Secret behind Alabama's LSU-recovery for Mississippi State

Guys, I'm still bodybuilding at age 58, and will tell you without reservation that I religiously wear a copper infused compression shirt under my work and workout shirts. I also have an accupressure mat (lay on it before bed) and accupressure shoe inserts that are also infused with copper. Also use copper infused elbow compression sleeves. Point being, they all help me recover faster, manage and deal with minor osteo in feet, neck, elbows and back and promote better circulation, all while avoiding drugs. Hopefully, the boys will be ready to score some touchdowns in the 1st quarter this Saturday and break the post LSU 1st quarter blues!

Alasippi said:

I need a pair of those...

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My dermatologist told me to purchase some compression socks that come up to the knee. They actually do make your legs feel refreshed. They are expensive too. I purchased them at a medical supply. They are not $180 expensive, but the most expensive socks that I've ever purchased.

TIDE-HSV said:

These were originally developed for medical issues. My wife has a condition known as DVI (Deep Venous Insufficiency). Even though she doesn't have edema, after long standing or her clogging practice, she would have severe pain in her legs. However, she only wears the thigh-highs. (Even the knee-highs have about 90% of the benefit of the thigh highs, and I wear them for long flights, such as to Europe.) With them, she can go to a 2-hour clogging practice without fatigue or pain. We have an older friend who has a much worse venous problem and she does wear the waist-high version. The principal behind both the medical version and the athletic is the same - better circulation by partially overcoming the effects of gravity...

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Do players just wear them during the week leading up to a game or do they also wear them during a game?

So for decades team doctors have thought, "How can we improve recovery and reduce swelling issues from high impact and running all day?". Doctors some of whom spent all day working with nurses wearing compression hose so they wouldn't be sore after lots of impact and running/walking all day.

Man, I wonder how many millionaire inventions around me I ignore every day.

TIDE-HSV said:

These were originally developed for medical issues. My wife has a condition known as DVI (Deep Venous Insufficiency). Even though she doesn't have edema, after long standing or her clogging practice, she would have severe pain in her legs. However, she only wears the thigh-highs. (Even the knee-highs have about 90% of the benefit of the thigh highs, and I wear them for long flights, such as to Europe.) With them, she can go to a 2-hour clogging practice without fatigue or pain. We have an older friend who has a much worse venous problem and she does wear the waist-high version. The principal behind both the medical version and the athletic is the same - better circulation by partially overcoming the effects of gravity...

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Correct, this is something that has been used in medical treatment for ages in a variety of contexts. I've known people with deep vein thrombosis who have regularly used -- and sworn by -- compression stockings for as long as I can remember. The science on this is sound, and it's certainly not a redux of the old "Spend $150 on our pump-up shoes and you 'll be able to jump six inches higher" marketing gimmicks.

Price point on these things seem to be quite high, which shouldn't be much of a surprise given the general public's value of the name brand, but in general it's a great idea in my eyes. Besides, I imagine UA gets them for free (or something near it), and I'm sure the players love it.

Al A Bama said:

Do players just wear them during the week leading up to a game or do they also wear them during a game?

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This is what I am wondering. I coach track and when I saw this it got me thinking about this. I see kids wear this stuff on their lower legs, but I never know if it is like Orebama said being a "placebo effect". This may get me to my child some of these tights to help him recover from his running workouts. I would be scared for him to become to dependent on them though if he wore them to train with and then be unable to wear them in a track meet though. That seems like it could damage his psyche.

MBA_99 said:

So for decades team doctors have thought, "How can we improve recovery and reduce swelling issues from high impact and running all day?". Doctors some of whom spent all day working with nurses wearing compression hose so they wouldn't be sore after lots of impact and running/walking all day.

Man, I wonder how many millionaire inventions around me I ignore every day.

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Don't think the issue was really ever that medical professionals just simply overlooked the benefits, I think it was more along the lines of an issue of convincing players of the benefits and the need to wear them.

You tell a 19-year old, testosterone-fueled male athlete that he needs to walk around day and night wearing glorified beige pantyhose and see how far that gets you. Of course, dye 'em black, throw in a nifty design with perhaps some wild colors, a "cool" logo, and give it a nice marketing touch, and then it's an entirely different story. I think that's basically all that has happened here.

Ditto for coaches, too, who, again, are only now, it seems, starting to come around to the tangible benefits to be gained by these types of measures. For better or for worse -- and for player health and performance, it has almost been entirely for the worse -- coaches have just been far too obsessed with notions of players just needing to "toughen up" and not be "soft." Well, reality is that it's far more complicated than that, and most coaches, though not all, get that now.

Will say, though, that a lot of professional players have long since utilized this type of thing, especially those in the latter stages of their career. I know Namath lived in compression stockings for most of his NFL days due to ongoing leg issues. That was the main impetus behind him doing that pantyhose commercial way back when.

TIDE-HSV said:

IDK, really. I don't think while playing, because I think they would show on the players whose socks don't reach up to the trousers. Also, RR's pix show that he is only wearing a black thong. The embarrassment factor would have been 100x, if Stokes had shown RR's black pantyhose...

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Would they look any different than when a player wears Nike or Under Armour tights?

RTR91 said:

Would they look any different than when a player wears Nike or Under Armour tights?

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They need to make them in school colors. Alabama's could also have a "Script A". The company making them could make even more $$$$$$$.

BigEasyTider said:

Hydration levels, as an ongoing metric, are something that are only now, finally, starting to be taken very seriously at the higher levels of football. Obviously the consensus for a long time now has been that hydration is important and necessary, but it is only now starting to be rigorously tracked and required.

Frankly, I still can't understand why this is just happening now. You've got a big, 6'4, 270 pound defensive end, and his typical diet involves, on average, 125 ounces of fluid intake per day, the overwhelming majority of which is usually comprised of Gatorade, fruit punches, alcohol, and soft drinks, and then it's the late third quarter, 55 snaps into the game, and this guy is basically done for the day with recurring cramps that are solely the result of inadequate hydration, which is easily preventable. It's just hard to believe that it took so long for people to come around to the importance of this.

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I know I'm not the only one on this board who can remember when it was absolutely forbidden to drink water during practice. It's a wonder we didn't kill the whole team. Late August (1955-1959), 3:30pm, 100+ degrees, in the sandspur infested field behind the stadium in Bartow, Florida...I still remember the feeling!

Grand ma calls them support hose!