Being innovative, we are the first people in the country to commission tests to establish the effects of wearing the traditional sock ties against our “Original Football Sock Tie” and the results were very interesting.
Football matches as we all know are 90 minutes in duration and for the majority of that time players will run a considerable distance. A reasonably fit adult player may cover up to 7 mile’s throughout the duration of a match.
English researchers Reilly and Thomas (1976) investigated the patterns of football play in the old first division. They found that a player would change activity every 5 to 6 seconds, and on average he would sprint for 15 metres every 90 seconds.
They also found the total distance covered varied from 8 to 11km for an outfield player - 25% of this distance was covered walking, 37% jogging, 20% running below top speed, 11% sprinting and 7% running backwards. Today the modern game is a lot quicker and players may run further and much faster. The modern player could be exerting more pressure on the muscles than before, therefore increasing the risk of muscle damage.
During a match your body will produce Lactic Acid (a muscle waste product), which the body produces initially because of lack of oxygen in the muscle, it contains an excess of Hydrogen and in order to counteract this, oxygen is required for its conversion back into more useful substances. By wearing Bandage, Tape and Laces may cause an increase in the production of Lactic Acid due to them being tied to tight, this may result in the muscle showing considerable signs of Fatigue and possible Damage.
The process of Lactic Acid removal takes approximately one hour after a match, but this can be accelerated by undertaking an appropriate “Warm Down” which ensures a rapid and continuous supply of oxygen to the muscles, hence the modern day player and club physiotherapists appreciate the importance of this process. The less Lactic Acid , the quicker the recovery.
The first stage of our study measured the Calf Girth of the subject after heel raise exercises which simulated running and stretching. These measurements were taken before and after exercise. The changes were significant, after 45 minutes of exercise the Bandaged Tied Leg showed a 28% reduction in muscle power compared to the Original Football Sock Tie which showed a 0% reduction.
The second stage was testing for Lactic Acid. When both subjects were tested, following 45 minutes of simulated football exercise, blood samples were then taken, the subject wearing bandaged ties retained 43% more harmful lactic acid than the subject wearing the Original Football Sock Tie.
There were other key tests carried out, but these two stages were significant when considering the detrimental effect of wearing any other tie than our “Original Football Sock Tie”. We have attempted to put into simple terms the effects of wearing anything other than our sock tie, however the process the body goes through during a match to deal with Glucose, Hydrogen Ions, Lactate Thresholds (LT), ATP, NAD, Pyruvic Acid and VO2 max to name a few, highlights the complexity of the subject.
In conclusion, the use of the “Original Football Sock Tie” can assist in minimising muscle related injury should you make the choice to wear sock ties.
