Compression sleeves are already popular among athletes, avid exercisers, and those who work on their feet all day.
But can they benefit people who have a job that requires a lot of typing? Forearm compression sleeves can definitely help with fatigue and soreness that often accompanies this type of work.
Typing all day can take its toll on forearm and hand muscles. To learn more about how a forearm sleeve can help, read on.
What are Compression Sleeves?
Compression sleeves are tubes of stretchy fabric that are worn on the lower leg or arm.
These tubes gently compress the muscles from all sides throughout the day. This compression has been found to enhance performance in athletes and speed muscle recovery.
Compression sleeves are used extensively in the medical field. In addition to encouraging muscle recovery, these sleeves are also used to prevent and reduce swelling.
The pressure from the sleeve slows the leakage of fluid into tissues to decrease chances of edema.
Forearm compression sleeves generally have what is referred to a gradient compression.
With gradient compression, the sleeve is tightest at the wrist and then becomes gradually less tight to accommodate the larger circumference of the forearm and upper arm. This makes the compression effective without further cutting off vital circulation.
How Does Compression Work?
Compression sleeves work to support the body’s circulatory and skeletal muscle systems. To understand how they can benefit these systems, it’s helpful to know a bit of physiology information.
Blood Flow in the Body
The heart pumps oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood throughout our bodies via arteries. Arteries are muscular blood vessels that carry this blood throughout the body to organs, muscles, and extremities for cell use.
After the oxygen and nutrients have been depleted, the deoxygenated blood is returned to the heart via veins. This blood also contains waste products, including lactic acid.
Veins lack the muscle power of arteries and rely on the original force that arteries provided and on internal valves to stop backflow. In addition to lacking muscle, veins must fight gravity when returning blood to the heart.
Well-oxygenated blood flow is essential for optimal muscle performance. The more oxygen muscles can receive, the better.
In addition to good oxygen levels, the muscles need a way to clear out excess lactic acid. Lactic acid is a waste product that builds up in muscle after strenuous use. When it builds up, muscles can become sore and don’t perform as well.
How Compression Helps
Consistent compression has been shown to enhance blood flow in the body. When used correctly, compression encourages artery walls to dilate or open up.
This increases blood flow through the arteries during activity and recovery. Increased blood flow allows for more oxygen and nutrient delivery to muscle tissue.
Compression supports the veins as well. Compression constricts vein walls, which increases the speed at which blood flows through the veins. This means that de-oxygenated, depleted blood will make it back to the heart for replenishment more quickly than it otherwise would.
This higher velocity blood flow through the veins will also carry more lactic acid away from muscles, reducing muscle soreness and speeding up recovery.
Muscular Vibration
During physical movement, muscles vibrate during their contractions and from the impact of your particular activity. Continuous muscular vibration can lead to muscle fatigue.
Compression sleeves stabilize muscle tissue and greatly reduce muscular vibration. This results in less muscle fatigue and better performance.
These benefits aren’t just for athletes. Repetitive jobs such as typing and other office work can create the same scenario in your arms and hands.
Fatigue and soreness are uncomfortable and may eventually interfere with work.
Risks Associated With Typing
Any job that requires repetitive motions can pose a risk to workers. This work can eventually lead to fatigue, diminished job performance, or Repetitive Strain Injury. The symptoms of RSI include:
- Weakness in the forearms and hands
- Lack of endurance and fatigue
- Feeling heavy-handed
- Experiencing a lack of coordination or clumsiness in the hands
- Hands that always feel cold
- Loss of strength in the hands and forearms
These symptoms shouldn’t be ignored. They’re generally a manifestation of chronic forearm and hand fatigue that can lead to more serious issues. Not only do they affect job performance, but they can also interfere with activities of daily living.
A job that requires a lot of typing can take a toll on your arms and hands. Luckily, there is a product that can help. To avoid bigger problems that can lead to chronic injury or unwanted medical bills, try compression sleeves.
Forearm Compression Sleeves
Forearm compression sleeves gently but effectively compress the wrist, forearms, elbows, and part of the upper arm. This encourages optimal blood flow to all parts of the arm while reducing muscular vibration.
The forearm portion of the arm sleeves supports the muscles inside the forearm and reduces the vibrations from repetitive typing. The compression allows proper blood flow through arteries and veins, bringing oxygen to the muscles and extremities.
As newly oxygenated blood flows in, depleted, waste-filled blood flows out.
Staying healthy while working is important. Reducing muscle vibrations during typing can help you type faster and for longer periods. This is because muscles aren’t having the strain of repeated vibrations that lead to finger, hand, and arm fatigue.
Without the issue of fatigue and pain, you can focus on productivity.
In addition to allowing good blood flow and reducing muscular vibrations, a forearm sleeve also supports the elbow joint.
This joint can become achy and uncomfortable during prolonged typing, as it must remain bent and tense for proper typing technique. Elbow compression can help alleviate joint fatigue and pain so you can focus on your work, not your discomfort.
Compression for Comfort and Performance
Forearm compression sleeves are excellent for those who must type throughout their workday. They’re an affordable, reliable way to enhance blood flow, encourage muscle recovery, and support the forearm and elbow.
Sleeves come in a variety of colors and sizes to meet your exact needs.
For more helpful information on a variety of topics, check out these other great posts.
| 
Fetching the Best Small