Mid Sweden University

Purpose: To investigate whether compression garments (CG) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) augment post-race recovery compared with a passive control group (CON) following a cross-country sprint skiing competition. Methods: Twenty-one senior (12 males, 9 females) and 11 junior (6 males, 5 females) Swedish national team skiers performed a sprint skiing competition involving four, ~3-4 min sprints. After the race, skiers were matched by sex and skiing level (senior versus junior) and randomly assigned to a CON (n = 10), CG (n = 11) or NMES group (n = 11). Creatine kinase (CK) and urea, countermovement jump height (CMJ) and perceived sleep duration, sleep quality and muscle pain were measured before and 8, 20, 44 and 68 h after the race to assess the efficacy of each recovery intervention. Results: Neither CG nor NMES promoted the recovery of blood biomarkers, perceived wellness nor CMJ post-race compared with the passive control group (all P < 0.05). When grouping all 32 participants, CK, urea and muscle pain increased from pre-race values, peaking 20-44 h post-race (P < 0.05). CMJ was lower than pre-race values 44 and 60 h post-race in males and females (both P < 0.05). Sleep duration increased from pre-race to post-race (P < 0.05), whereas sleep quality was unchanged (P > 0.05). Conclusion: A cross-country sprint skiing competition induced symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage peaking 20-44 h post-race. However, CG and NMES did not augment the recovery of physiological, perceptual or performance parameters compared with a passive control group after the sprint skiing competition.