SKINS

Sport Sox

RICE; Rest Ice Compression Elevation. If you doubt that Skins Sport Long Compression Tights work, or are afraid of overheating or just don't want to wear tights but want some compression, consider the Skins Sport Sox. The most critical area of the long tights are the calves anyway, and the muscles of the lower leg are always working hard to keep you balanced.

These are essentially extra squeezy long socks that start at your ankles and go up to your knees. Unlike knee-highs, these work on the principle of graduated compression. That is, the socks squeeze the most just above the ankle and compress relatively less as they extend up to your knee. At the bottom, the blood is furthest from the heart and hardest to pump out. So these tights help do some of the work for your tired body. They squeeze the muscles and push blood upward toward the heart.

The spandex material helps with the work. It's called BioAcceleration by Skins. The material is a wicking microfiber woven in a warp knit. Not only does it stretch in a consistent fashion, but it is also extremely ...these Sox work to aid recovery for the oft-used and important lower leg muscles... durable. The design was devised to help cradle muscles and hold them in place, which is good for not only recovery, but for doing sports that create lots of muscle oscillation (shaking).

If you want to read up on the science behind using compression socks for recovery, Skins uses their website to publish a short version of the research which backs up their claims. While not the most exciting reading, you can get into the nitty-gritty and decide for yourself. Even shorter is to state that Skins compression gear post-exercise can reduce post-exercise muscle soreness, speed the removal of lactic acid, improve body thermoregulation. Wearing for travel can also ease the swelling associated with airplane flight. For people engaged in sports where the muscles shake a lot (think of your arms mountain biking), Skins can increase muscle endurance.

Skins compression gear has made inroads into pro cycling. Skins sponsors Columbia-Highroad, Bissell, Rabobank, USA Cycling, Cycling Australia, and Kenda Pro Cycling, among others. They're pulling on the stuff after stages to speed recovery. Might even be sleeping in the stuff. The Skins people tell us they use the tights for travel and standing around in addition to post-exercise recovery.

Skins Sport Sox are designed to be the layer next to your skin. If you're going to wear "normal" socks as well, those go over these. Skins recommends washing in cold water either by hand or in a machine on gentle cycle and air drying. If you're between sizes or on the edge of sizes size down.