Does intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) effectively prevent or treat delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) induced by plyometric exercise?
Pneumatic Compression Recovery Boots, a randomized trial in 10 participants (PM R 2025, PMID 40094188) — a strong negative correlation between VAS score and Dm, and a positive correlation with Tc, delay time, relaxation time, and Ts were found 48 hours after exercise. Scope: 10 participants, and the abstract states no limitations.
Source: PM R 2025, PMID 40094188 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: medium
PM R · 2025 · PMID 40094188 · DOI 10.1002/pmrj.13377
Intermittent pneumatic compression may help reduce muscle soreness and improve muscle recovery 48-72 hours after intense exercise.
The question
Does intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) effectively prevent or treat delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) induced by plyometric exercise?
What they tested
The study aims to characterize the therapeutic effect of IPC on DOMS induced by plyometric exercise, suggesting an expected benefit.
How they did it
Twenty healthy untrained male college students were randomized into an IPC group (n=10) and a control group (n=10). DOMS was induced by lower limb plyometric exercises. The IPC group received 15 minutes of treatment immediately and at 24, 48, and 72 hours post-exercise. Muscle soreness (Visual Analog Scale) and muscle condition (tensiomyography for maximal radial displacement, contraction time, and sustain time) were measured at various time points up to 96 hours post-exercise.
What they found
The IPC group showed significantly improved recovery in muscle soreness (VAS), maximal radial displacement (Dm), and contraction time (Tc) compared to the control group. Significant differences were observed in VAS, Dm, and Tc at 48 and 72 hours post-exercise (all p < .05), and in sustain time (Ts) at 72 hours post-exercise (p < .05). A strong negative correlation between VAS score and Dm, and a positive correlation with Tc, delay time, relaxation time, and Ts were found 48 hours after exercise.
| VAS (48h) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| VAS (72h) | 1 | |
| Dm (48h) | 1 | |
| Dm (72h) | 1 | |
| Tc (48h) | 1 | |
| Tc (72h) | 1 | |
| Ts (72h) | 1 |
This chart illustrates the time points at which significant differences (p < .05) were observed between the IPC and control groups for various muscle soreness and condition metrics. A value of 1 indicates a significant difference was found.
What it means
Intermittent pneumatic compression may mitigate exercise-induced DOMS following plyometric exercise, with peak therapeutic effects appearing 48-72 hours after exercise.
Limitations
The abstract does not explicitly state any limitations of the study.
Where the published abstract does not list limitations, we say so rather than inventing them. Read the full paper on PubMed before drawing conclusions.
The paper at a glance
| Title | Effects of intermittent pneumatic compression on delayed onset muscle soreness and recovery |
|---|---|
| Journal | PM R |
| Year | 2025 |
| PMID | 40094188 ↗ |
| DOI | 10.1002/pmrj.13377 ↗ |
| Topic | Pain, nerves & musculoskeletal medicine |
Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗
Where Magellan uses this paper
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Pneumatic Compression Recovery Boots
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Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) — the mechanism behind inflatable 'recovery boots' — uses…
Research describes the compound or intervention studied. It is not a claim about any specific product.
Cite this page
These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.
Magellan Longevity. (2026). Does intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) effectively prevent or treat delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) induced by plyometric exercise? [Plain-English summary of PM R 2025, PMID 40094188, DOI 10.1002/pmrj.13377]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/d40094188.html@misc{magellan_d40094188,
title = {Does intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) effectively prevent or treat delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) induced by plyometric exercise?},
author = {{Magellan Longevity}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/d40094188.html}},
note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 40094188; DOI 10.1002/pmrj.13377; PM R 2025. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
urldate = {2026-08-11}
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