Sportz Band Review

Elite Sportz Band
Grade: A

As a golfer with chronic back issues, I appreciate anything that helps reduce my pain. The Elite Sportz Band helps effectively and simply.

The Elite Sportz Band looks a lot like one of those tube tops from the 1970s. It’s an elastic tube constructed from a strong, but lightweight and breathable material. The Elite Sportz Band fits snugly without being too tight. It is a lot like the compression shirts I’ve tried over the years, but with a lot more versatility, because you can wear it with any outfit, either under or over your clothes.

In practice, the Elite Sportz Band is very effective. I’d been suffering from a round of lower back pain and wore the Elite Sportz Band over the course of a weekend on nine holes of golf, and for my usual post-dinner walks. By Monday morning, my pain was largely gone—cutting the usual pain and recovery cycle short by several days. While I’m usually quick to dismiss such results as bunk, I could feel the results as I was wearing the band.

Actually, the benefits of compression is for many a pretty much established science. Compression garments can help relieve pain from muscle stiffness and soreness and reduce the time needed for muscles to repair themselves. Given the correct amount of compression, blood circulation also is enhanced.

Of course (and I’m covering my rear end here), as with anything that makes medical claims, check with your doctor.

The Elite Sportz Band strikes me as quite durable. The material is tightly woven and it seems unlikely to me that the elastic material will stretch out of shape. The product is 42% cotton, 43% wool, 9% spandex and 5% polyester, so it also has a nice, natural feel. I expect to be able to use this for years to come.

The original incarnation of the Sportz Band was designed to relieve back arthritis in Russian adults. Dancers and gymnasts began to use incorporate the band because they found that it helped activate the core and reduce spinal impact. Sportz Band founder Kari Smith saw one that had been sent as a gift as a backwarmer for a grandmother and decided it could be used for her gymnast daughter. It wasn’t available in the US, and worse, was only available in adult sizes. Smith was able to locate the Latvian manufacturer and get the product retooled for all ages and sizes.