Most people automatically think that you should only wear compression socks if you have circulatory issues commonly occur in the older demographic. However, compression socks don’t just have to be for people with these conditions. In fact, they can help prevent these problems and solve other issues in young and healthy individuals who stand all day, sit at a desk all day, or love a good workout. But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. So here are five benefits that you can gain from compression socks no matter how old you are!
What Are Compression Socks?
Compression socks are more than just tight socks! There are actually a couple of different types of compression socks that are designed for different circumstances. Graduated socks are the tightest at the ankle and get looser as they go farther up your leg. Uniform compression socks have the same amount of tightness throughout the entire length of the sock. These socks help provide compression therapy that can provide a whole host of different benefits.
What Are the Benefits of Compression Socks?
There are tons of benefits of these socks that can help many different people of all ages, activity levels, and lifestyles. Here are just a few of the benefits that compression socks can offer:
- They can help to reduce swelling in your legs and feet
- They can help to provide relief from chronic aches and pains
- They can help prevent conditions caused by poor blood circulation like deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and varicose veins
- They can prevent soreness after exercise and even improve performance during strenuous exercise by reducing lactic acid build-up
- They can aid in recovery after an operation or an injury
When Should You Wear THEM?
There are many different situations when wearing such socks could benefit you:
- Post-op recovery: Many people are unable to move around a lot after surgery, especially if your hip, leg, knee, or foot was operated on. This can potentially create post-op complications like deep vein thrombosis. So these socks can help maintain solid blood flow in these areas even if you’re temporarily immobile.
- Post-exercise recovery: Athletes can also wear compression socks after a strenuous workout to help prevent soreness from a build-up of excess lactic acid that’s produced during exercise.
- Pregnancy: Pregnant women are prone to “cankles” caused by swelling in the feet and ankles as a result of extra fluid and weight being put on these joints. Wearing these socks during pregnancy can help eliminate some of this swelling and prevent the development of varicose veins.
- Prolonged sitting and standing: Prolonged sitting and standing from things like traveling long distances or sitting at a desk all day can cause swelling and pain in your feet and legs. These socks can improve blood flow in these areas when you are unable to move around.
- Treating poor blood circulation: Compression socks can help increase blood circulation and treat various conditions associated with this symptom like varicose veins, deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), plantar fasciitis, edema, post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Talk to your doctor about these socks if you have one of these conditions.
As you can see, there are so many uses and benefits of compression socks that extend way beyond older individuals with circulatory problems — although they are still a great treatment for that! In fact, they can benefit most adults due to the fact that most of us either sit or stand for long hours at work. So if you have a desk job, a standing job, or just love to work out, these socks could definitely improve your circulation and comfort!