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I actually took part in my friend’s study for his statistics fair project back in high school. It wasn’t the most well conducted study but I had to help my friend out. He wanted to know if wearing a shooting sleeve helped with shooting. So he made me shoot some free throws with a sleeve and without one. I bricked almost every free throw without the sleeve. But when I put one on, I saw improved results. It felt comfortable and snug on my arm. This raises the question: Do shooting sleeves actually help to make you a better shooter?
According to this , shooting sleeves help to regulate temperature in the arm, improve flexibility, add compression to increase circulation which results in reducing soreness, and improve shooting form. Shooting sleeves help to keep the elbow straight while shooting.
Some speculate that the shooting sleeve has (Levy). The shooting sleeve was first worn and popularized by Allen Iverson on . Iverson wore it because he had bursitis on his elbow, and then proceeded to score 51 points that night. He never took it off and took his team to the Finals that year. He kept on wearing it well after his surgery on the bursitis to prevent future injuries. Carmelo Anthony continues to wear shooting sleeves well after his surgery. Stephen Kotler of , proposed the question: “Could sleeves be functioning in the same way as in medicine? (Kotler)”.
Another explains that two studies were done in regards to compression sleeves. A 1987 study in the American Journal of Medicine found that “compression garments lowered blood-lactate levels and blood pooling. Both blood lactates and blood pooling can cause swelling and reduce performance (Albagdadi)”. A 2007 study in the Journal of Sports Science had males wear compression garments during a 10k and the results showed significantly reduced muscle soreness (Albagdadi).
To be able to become a good shooter, one must put in the time and practice instead of relying on a sleeve to do the work. Maybe the benefits that come along with wearing a sleeve (reduced swelling, flexibility, reduced risk of injury) help to improve one’s ability to shoot. But I can’t see sleeves helping people that just cannot shoot to save their lives, including me. Maybe it is superstitious and people use sleeves whenever they play because they had one good game with it or they suffered an injury without it. What do you guys think?
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