Sunday, September 6, 2015

Zensah Thigh Sleeve Review

Disclaimer: I received Zensah Thigh Sleeve to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

If you have been hanging around for a while, you may have read my review of the Zensah Ultra Calf sleeves a few months ago.  I was (and still am!) very much in love with them!  Because of that experience I was thrilled to have the opportunity to test a thigh sleeve made by Zensah.

If you are not familiar with compression gear, the idea is to aid in recovery and injury prevention by increasing blood flow to the area.  Simply put, more fresh blood to an area means faster healing of stressed muscles.  I personally have noticed a significant difference in my recovery after a hard run when I use my compression gear.

It is worth noting that the Zensah thigh sleeve comes as a single piece, unlike the calf sleeves which come in pairs.  While this may seem odd to some, it worked perfectly for me as I very consistently have pain soreness in my left thigh that I do not get in my right leg.

When trying the sleeve on for the first time, I did not think it felt as tight as I was used to with my calf sleeves, but after sleeping in the sleeve I did notice an improvement so I feel that it is safe to say that it was tight enough to work!  Though it did not prevent the soreness in my thigh from occurring on subsequent runs, it did make the discomfort go away much more quickly that it would on its own.  I will count that as a win!

In addition to using it for its intended purpose as a calf sleeve, I was also able to slide it down and wear the sleeve over my knee when it was acting up!  Even though this was not the intended use, I was very happy with the results!

As much as I loved the benefits form the compression that the sleeve provided, I was unfortunately only able to use it while sitting around or while I was asleep.  

Despite the grippy strip at the top of the sleeve, I found that it rolled a lot and would slide down my leg even when I was not moving.  When I was sitting still it was an easy fix and I, of course, didn't notice it while I was asleep.  However, I was unable to wear it while walking around because it simply would not stay where it belonged.   The upside to this problem is that I was not the only BibRave Pro to have this experience and Zensah was extremely receptive to our feedback and is taking a look at what might be causing the problem!

Overall, if you are looking for a product to wear between runs (I prefer to wear it while drinking my morning coffee) that will help with thigh pain/soreness/fatigue you are experiencing, the Zensah thigh sleeve is a great option.  If you are looking for a prodict to wear while you run, I would not recommend this option.

For my needs the Zensah thigh sleeve is more than adequate! I think it does a great job helping with the occasional soreness in my thigh...and needing to sit still while wearing it gives me a great reason to have another cup of coffee in the morning!

Have questions for me about the Zensah thigh sleeve? Let me know!

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