I thought it was to prevent pooling of fluids (like ankle swelling) due to poor circulation. I.E. it will mitigate problems due to poor circulation, but not be able to actually promote circulation?

I train in the same uni as I race in. I try not to deviate too much from how I train to how I race. If something is "off", I want to know about it in training, not in a race. I just save my aero helmet and wheels for race day only, not training.

I only wear compression socks for long runs of 16+ miles. I haven't found the 2XU socks to cause any heat issues. I overheat easily, but the socks don't play a part in that.

And for what it's worth, I'm totally geeking it out for Placid. 2XU compression socks with Zoot Advantage shoes.

A couple of them, Meb and Paula Radcliffe wear them (or did in the past)
I really like the socks, but won't wear them on training runs - just like I won't wear a TT helmet - high DB factor. They have great blister protection and I don't have to shave!

They also help the lymphatic system. By reducing the area for interstitial fluid to collect the lymphatic system has less fluid (swelling) to dispose of. Large amounts of fluid collection (cankles) can cause a degree of compartment syndrome which reduces blood circulation.
I go for the complete idiot look by wearing soccer socks for compression and warmth when it is cold. I wore Zoot compression socks for a Marathon and IMCdA. For the Marathon they kept my feet dry by absorbing the sweat and water I poured over myself. For IMCdA they kept me warm and my feet dry by absorbing the rain running down my legs.
For a complete fashion statement you wear arm warmers with a tank top ;)

I have watched Paula extensively and I have never seen her wear anything that would even resemble a compression sock. But if you can find the pic, I would love to see it.

Her ya go:

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/...eRunsMOS_468x786.jpg

hmm...well that explains it!! They were skin coloured!!!

Ya hers look more like panty hose. Seems she wore them more in the past. Here's another:

http://www.babble.com/...-marathon-baby-2.jpg

Mo Farah, another British athlete, tends to wear them as well. He's no slouch: British 3,000 record and 27:44 10K.

im baaaaaaacck

you know that elite athletes don't always choose the best equipment or make the best training choices.

That's true, but I happened to be at the World Cross Country Running Championships last year, which for all intents and purposes is the biggest gathering of all of the worlds absolute best distance runners, and I did not see one pair or compression socks in any of the races. Heck a few of the Kenyan kids racing for podium places in the junior races, were running bare foot!

All of these 500+ runners are making poor equipment choices?

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I don't know. all I do know is that just because 500 plus runners do it doesn't mean it's right.

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

But because 200 triathletes do it, it makes it plausible? ;)

all I do know is that just because 500 plus runners do it doesn't mean it's right.

So if 500 of the best runners in the world are not using something, that means nothing to you? Wow! A lot of these guys get paid a lot of money and get a lot of free gear to hopefully influence what people like you do and what you buy.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

people like me? or people like us?

Look... it took baseball 100 years to figure out batting average and RBIs were worthless stats... now they're into OPS, OBP, win shares, WHIP, RCOA, etc. And these were the so called best in the world you were referring to. Just because pro does something doesn't mean it's right.

don't discount the power of social norms, peer pressure, and institutional inertia influencing what top athletes do.

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

people like me? or people like us?

Speak for yourself, but if 500 of the absolute best athletes in the world in a sport are doing something or not doing something, I am going to be taking notice of that. That says something, at least to me. Where on earth do you get your advice from for training and gear and equipment choices? What these guys do means absolutely nothing to you.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

dude, chill out! I'm just sayin'.... First of all, not doing something is not the same thing as doing something. Second of all, we are still in the "early adoption" stage of ergogenic running aids (newton, compression, etc.), so who knows what we'll be saying in 2 years from now... the jury is still out. Third, what these guys do does NOT mean absolutely nothing to me. But it doesn't mean absolutely everything to me either. It is what it is, and I'll apply that knowledge to my own training and racing based on more information than just what everybody else is doing. Usually I experiment with something to see if it works for me or not.

I'm honestly very surprised that you feel this way. You are a key supporter of the anti-conventional wisdom of not doing marathons for IM training and racing short and hard early and often for better long term triathlon development. You also know that there are quite a few long course pros that don't have the best bikes, clothing, equipment, nutrition, race strategies because of sponsors, publicity goals, ignorance, etc.

I get my advice from alot of places, but I'm not blindly following the marketing. Because of guys like you and others like you on this forum and in my real life, I have a very good bike position, an excellent fitting wetsuit, and I've been progressing from day one in the sport... I know what I"m doing when I chose whom to listen to and whom not to listen to.

my $.02

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Eric,

My apologies. I call truce.

It's late in the day here.

You are a key supporter of the anti-conventional wisdom of not doing marathons for IM training and racing short and hard early and often for better long term triathlon development.

This is not anti-conventional. If you talk to many of the top coaches - the ones who really know what they are doing, they'll be saying the same thing.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

haha! OK same here. It's early here and I've had too much coffee not to mention time on my hands and nothing to train for since my A race has passed!

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

P. Radcliff has worn them for the last several years. I never even noticed them until a sports announcer pointed them out. The "flesh tone" really blends in.

Well as a nurse I can tell you how they are used and my understanding of their translation to the world of sports. In medical/surgical situations compression devices of different types are used to prevent blood clots in the lower legs, the risk of clots arises from fluid overload and inactivity causing fluid to pool in the extremities, when people are in bed for days and the legs/muscles aren't being used, venous return is impaired. The compression helps stop the fluid from leaving the blood vessels ie swelling and supports the vessels so that the fluid can be pumped back up to the heart. The reason compression helps is that veins unlike arteries have little one way valves so that all the blood doesn't rush to your feet when you stand up. With swelling and decreased muscular pressure the vessels can dilate wide enough that the valves leak backwards and this causes decreased venous return and ultimately swelling. As athletes it makes sense that we wouldn't want this, as it affects overall circulation and therefore performance, however during strenuous activity your muscles are pumping hard and your heart is beating hard and you are presumably a healthy person with normal electrolyte levels etc.... so therefore aren't really at risk for this problem, "during activity" which is why most compression apparel is marketed as recovery aid. Once you get home form that long workout and lay on the couch or what ever, there is the potential that these socks, tights etc... can aid you by enhancing circulation and preventing swelling during recovery when the muscles aren't pumping the blood back up to the heart. All the research I've come across so far loosely correlates their use between the 2 applications, there is little to no real conclusive info to support their use during sport, that I've seen. Many nurses even wear them at work to prevent leg swelling, you could easily say that this means that they could help when running but the difference is that there is alot of standing on the job, not alot of lower limb muscle contration going on, so again, the recovery theory is again more likely in my mind. Hope that helped some and didn't bore others to death.
ps I think the geek factor is too high to bother ;)

Great discussion and well said above. I wanted to just add a few things that may either raise more ??'s or hopefully shed light on who CEP is and what we want to accomplish. Everyone is coming out with compression these days and there's definitely a lot of products that are questionable in terms of research and product quality. CEP is owned by Medi and Medi is the world leader in medical compression (http://www.medi.de , http://www.mediusa.com). We're a German based company and all of our products are made there. When you're dealing with compression it's essential that the compression levels are targeted, accurate and designed to fit the circumference of the extremities. We make a full range of medical products for the venous system, lymphatic system and also hospital Anti-Embolism stockings.

CEP was born with the inspiration to take our medical products and design a targeted compression that will not only increase performance but benefit during recovery as well. We have studies that have been published by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning and recently seen in Men's & Women's Health. One particular study showed that the runners wearing our socks have 5% faster running times and used 6% less energy in the process. To me, when CEP first came to the U.S., it was hard to tell someone they were going to run 5% faster. However, after a year in the field doing events and getting feedback many athletes experienced just that. Sometimes even more. . . One Triathlete emailed me saying he PR'd his run by 35min! Even if he had a great day there's no way he could improve his time by that much without the help of our socks. The reason is he'd always cramp up at mile 15 or so on the run and he'd slow to a jog/ walk the rest of the way.

Anyway, here's a link to our site and studies if you'd like to take a look. I'm happy to answer questions as we feel it's important to know the difference between "Claiming" to have compression and actually having compression. Almost all the products out there firhgt now aren't medically tuned. They're made in the same factories in China and are sized by shoe size.. This has nothing to do with circumference of the leg which is the key measurment when fitting compression. Also, our sock is anotomically shaped so it isnt' a "Tube Sock or Sleeve" that is tighter in the calf than the ankle. All products, including ours, have been tested by the Hohenstein Institure fro comrpession. NOT ONE product but ours is designed with graduated compression and they're almost all not tight enough to penetrate the deep veins and/or arteries. Check out our site and let me know what questions/comments you have:

http://www.cep-sports.com (Click on EN for English. NEW Site up in 3 weeks!)

http://webserver2.medi.de/Studies.8625.0.html

CEP Sportswear

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CEP Compression Sportswear
cepcompression.com

I have not used the full sock yet ...only the 2XU calf guards. I suffered a partial tear of my right calf about 6 weeks ago and decided to try the calf guards (based on Steve Larsens' (RIP) write-up) for extra support.

I have used them on long runs, track workouts, and for a recent oly race and have run without any discomfort. The usual post-race soreness was no longer there. I plan on trying some recovery tights soon.

IMO, based on whatever snake-oil science is out there, these things work and I will continue to use them regardless of the high geekiness factor.

How can you widen something by compressing it?

In fact, when I put on compression socks and run, my leg discomfort can be relieved in a shorter time. To prevent varicose veins, I also wear them at work, only when I need to stand for a long time. Swelling of the legs has rarely occurred.