive clothing in order to prevent injuries involving strained muscles, blood clots, chafing, and more. Some of the injuries we've mentioned may not seem life-threatening or alarmingly risky, but chafing and blisters can be quite annoying, and improper form could lead to less efficient results from your exercises. Be smart about your workouts and invest in supportive exercise clothing today.