Support for Sport

[AMH2]

I obviously wear my garment whilst exercising but my foot in particular (plus my leg) still swells quite badly. Has anyone any advise on any other garments/supports they use? I do a lot of yoga and pilates, so wear no shoes which would give extra compression

[naominorthenellis]

this may seem a silly question, but have you tried extra support? I don't know what support you are using, but, if you are only wearing support up to the knee; perhaps full tights or a leg sleeve up to the thigh when you are exercising would be beneficial..? we know that we create additional lymph flow during exercise and perhaps compressing the whole leg would improve the situation. Just a thought! NNE

[AMH2 in reply to naominorthenellis]

I already wear thigh high class 3, guess I could try a knee high over the top but I fear I won't have any flexibility to move!

[naominorthenellis]

I wouldn't wear an extra knee high as that may give a tourniquet effect at the back on the knee which you want to avoid. does it take long for the swelling to reduce? NNE

[AMH2 in reply to naominorthenellis]

A couple of days for the foot to recover

[Rainbow36]

To give me added compression I wear a contoured tubigrip that I get from my Lymphoedema clinic.

[Sundance]

Hello, I have it in both legs and I swim, cycle gym and walk. I have worn full length stockings I the pool but most of the time I swim without support. The other activities I do wear garments. I do find having kenisio tape on my left foot helps to reduce foot swelling and that includes the pool. To stop the tape coming off I wear an old comoression sock over the top. Its not the water that makes come off it the movement.

Extra compression will compromise flexibility and may effect your balance as well. Keep exercising.

[naominorthenellis]

that is quite long post exercise and i imagine it puts you off to a degree. Sundance is right, the kinisio tape may be effective for you; and the idea of a contoured tubigrip; perhaps if worn just over the foot; making sure it isn't too strong at the point where it finishes... Also the point about not wearing compression when swimming is an interesting one - at a conference over the w/e one of the speakers mentioned that swimming; effectively exercising against the resistance of the water, acts as compression. i had not heard or thought about that before; but it could be worth a try; again - it depends on the severity of your condition. Also if it works it means you don't have to do battle with wet compression garments post swim... I am not an expert and I think most of us work on the basis of trial and error. NNE

[AMH2 in reply to naominorthenellis]

Thanks for all your comments, I do use kinseo tape but perhaps I need to learn how to use it properly. Is a tubigrip like an ankle support? It's a shame cause I love yoga and Pilates but dread the aftermath now!