How do Compression Socks Work? Everything you Need to Know

Designed for compression therapy, compression socks apply gentle pressure to your legs and ankles, enabling efficient blood flow from your legs to your heart to be oxygenated. This is great for those who are on their feet for a majority of the day, as they prevent the pooling of blood in the feet, and for runners, as they enable freshly oxygenated blood to refresh and re-energize their legs.

The useful graduated compression technology also targets areas in your legs that are most susceptible to pain and works to reduce this pain and swelling in these areas effectively.

The most common reasons people wear compression socks are for comfort while traveling and during the day, to do better in sports, and to help with medical conditions such as preventing blood clots, and offering pain relief for those who suffer from plantar fasciitis, varicose veins, and deep vein thrombosis.

In short, compression socks work to improve your blood flow, provide pain relief, prevent detrimental medical conditions, and reduce swelling in your legs. At Lily Trotters, we want these benefits to be available to everyone, which is why they come in a wide range of sizes for everybody; and patterns to show off your personality.

Not sure why you should wear compression socks? Take a look at our article outlining the benefits in more detail here.

What are Compression Socks?

Compression socks and compression stockings are specially designed, snugly fitting, stretchy socks that provide a gentle squeeze on your leg - targeting specific, vulnerable, points to provide the most benefits possible. Our graduated compression socks are tighter around your ankle, getting looser as they move up your leg to provide the optimal levels of blood flow with 15-20 mmHg compression strength.

Compression socks are most commonly used by:

• Athletes and those enhancing their running performance.
• People who stand all day at work, like a nurse on a 12-hour shift.
• People who are at risk of developing, or currently suffering from, circulation problems such as DVT, varicose veins, or diabetes.
• For those going through pregnancy.
• People who spend a long period of time on airplanes, like pilots or frequent travelers.
• People who have just gotten surgery.
• Those who are bedridden, or have difficulty moving their legs.

How Do Compression Socks Work & What Do They Do?

Compression socks and stockings work by applying pressure to your legs and ankles. This helps to:

• Reduce the diameter and prominence of major veins by increasing the volume and velocity of blood flow.
• Assisting the circulation of blood towards the heart.
• Aids in preventing blood from pooling at the bottom of your feet, or into superficial veins.

The pressure within our compression stockings is typically 15-20 mmHg, which helps your blood vessels work better and assist the circulation of your blood. This means that more blood reaches your heart, providing fresh, oxygenated blood to your muscles and allowing your arteries and veins to work more efficiently.

One of the biggest benefits of compression socks is the prevention of fatigue within your legs, and the reduction of swelling in your feet and ankles - helping you prevent and treat spider and varicose veins.

How do Compression Socks Work for Runners?

If you’re wondering “but how do compression socks work for running?” Athletes including runners wear compression socks on their legs in order to better their blood flow during vigorous activity.

This means that more oxygen will reach athletic muscles, help prevent tissue damage, and help your muscles recover at an increased rate. This means that you can benefit from increased levels of performance, and muscles that aren’t used as much won’t be as sore or cramp as much.

How do Compression Socks Work for Nurses?

If you tend to stand for long periods, like a nurse on a 12-hour shift, compression socks assist in keeping your legs feeling refreshed for longer periods of time. This works as the graduated compression technology helps to keep your blood circulating in areas that are most affected when standing upright for a long time.

Because your blood is kept circulating, your blood will tend not to pool at the bottom of your feet, a common cause of sore and painful feet, meaning you can stay at your best for longer.

How do Compression Socks Work for Travel?

Do you spend a lot of time traveling? You may be considering compression socks and wondering “how do compression socks work for flying?” If you spend a lot of time on long flights, either because you’re a frequent traveler or you’re the one who actually pilots the plane, then you’ll understand the benefits of compression socks.

Working by aiding in the easing of leg swelling and leg pain, dangerous blood clots are prevented because your blood will have an easier time flowing around your body as your veins won’t be constricted.

How do Compression Socks Work for Blood Clots?

Because your blood is kept moving by the socks’ compression levels, it is harder for it to congeal and pool in your veins - the main cause of a clot. If a clot does form and break free, it can travel to your lungs or heart and cause a fatality.

Clots also make it harder for blood to flow around them, which can cause swelling, discolored skin, and other potentially dangerous problems.

How Fast do Compression Socks Work?

If you’ve been prescribed compression socks by a medical professional in order to take care of a condition that affects your circulation or to prevent a condition because you’re at risk of developing a condition, you may need to wear them for several years, or in some cases, the rest of your life.

However, if you’re wondering how long do compression socks take to work because you’re planning on wearing them to enhance your sports performance, and speed up muscle recovery, you may notice a difference after the first few wears.

How do Compression Socks Work for Pregnancy?

In a similar fashion to how compression socks work for nurses, and how they prevent blood clots, pregnant women are carrying a bit of extra weight due to the baby growing inside them. This, in turn, creates more weight bearing down on their legs which will lead to them becoming fatigued quicker than usual - along with blood pooling to the bottom of their feet. They are also at high risk of blood clots within the legs.

Thankfully, the use of maternity compression socks can help to alleviate this pain, and the risks, due to the compression forcing blood to circulate more efficiently and rejuvenating these areas with oxygen-rich blood.

Lily Trotters, a Compression Sock for Every Occasion

If you frequently travel on planes with long travel times, wish to enhance your sporting performance and muscle recovery, are constantly on your feet, have painful feet, or you suffer from achy legs and have a medical condition that can be debilitating, why not try out a pair of Lily Trotters compression socks?

For all of the above, Lily Trotters can provide a solution to a problem you may not have known there would be a fix for. Browse our selection today. Still not sure why you should wear compression socks?

Take a look at our article outlining the benefits in more detail here.