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Wearing compression socks may reduce the intestinal damage thought to cause cramping, nausea and other stomach troubles sometimes associated with endurance running.

During intense exercise, some people experience what鈥檚 known as 鈥渞unner鈥檚 stomach鈥� 鈥� the sudden onset of symptoms that can include nausea, cramping and the urgent need to use the toilet. Also known as exercise-induced gastrointestinal syndrome, it seems to affect people regardless of their fitness level.

Previous research suggested that these symptoms may in part be caused by during extended periods of running.

鈥淭hat means places that don鈥檛 get as much blood flow have a lack of oxygen and nutrients so the cells in those areas can become damaged,鈥� says at the University of Tasmania in Australia. The cell damage can lead to gastrointestinal symptoms.

Compression socks are thought to improve blood flow to the trunk of the body by limiting pooling in the lower legs. Edwards and her colleagues suspected this might reduce running-related intestinal damage.

To test this, they recruited 46 adults running in the 2016 Gold Coast Marathon in Australia that had no history of metabolic or blood clotting conditions. No runners wore compression garments the day before the race and half wore none during the race. The other half wore knee-high compression socks from the morning of the marathon until they finished the race. The researchers collected blood samples from everyone 24 hours before the marathon and again shortly after they crossed the finish line.

The researchers then analysed the samples for a protein called intestinal fatty acid-binding protein, which is released when the lining of the intestines becomes damaged. While there was no significant difference in blood levels of this protein between the two groups before the race, there was a big difference afterwards: in the control group, levels increased by 107 per cent on average, but in the group that wore compression socks, average levels increased by just 38 per cent. That suggests compression socks can reduce intestinal damage by maintaining blood flow to the gut, says Edwards.

at Drexel University in Pennsylvania says that the study didn鈥檛 confirm whether the socks actually increased central blood volume in the runners. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of an assumption in this study. They don鈥檛 really measure that.鈥� The study also didn鈥檛 account for how nutrition and exercise intensity can reduce gastrointestinal damage, he says.

For this small, initial study, researchers also didn鈥檛 collect information on whether the runners normally experience gastrointestinal symptoms when running or whether they felt the compression socks reduced such symptoms. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 great to look out for in the next study that we do,鈥� says Edwards.

If you do struggle with runner鈥檚 stomach, Edwards says this research suggests it may be worth trying compression socks.

鈥淲hat I tell people is that the research is inconclusive at this time,鈥� says Maschi. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 no harm in using them.鈥�