Post-Exercise Swelling and Recovery Modalities

Why it might help

Sequential pressure may support venous and lymphatic return and limit space for fluid accumulation, but changes in fluid movement do not prove faster muscle repair.

What the research shows

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 studies involving 319 athletic or healthy participants found trivial-to-small effects of lower-limb intermittent pneumatic compression on muscular function, trivial-to-moderate effects on pain and soreness, and highly variable muscle-damage-marker results. The review discusses edema reduction as a proposed mechanism but does not establish a consistent clinical reduction in post-exercise swelling, so the direction is limited and mainly subjective.