As a tennis or golf player, years of hard work and practice might take their toll on your arms or elbows. The joints can start to feel sore and stiff, which is why your athletic instructor might ask you to wear compression sleeves.
Those who don’t know a lot about them might ask an important question. How long to wear elbow compression sleeves?
In this article, we’ll discuss the answer to this question. Not just that, we’ll also address their benefits, who wears them, and how they work.
What’s an Elbow Compression Sleeve?
A compression sleeve is a piece of elastic fabric worn around the elbow joint. Its design relies on compression therapy to increase blood circulation in your arms.
This way, wearing a compression sleeve can relieve elbow pain caused by injuries in sports that depend on the movement of the arms.
In the following section, you should have a better understanding of who might need these elbow braces.
Who Uses Elbow Compression Sleeves?
As we mentioned before, overexerting your arm can cause pain on the inside or the outside of your elbow. Of course, this depends on the type of activity you’re doing.
Athletes
A lot of athletes are prone to this condition at least once in their lifetimes. These include:
- Tennis players
- Golf players
- Rugby players
- Football players
- Basketball players
In sports like basketball, this sleeve can help boost the players’ performance throughout the game. It can act as a support system for their arms, keeping their muscles strong and functioning in sync with their bodies.
As for sports like tennis or golf, compression sleeves are mainly used for conditions caused by overexerting the arms.
Having tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow, which are other words for tendinitis, can require an athlete to put on a compression sleeve.
People with Other Health Conditions
Developing tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow isn’t limited to the players of these sports.
For instance, say that someone’s job requires a lot of physical work like lifting or carrying heavy objects. Therefore, they’re likely to suffer soreness in their elbows after a while of doing this over and over.
Also, people with certain health conditions might be advised to wear elbow compression sleeves to ease their pain. Such conditions include:
- Arthritis
- Strains or sprains
- Tendonitis
How Long to Wear Compression Sleeves for a Tennis Elbow?
As we previously mentioned, a tennis elbow is one of the most common cases that require the regular use of a compression sleeve. But how long should you wear them?
The more pressing questions are: When to wear them? Should you wear them all the time?
When You Should Wear Compression Sleeves
Let’s start by saying that you shouldn’t wear elbow compression sleeves the whole time. They can delay your healing process, and the immobilization of your arm can have negative effects on its performance.
However, there are a few cases when it’s necessary to wear them.
- If there’s a tear in elbow tendons
- If you’re playing tennis while still recovering from your injury
- While doing other physical activities where you use your arm (gardening, moving things, etc.)
When You Shouldn’t Wear Compression Sleeves
When you’re not exerting your arm muscles, it’s best to take off your elbow compression sleeves. For instance, the following activities don’t require you to don them.
- Working at the office
- Using your computer
- Walking
- Relaxing at home
As a general rule, you don’t have to wear elbow compression sleeves while doing minimal work. Instead, save it for the times when you have to go through repetitive physical exertion.
How Long Should I Keep Wearing an Elbow Compression Sleeve?
The first thing to do if someone develops a tennis elbow is to go see a doctor. They should give you proper treatment based on the seriousness of your injury.
Only after treatment should you consider wearing a compression sleeve. It’ll help you deal with the pain on your road to recovery.
On average, a tennis elbow should take about 1-3 weeks until someone starts to feel better. About 3-5 weeks later, most injuries should be entirely healed.
Therefore, throughout those 6-8 weeks, you can use an elbow compression sleeve in the cases that we’ve mentioned.
Remember, wearing them the whole time might affect the natural healing of the tendons. Thus, only put them on when necessary.
Benefits of Using an Elbow Compression Sleeve
A lot of reasons made compression sleeves quite popular amidst athletes. We’ll give you some insight into the advantages of using one.
Enhances Blood Circulation
Naturally, increasing the circulation of blood in the area around your elbow should be your priority if you can’t use it properly. Luckily for you, this is a compression sleeve’s main job.
As a result, the arm should be able to function better throughout workout or exercise.
Provides Some Protection
Wearing a sleeve can protect an injured arm or elbow from further injuries. Especially in a tennis court, the arms are more likely to face direct sunlight than other body parts.
Therefore, by covering up the elbows, they’ll be allowed to rest and stay away from the outside environment.
Keeps Your Arms Warm
If you’re about to play a game on a cold day, chances are your muscles might feel stiff after a while. Obviously, this might lead to more pain and soreness.
Wearing a compression sleeve, the increased blood circulation in your arm should keep the area warm.
To Wrap It Up
If you’re an athlete, especially a tennis or golf player, then overexerting your arm can leave you feeling unwanted pain. Therefore, it’s recommended that you seek the help of compression therapy.
How long to wear elbow compression sleeves? The answer is quite easy.
You should wear them as long as your elbow needs to fully recover. Make sure to put them on if you’re in a match or using your arm repeatedly.
Yet, don’t forget to let your elbow move as much as possible in the case of everyday activity.
