Starting out
The effect of compression therapy on fluid and circulation builds with repetition. If you are coming for water retention, heavy legs, bloating or post-event recovery, two or three sessions in the first week make a noticeable difference, and most people continue at that frequency for two to four weeks before reducing.
Maintenance
Once the initial goal is met, weekly or fortnightly sessions keep the benefit. People who fly frequently, stand all day, train hard or have hormonal fluid retention tend to settle on a weekly rhythm. For general wellbeing and relaxation, fortnightly is common.
Athletes and training
Sequential compression is widely used in sport for recovery. A session within 24 hours of a hard training session or race reduces heaviness and soreness. Many athletes use it two or three times a week during heavy training blocks and less in lighter weeks.
Can you overdo it?
Daily sessions are safe for most people and are sometimes used after surgery or for lymphoedema management under clinical guidance. For general use there is little added benefit beyond three or four sessions a week. The suit is not used where there is untreated deep vein thrombosis, acute infection, heart failure or certain other conditions, which we screen for before your first session.
Combining with other treatments
Body Ballancer pairs well with manual lymphatic drainage, LPG Endermologie and red light therapy at our Chiswick clinic. A typical combined plan might be one manual session and one or two compression sessions a week. Courses and memberships are available and listed on our compression therapy page.