What do compression socks do?
Compression socks help keep blood moving through your veins in your legs. This in turn helps prevent fluid from building up in your tissues, thereby reducing swelling. They helps prevent blood and waste from pooling, which is key in preventing blood clots, says Dr. Pabarue.
Who are compression socks for?
Anyone can wear compression socks, but they do figure to benefit some groups more than others. This predominantly includes athletes, pregnant, and elderly people, though anyone who sits or stands for long periods of time at work should consider them as well. People with medical conditions like chronic venous insufficiency, deep vein thrombosis, or lymphedema can also benefit from compression socks.
When should you wear compression socks?
Jenelle Deatherage, a physical therapist at the UW Health Sports Rehabilitation Clinic, suggested that if you work out in the morning before sitting at a desk or standing all day, where your calves and ankles stay at the bottom of the gravity chain, it’s smart to wear compression socks post-workout. This helps with swelling and gets blood back to the heart.
Conversely, if you sit all day and prefer to work out at night, wearing compression socks while exercising after work may allow for less fatigue in the lower legs and can help enhance circulation.
Should athletes wear compression socks?
When it comes to the exact impact of compression socks on athletes, Deatherage said that their effectiveness is still somewhat undecided. There is some research that confirms that wearing compression garments helps improve running endurance or cycling sprints, while others say it doesn’t change a thing.
An analysis in the Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine looked at 21 studies and found that a small number do show that wearing compression socks during exercise improved performance. The majority of the studies showed that wearing the special socks during a grueling workout made people feel like their leg muscles were firing better, fatiguing less, and less sore afterwards.
Even if it’s just a placebo effect, those training for long endurance events like a marathon may find that wearing compression socks during and after workouts improve their output.
“When looking at the cost-benefit ratio and considering what research is out there, it’s not a bad idea,” Deatherage said. “And it’s an easy thing to do.”
Should you wear compression socks while pregnant?
Pregnant women may see benefits from wearing compression socks since they’re more prone to swelling, Deatherage said. Venous issues are also particularly high for pregnant women as they have a larger volume of blood pumping through their bodies.
Some 40% of pregnant women develop varicose veins, while the risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) is four- to five-fold higher for moms-to-be compared to non-pregnant women. Wearing compression socks or stockings during pregnancy can potentially help reduce swelling and discomfort, improve circulation, and minimize varicose veins.
Are compression socks good for older people?
Elderly people with deep vein thrombosis, those who just had surgery on their legs, or anyone trying to minimize varicose veins or blood clot concerns, might also benefit from compression socks. The catch is here is that these more serious vascular issues, including varicose veins, would benefit more from medical-grade compression socks, Deatherage added, which require a doctor’s prescription and are often more expensive.
Should you wear compression socks to bed?
Compression socks work with gravity to improve blood flow, so they don’t provide any benefit if you’re lying flat while sleeping.
Who should not wear compression socks?
Compression socks are helpful for most people, but you shouldn’t wear them if you have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which narrows the arteries that carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body.
How do I put on compression socks?
There is a bit of a paradox associated with wearing compression socks. You may have purchased them to deal with leg swelling. Yet, this same swelling makes it hard for you to put them on. So, what can you do? There are countless video tutorials, but here are a few expert tips:
- Put it on early in the morning, before swelling sets in.
- Turn the sock nearly inside out, then you put your toes into the sock and roll the socks on.
- For those with mobility issues, a sock donning device like Vive Sock Aid may help.
