The first and most important step is consulting with your doctor about wearing medical grade (20 mmHg of compression or more) compression therapy garments. The amount of compression is important to determine prior to purchase, because your body may need more pressure on veins and valves to pump blood back to the heart and decrease pooling. Also, there is a big important word called contraindications, meaning drugs, products, and procedures could affect you negatively. Therefore, your physician should perform an ABI (ankle brachial index) test to ensure safety of compression therapy. After this step your doctor will have determined your prescription of which compression range (20-30mmHg, 30-40mmHg, etc.) and style of garment – calf, thigh, or panty length.
The second stage of choosing your garment is considering your lifestyle. Are you outside quite often? Getting decent exercise or mostly staying indoors? Whatever it may be, your most common footwear is a good indication for choosing which style product you need. Are you more of a formal dresser for the office or do you have a job requiring work boots? It may not seem like it, but there is an important relationship between footwear and your compression garment. For example, some stockings come with open toe options to allow for wearing sandals and other open toe shoes. Most likely, you spend time in a variety of footwear and will need a full collection of compression products to suit those needs.
Next you have to consider which style of compression you need and like. Stockings are generally products that resemble traditional hosiery garments. Each stocking comes in a variety of compression levels, styles, colors, and materials. Most commonly stockings are paired with lifestyles and dresswear that are on the formal side. They are made with more lightweight materials and designed for formal footwear or be paired with a “cover” sock when used with other shoes.
On the other hand, compression socks are made with heavier yarns and with a different knitting structure. This provides you with a thicker foot that fits and performs better in most athletic footwear and work boots. Most often, compression socks come in calf length styles. Also, compression socks usually cover the therapeutic and medical grade compression's and come in a rainbow of fun colors and patterns. Compression socks are actually the fastest growing segment of compression as there is a trend towards more casual footwear. This explosive growth has brought new technology and creativity to the entire compression category.
Again, time to do some self-assessments. If you are an athlete looking for performance products to help train, perform, and recover then the clear choice is CEP Athletic Compression Socks, they offer a great selection and are used by athletes today. CEP has a variety of compression wear; tall and short socks for running, calf sleeves and Plantar Fasciitis sleeves. Their products come in fun and vibrant colors as well as classic looks that fit any person’s style. Most importantly, CEP’s technology positively enhances your recovery time, leg health and active lifestyle.
For the remainder, there are several great choices from our quality manufactures Jobst®, Juzo®, medi USA® and Sigvaris®. Again, depending on your lifestyle, the decision is up to you and what you prefer. One compression sock that suits an active lifestyle but isn’t necessarily for heavy training is the mediven active sock. These are perfect for casual footwear usage and have a bit of a thicker feel to keep your boots or other footwear from rubbing. Most importantly, these socks still provide more energy to the legs and allow for better performance and recovery.
The following list contains options for specific needs of your compression and lifestyle.
Competitive product shown on the left, Mediven Active shown on the right
Competitive product shown on the left, Mediven Active shown on the right
The Mediven Active checks all the boxes for an elite compression sock. Available in gray, black and white as well as two compression levels, 15-20 mmHg and 20-30 mmHg. The quality of this product shines through providing tremendous value that should outlast its 6-month warranty. Perfect for healthcare professionals, teachers or anyone who spends long hours on their feet. All Medi products come with a 30-day comfort wearing guarantee to ensure 100% customer satisfaction.
This blog was written by guest contributor Kelsey Berens.
]]>The U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team is one of the most hard working teams out there, training twice a day for five days a week. This year, they are utilizing athletic compression socks to get a competitive advantage. These socks provide medical grade compression to help prevent leg and ankle injury, reduce the time it takes to recover and to increase circulation to keep legs feeling energized and fresh.
Dave Hamilton, the USA Field Hockey director for performance science explains that these are not your average socks; “They are individually knitted using measurements obtained from a 3 dimensional scan of both legs.” The idea is to help athletes train more effectively. Unlike most compression socks, the ones the U.S. National Team wear come complete with an electrical stimulation device (firefly) that stimulates the body’s natural calf pump.
Compression garments without all the bells and whistles still give athletes a competitive advantage. Professional athletes are widely known for their use of compression garments. Compression socks and sleeves are designed to increase blood flow to enhance performance. For the most part you’ll find that athletes and fitness enthusiasts swear by wearing compression socks post workout to flush out lactic acid from the muscles, which speeds up recovery. Most athletes who use compression for recovery are able to perform at the same level of intensity within a day or two.
Athletic compression socks help athletes reach their full potential without experiencing muscle soreness afterwards. Both the Men’s and Women’s National Field Hockey Teams have been wearing compression socks for years. Compression socks are becoming more and more popular in the sports world with good reason. Whether you want to run farther, train harder or recover faster, athletic compression socks can help you achieve your goals.