In this brave new world of today, there’s a lot of amazing technology that has recently cropped up or being invented as we speak. Smart fridges telling you you’re low on milk, a voice activation system that can turn your lights off or tell you the weather tomorrow (my dad’s new friend, Alexa, is a new addition to their home) and basically having the whole world in your palm through your phone.
And when technology collides with running, well, I get quite excited. Isobar Compression is a company that manufactures compression clothing that is made according to your exact measurements. And I’m not talking about small, medium or large but YOUR actual compression needs, which is found out using a scanner and then the garments are produced later using a 3D printer.
I was fortunate enough to try this compression gear out. The company gave me a hugely reduced cost for a pair of compression socks and compression calf sleeves in exchange for an honest review of the whole process.
Normally you would go into a centre where the Isobar Compression team have a base and they would scan your legs (or arms) there. There’s actually one (or will be one very soon) about five minutes from my house at the Ageas Bowl Perform centre. However, the day they were available I was going to be at work… Handily though, they (two very nice, knowledgeable chaps) were able to drop in to my office on their way to London as it would only take 10 minutes. It was quite surreal having them arrive at my office building and setting up their gear in our small gym…
After a very quick set-up of their equipment and hooking it up to their laptop, I was instructed to place my bare foot onto the Isobar step. I also had to have bare legs (I wore tights and just removed them).
Then Charlie, the guy in the picture above, circled the attached camera around my raised leg.
The scanner captures around 45,000 different data points of each leg which will give my “compression profile”. Everyone’s legs are different shapes, with different bone lengths and muscle sizes and pressure requirements. From this data they then make a seamless garment which graduates the compression to an accuracy of within 1mmHg (I will throw my hands up here and say I don’t know what that measurement is). Effectively each stitch is controlled to the pressure needed.
So the difference between these and ones off the shelf is that the ones off the shelf may not be providing your legs with the specific compression needs they require.
“For a compression garment to be effective in reducing the risk of DVT and speeding up recovery it needs to produce at least 20mmHg and we can accurately produce this pressure, unlike off the shelf compression garments.” Source
So after all that waffle (though I do find it quite interesting), what did I think?
They’re also quite tricky to tell which sock goes on which leg (there’s some stitching at the top that you can read but it’s not obvious).I put them on post run and they did feel different to my regular compression socks. My regular compression socks squeeze my entire calf and I’d often find it uncomfortable towards the ankle (do I have cankles??). But these felt less restrictive and more comfortable. Perhaps it was my imagination but I definitely felt a different level of compression through the leg, rather than one single “squeeze” all over.
I have two major gripes about the product however. One is the cost. They are very expensive. I was fortunate to get a discount so was happy to pay, but for the entire scanning process, a pair of sleeves and socks would have set me back over £200. You pay for the scanning and then the cost of the garment. If you’re keen it makes sense to buy more than one product to maximise the cost of the scanning but I would struggle to justify this cost. It is new technology however and they are the best in their field… Perhaps in the future the cost will go down but for right not while it’s so new, it’s perhaps not surprising.
My second gripe is when I wore them outside on a walk with Alfie, they kept slipping down. I like to wear compression socks on long runs and this would just not work. For lounging around the house they’re perfect, but not for running. Perhaps this is just my calf shape?
But overall, I’m very impressed. There’s a lot of information on the website and they sent me a list of studies to peruse that suggests the benefits of compression (especially for deep vein thrombosis sufferers). I’ve listed it out below if you are interested (I will say though that I haven’t gone through it all, I’m not a scientist and they’ve obviously only provided data that supports their product – but one of the studies is a meta-analysis, so take what you will from it).
I would recommend these if you’re serious about your compression gear. In my opinion this is top of the range gear. It’s a fantastic way to recover.
What do you think about compression gear?
What’s the most expensive bit of workout kit/gear you’ve bought?
Are you a technology addict?
**Full Disclaimer: I given a reduced cost for the Isobar Compression gear (scanning, socks and compression sleeves) in return for a review. All opinions are my own honest ones.**
- Evaluation of a lower-body compression garment (Doan, et al., 2003 – J. Sport Sci.)
- Compression garments and recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage: a meta-analysis (Hill, et al., 2013 – BJSM Online First)
- The effects of wearing lower body compression garments during a cycling performance test (Driller& Halson, 2013 – International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance)
- Aerobic energy cost and sensation responses during submaximal running exercise positive effects of wearing compression tights (Bringard A, et al., 2006 – N. Int. J. Sports Med.)
- Influence of a compression garment on repetitive power output production before and after different types of muscle fatigue (Kraemer WJ, et al., 1998 – Sports Med. Training Rehabil.)
- Compression garments: Do they influence athletic performance and recovery? (Wallace, et al., School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism, University of Technology – Sydney)
- The effects of compression garments on recovery (Davies V, et al., 2009 – J Strength Cond. Res.)
- Influence of compression therapy on symptoms following soft tissue injury from maximal eccentric exercise (Kraemer et a., 2001 – J Orthop. Sport Phys.
The start line is about 500m east of Cramond Village, usually marked by banners and flags. The route then heads east along the promenade towards Silverknowes. With the number of runners, the start can seem a bit narrow, but the route widens up very quickly; the main promenade is 20m wide so there is plenty of room for everyone.
Photo credit: from the 
Photo credit: WG12 from the 
After getting an absolutely drenching visiting a friend for their 50th parkrun (see Wally – dressed for the occasion!) we headed over for warm mugs of tea and avocado on toast where the results are processed at Fowlds Café, Addington Square. It is very small on the space front so head over promptly once you’ve finished your run to get a seat!
Course/Elevation: The course is an out and back with two laps of a lake in the middle. (See pic) Note the start and finish are not at exactly the same point as the start was moved further back to ease congestion. Most participants wander up, leave their belongings at the finish on a waterproof sheet and head to the start. 
The course starts with a long straight of about a kilometre before turning back on itself, out towards the lake, twice around, and then heading back to the finish (but cutting short the full kilometre straight!). It is well marshalled at each turn so the only thinking required is remembering two laps of the lake! There is a slight dip where you go through the underpass on the final straight and this is about the point where you want to consider kicking in for that final sprint.
It is ideal for pram/buggy runners – one flew past me as I headed onto my second lap of the lake. The volunteer team are very enthusiastic and there are usually post run goodies on offer. I tucked into fruit and homemade brownies as post run fuel – yum!
Course: Northampton is a one and a half lap course run entirely on tarmac paths around the edge of the park, other than the finishing funnel where runners are fed off onto the grass.
There is a mad rush at the start as runners spread out wide across the grass alongside the start line before filing into their positions on the pavement. It can take several minutes before the pack begins to widen out after the start.
As the park is fairly open, with trees just around the edges – you can make out the majority of the pathways from the startline. Really handy when trying to show the course to runners who have not been out on it before.
Number of participants: Having started out with a fairly small amount of runners, the Northampton course now regularly sees more than 400 sets of barcodes scanned each 