###### Abstract  
Compression sportswear is widely used for enhancing exercise performances, facilitating recovery, and preventing injuries. Despite prior findings that confirmed positive effects on physical recovery after exercises, whether compression sportswear can enhance exercise performances has not been determined. Thus, this systematic meta-analysis examined the effects of compression sportswear on exercise performances including speed, endurance, strength and power, functional motor performance, and sport-related performance. We calculated effect sizes by comparing changes in exercise performances between the compression garment and the control group. Two additional moderator variable analyses determined whether altered exercise performances were different based on the types of participants and compression sportswear. For the total 769 participants from 42 included studies, the random-effect model found that compression sportswear significantly improved speed, endurance, and functional motor performances. Additional moderator variable analyses identified significant positive effects on speed for athletes, and endurance and functional motor performance for moderately trained adults. Further, whole-body compression garments were beneficial for improving speed, and lower-body compression garments effectively advanced endurance performances. For functional motor performances, both upper- and lower-body suits were effective. These findings suggest that wearing compression sportswear may be a viable strategy to enhance overall exercise performances.  
compression sportswear; garment; exercise performance; meta-analysis +
Footnote †: journal:  
Despite the positive effects of compression sportswear inconsistently reported in individual studies, several meta-analytic findings evidenced better improvements in recovery post exercises [13; 14; 15; 16]. Specifically, the use of compression sportswear facilitated restoring potential muscle damage after exercise, as indicated by overall positive effects on the severity of delayed onset of muscle soreness as well as blood lactate levels [13; 14]. [PERSON] and colleagues additionally provided specific information that significant recovery of muscle strength was observed at more than 24 h after performing resistance training [15]. Importantly, most people wear compression garments while exercising because they expect potential effects on improving physical performance as well [17; 18; 19]. However, beyond facilitated recovery post-exercise, the overall effect of compression sportswear on exercise performances has not been quantitatively investigated in multiple studies.  
Recently, two review studies tried to systematically summarize potential effects on exercise performances [4; 20]. Despite inconsistent results among the included studies, the authors suggested a possibility that compression sportswear improved cycling, counter-movement jump, and baseball performances [21; 22; 23]. Considering the individual findings that physiological, biomechanical, and perceptual benefits of compression sportswear were observed during movement execution [24; 25], new meta-analytic approaches are necessary to determine whether the compression sportswear effectively improves athletic performances based on potential moderator variables such as types of motor performances and garments. Thus, this meta-analysis examined the effect of compression sportswear on exercise performances including speed, power, endurance, strength, functional motor performance, and sport-related performance. In addition, we determined whether different types of participants and compression garments modulated positive effects on specific exercise performances. We would expect that the current meta-analytic findings may provide information on whether compression garments positively influence ongoing movement executions and whether these effects are differentiated by certain exercise functions, physical levels, and types of garments.