“Hemostatic activation following a marathon is lower in athletes who run with compression socks than those who run with typical athletic socks, suggesting the garments may help reduce the risk of post-exercise clot formation in athletes who travel to events.”īasically, if you’re a marathoner who travels, it’s a good idea to wear compression socks while training and competing. So it seems that benefits of compression clothing may be more physiological than physical for improving endurance.īecause athletes are at an increased risk for blood clots, wearing compression socks while running may help lower their risk. Wearing compression garments during recovery from exercise seems to be beneficial for performance recovery and delayed-onset muscle soreness, but the factors explaining this efficacy remain to be elucidated.” There is no apparent relation between the effects of compression garments worn during or after exercise and the pressures applied, since beneficial effects were obtained with both low and high pressures.
“There was a trend towards a beneficial effect of compression garments worn during recovery, with performance recovery found to be improved in the five studies in which this was investigated, and delayed-onset muscle soreness was reportedly reduced in three of these five studies. Likewise, a study published in the International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching determined that “the use of a graduated compression sleeve appears not enhance isokinetic elbow flexion muscle performance.”Īs for lower body compression, one study showed that waist to ankle compression garments can reduce lactic acid and decrease the heart rate during the post-exercise recovery period. While another study showed no significant difference in cardiorespiratory performance in recreational runners who wore compression stockings.Ī more recent review of several studies on compression garments for the lower limbs concluded: For compression garments for the upper body, there appears to be little or no benefit. An article from the European Journal of Sport Science concluded that wearing UBCG (upper body compression garments) did not provide any significant physiological or performance benefits. In this area, the research is more speculative and less conclusive. Preventing Leg Fatigue: A study in calf-length compression stockings showed that they can reduce or prevent excess fluid in the legs and may therefore be useful for people who have to stand or sit for long periods. Treating Varicose Veins: However, a study published in 2013 found “there is insufficient, high quality evidence to determine whether or not compression stockings are effective as the sole and initial treatment of varicose veins.” Reducing Blood Clots: According to an article in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association), the use of compression stockings after surgery results in a significant reduction in the risk of blood clots. Lately, however, we see them increasingly used in athletics. Their primary purpose is to help prevent blood clots from forming in patients with limited mobility. What are Compression Socks/Stockings?Ĭompression socks/stockings are elastic socks or hosiery that use graduated compression to increase circulation and support the veins of the legs. I wondered if I could keep that little bulge in my left calf from becoming a big bulge or worse. To be honest, though, it was probably more vanity. I’d like to think it was common sense that brought me back to the idea of compression stockings.
As the semesters passed, I realized that the veins in my left leg were beginning to bulge out. From having the stroke, I knew I should wear compression stockings on long flights or car trips, but I had never thought of wearing them in the classroom, where I’m on my feet a good portion of the day. I pictured the hideous, tan, grandmotherly stockings and balked. When I asked what could be done about that, he said, “Wear compression stockings.” As he put it, “Your veins are like highways and the blood clots turned the ones in your left leg into cobblestone roads.” He also said the valves that normally forced the blood back up the leg had been damaged and no longer worked. He ordered an ultrasound of my legs and found that the veins in my left leg were damaged. After moving to a new city, I mentioned to my new hematologist that one of my calves was bigger than the other. It was years after I had the stroke that I learned that I had also had blood clots in my leg (DVTs).
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