If you don’t currently own any compression socks, you might be surprised at their benefits. Although they do offer traditional medical support for various conditions, they can benefit everyone, including athletes and office workers.
Compression socks (available at viasox.com) provide gradual pressure from the foot to the top of the sock that improves circulation and reduces swelling in the legs and feet. If you’ve never tried them, or if you’re just curious about what they can do, here are some of the top benefits of wearing compression socks.
1. Improve blood circulation
Circulation is crucial for your health, and if you have circulation issues where blood tends to pool in your lower extremities, compression socks will apply a gentle pressure to your feet and legs to help the blood flow back to your heart.
2. Reduce edema
Whether it’s temporary, caused by an injury, or the result of something else, edema is awful to deal with in your feet or legs. The pressure puts tension on your skin from the swelling, and can make your skin extremely dry and scaly. In addition to that, when your feet swell up, it’s hard to wear normal shoes.
Many people who have lymphedema (see NHS) or edema from various causes report getting relief from compression socks. The problem is that lymphedema involves damaged lymph nodes that obstruct the lymphatic system’s natural drainage process. Normally, your lower leg muscles create microcirculation through contraction and expansion from natural movements, and this moves lymph fluid. When the lymph nodes are damaged, this process is disrupted, causing fluid to pool.
Depending on where you experience edema, you can get compression socks in a length to match. There are some styles that go all the way to the knee, some stop at the calf, and others are ankle-length. If you don’t like the idea of having your toes trapped in a compression sock, there are toeless compression sleeves.
3. Alleviate neuropathy pain
Neuropathy can be a painful, debilitating condition, and is often experienced with lymphedema. Not everyone experiences relief from compression socks, but many do, and report that the compression helps the numbness and the pain that typically arises from low barometric pressure. If you suffer from neuropathy, compression socks are fairly inexpensive and are worth trying.
4. Enhance athletic performance
Although the jury is still out scientifically on this one, many people have said that wearing compression socks has helped them perform better athletically and others say compression helps with muscle recovery by reducing soreness.
Since each person is unique, there’s no guarantee you’ll experience the same results, but since a lot of people find them helpful, you have every reason to try compression socks.
5. Support varicose veins
When you apply pressure to your feet and legs, you support your blood vessel walls, which can reduce the appearance of varicose veins and lessen the discomfort.
6. Support for pregnancy
If you’re currently pregnant or plan to get pregnant, you’ll want to put some compression socks in your dresser drawer. There’s a good chance you’ll experience swelling in your legs, and compression is usually a source of great relief.
7. Reduce the potential for blood clots
Many people who fly regularly wear compression socks on the plane to reduce the possibility of developing blood clots from the high altitude. There’s no solid research on how well this works because it’s difficult to measure whether or not a blood clot would have formed if someone wasn’t wearing the socks, but the mechanism and reasoning for wearing them on flights is sound. Essentially, when you squeeze your legs and feet, you support blood flow and reduce the potential for pooling, and that makes you less likely to experience a blood clot.
Try compression socks – you might be surprised
If you’ve never tried them, you might be pleasantly surprised by how comfortable compression socks are, especially if you have swelling or pain in your legs and feet. They’re not expensive, so it’s worth trying a pair to see how they feel. They come in a variety of lengths, styles, and designs, and many look just like normal, everyday socks.
Whether you need support during the day at work, after your workouts, while pregnant, or just need to use them temporarily, you’ll be glad you bought a pair.
