OUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE - OUR INTERNATIONAL SPORTING AND SCIENTIFIC GUARANTEES  

BV SPORT compression fabrics are developed and manufactured at our production unit in Saint Etienne, France. They meet the strict specifications established by our research and development centre and our team of textile engineers and physicians.

Since 2006, our range of compression products (recovery socks, sleeves etc.) has been manufactured using circular medical knitting machines within our own production unit in Saint Etienne. Our factory uses a rigorous quality control system for complete traceability and optimum manufacturing control.

BV SPORT LAB: 20 years of experience

BV SPORT combines 20 years of experience and research in support and compression and aims to improve the physiology of athletes at all levels.

Numerous scientific studies* validated by the founding physicians of BV SPORT and by independent clinical research centres* confirm the superiority of the BV SPORT concept, with corroborating evidence from the fields of MRI (ultramodern medical imaging), ultrasound, vein scans and morphological measuring devices.

MRI validation                                                      

- All these studies have been presented during medical conferences around the globe and published in international scientific journals*.

- The many innovations developed by our R&D centre are protected by international rights and patents.

Pressure cuff with acoustic window and Doppler ultrasound

A BRIEF HISTORY

Since the dawn of time, humans have strived to improve their performance. In the olden days, Egyptians used compression bands to combat pain and fatigue in their legs.

Spartan and Roman soldiers wore sandals with leather strips laced around the lower leg from the ankle to the top of the calf to reduce swelling and oedema in their legs caused by fatigue.

Much later, in the 1950s and following technological advances, the invention of elastane led to the arrival of a new generation of compression stockings that replaced the old knitted versions.

FASTER RECOVERY AND BETTER PERFORMANCE THANKS TO COMPRESSION

By 1996, Michaël Prüfer, the co-founder of BV SPORT, was not only Olympic speed skiing champion but also an angiology specialist. Aware of the importance of recovery for improving performance, he invented a new and unique genre of compression stockings specially designed for recovery in athletes.

Dr Mickaël Prüfer Olympic Champion, Albertville. Co-founder of BV SPORT 

Bucking the trend of existing medical stockings, which were designed only to treat venous insufficiency, and using the principle that the triceps surae muscle is essential for efficient venous return, he developed socks with inverse pressure gradients applied to the calves and not the ankles.

BV SPORT (Booster Veins Sport) was founded in 1998 to market this first patented invention.

Since then, BV SPORT has continued its innovative work in the field of compression and there are today numerous independent scientific studies confirming the superiority of the pioneering compression offered by BV SPORT.

PERFORMANCE OPTIMISATION

In 1999, BV SPORT designed a new innovative technology that uses flexible and rigid meshes to support different areas of the calf muscle, which it used to manufacture its Booster Effect recovery socks. This was the very first selective compression sock.

In the 2000s, and applying the breadth of its experience, BV SPORT invented its famous Booster sleeve which offered athletes of all levels a natural way of improving their performance. With over 1 million units sold, the Booster soon became an essential piece of kit for endurance sport. BV SPORT is a pioneer in compression and has established itself as the leader in the field of recovery and performance optimisation for athletes.

SELECTIVE COMPRESSION

Since 2008 and the opening of the production unit in Saint Etienne, our textile engineers have stepped up their research into technical mesh construction in order to improve compression outcomes even further. This culminated in the launch of the Elite range.

Modelling the pressure received by different living biological tissues. 

The first prototypes were tested by doctors at the BV SPORT R&D centre using ultrasound, vein scanning and MRI. The results were remarkable, and showed that the pressure transmitted to the leg varied based on the type and thickness of the living biological tissue. These tissues either act as pressure absorbers (muscle and fat) or are non-compressible (bone and to a lesser extent the tendons and nerves).

These innovative parameters were used to design a range of meshes (flexible/semi rigid/rigid) which, since 2011, have been incorporated into the design of our compression ranges (Booster and ProRecup) and more recently into our range of shorts.

Selective compression focuses the compression on certain areas based how the different types of living biological tissue react. Selective compression respects the anatomy and physiology of the athlete, optimises muscular biomechanics, improves venous return, limits unwanted vibration and oscillation, reduces the risk of curvature and DOMS and increases the threshold for fatigue.

Together, these innovations have resulted in significant changes to our initial patent.

From the gradual compression of the 1990s, BV SPORT has evolved into selective compression, involving modern fabrics that are twice as effective.

 Extract from the engineering thesis of Laura Dubuis   

MADE IN FRANCE - HIGH-TECH MANUFACTURE - UNRIVALLED EXPERTISE

The development of new, high performance knitting machines and technological advances in textile manufacture, especially the use of NEXTGEN fibres, have allowed us to design and make ultra-precision products, in terms of both industrial design and human biomechanics.

PRESTIGIOUS CLIENTS

Since 1998, our support/compression ranges have been validated and recommended by the medical committees of most professional clubs and sporting federations, and are used and endorsed every day by over 20,000 elite athletes around the world.

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OUR STUDIES AND THESES

> Professor A. Allaert / BV SPORT®: Etude randomisée contrôlée de l’effet d’un manchon de contention compression progressive/sélective BV SPORT® sur l’endurance et la récupération. (Dijon Centre for Sport and Performance).

> Professor A. Allaert / CENBIOTEC / BVSPORT – Etude observationnelle de la réduction de la cellulite sous l’effet du cuissard BV SPORT® au cours de séances d’exercices physiques.

> L. Dubuis – École Supérieure Nationale d’ingénieurs de Saint-Étienne / BV SPORT®12/2011 Biomécanique des tissus mous de la jambe humaine sous compression élastique

> Avrils, Bouten L., Dubuis L., Drapier S., Pouget JF.: Mixed experimental and numerical approach for characterizing the biomechanical response of the human leg under elastic compression. J Biomech Eng. 2010 Mar; 132(3):031006.

> Pouget J.F., Gedroyc W.M.W, Pruånfer M., Argaud C., Mismetti P., Couzan S.: Nuclear magnetic resonance (N.M.R) study of leg venous drainage men with and without elastic compression socks

(traditional and new BVSPORT concept). Int Angiol, June 2000, 19 (suppl.1 No 2) 58.

> Pruånfer M., Ferret J.M., Pouget J.F. Couzan S: Invention d’un appareil de mesure des pressions veineuses par écho-Doppler. Résultats chez 229 sportifs. Journal de Radiologie; 49èmes Journées Françaises de Radiologie, Oct. 2001: 1220.

> Mosti G., Partsch H.: Compression Stockings with a Negative Pressure Gradient Have a More Pronounced Effect on Venous Pumping Function than Graduated Elastic Compression Stockings, Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2011;42:261-266.

> Mosti G., Partsch H.: High compression pressure over the calf is more effective than graduated compression in enhancing venous pump function. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2012 Sep;44(3):332-6.

> A. Leizorovicz, S. Laporte, P. Mismetti, JF. Pouget, C. Chapelle, I. Quere, S. Couzan: A randomized double-blind trial of upward progressive vs degressive compressive stockings in patients with moderate to severe chronic venous insufficiency, J Vasc Surg. Nov 2012; 56 (5):1344-1350.(BV SPORT®/Laboratoire Pierre Fabre)

BV SPORT® PATENTS:

> BV SPORT®/ N° BR/079540 N.CORONA S.CORONA Dr J.F. Pouget, Dr S. Couzan

> BV SPORT®/ N° PCT/FR97/01892 Dr M.Prufer, Dr S.Couzan

> BV SPORT®/ N° PCT /FR 00/011956 Dr S.Couzan Dr M.Prufer

> BV SPORT®/ Pierre Fabre Médicament N° PCT/FR 2 936409B1 Dr M Prufer, Dr S. Couzan

> BV SPORT®/ Pierre Fabre Médicament N° WO2010/037609 compression stoking for moderate to severe chronic venous insufficiency