Compression socks and stockings provide gentle external pressure to the legs in a specific way to help reduce the venous pressure. Venous pressure is the amount of stress that your veins have to deal with because gravity is pulling your blood and other fluids in your legs down towards the ground. When you stand or sit for long periods of time without movement in your legs, ankles and feet, they start to feel heavy and achy. That’s the venous pressure. When you move your calf muscles, your body naturally squeezes up against your veins to help return blood back to your heart and lungs. Compression socks and stockings also help this natural process.  But just squeezing your legs is not enough to help boost your circulation. What’s special about these compression stockings is that the pressure they apply is “graduated”, meaning that the amount of pressure at the ankle is the greatest and it gets lighter as it move towards the top of the stocking.

Like all things, your veins eventually wear out and they have a harder time trying to get blood to flow back up your leg and to your vital organs. So compression stockings help restore the blood flow to normal by preventing the decrease in blood flow. In addition to boosting circulation, compression garments also helps get the swelling out of feet, ankles and legs.

You don’t have to have a problem with your veins or legs to wear compression socks and stockings. There are lots of different people, both young and old, healthy and active wearing compression stockings. A lot of new fangled technology now allows these cool socks to be made in any color and style. You can get a sport sock that has graduated compression in it for jogging or playing sports. Isn’t that awesome?

Compression stockings are available in many levels of compression. A 15-20 mmHg (read, “fifteen to twenty millimeters of mercury”) compression stocking is great for daily wear, sports and travel. The support that a 15-20 mmHg sock provides addresses minor leg symptoms such as tired, achy and lightly swollen ankles and legs. The 20-30 mmHg and 30-40 mmHg level of compression provides more support and thus addresses more leg health issues such as swelling, edema, spider veins, varicose veins and blood clots.

All of the compression stockings at Leg Smart are graduated, which means that the amount of compression at the ankle is the strongest and gets lighter up the leg. This increases circulation by preventing blood from slowing down when traveling up the veins to return to the heart and lungs.

List of Indications for Compression Stockings

15-20 mmHg
Heavy, fatigued, tired legs.
Mild swelling of ankles during pregnancy.
Mild swelling of ankles after long periods of standing or sitting.
Tired, achy and swollen feet and ankles during travel.

20-30 mmHg
Heavy, fatigued, tired, aching legs.
Mild varicosities during pregnancy.
Mild varicosities and minimal edema (swelling).
Recovery post-surgery for vein procedures.
During recovery period, post-surgery for swelling in the leg due to inactivity.

30-40 mmHg
Moderate to severe varicosities with mild edema during pregnancy.
Mild varicosities and moderate edema.
Post fracture, post traumatic edema.
After sclerotherapy or phlebectomy of larger veins or vein stripping to maintain treatment success.
Venous ulcers.
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) or Post Thrombatic Syndrome.
Mild primary lymphedema after decongestant therapy to maintain reduction, secondary lymphedema.

40-50 mmHg
Severe varicosities and edema.
Venous ulcers.
Moderate to severe lymphedema.

This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions about your health, please contact your doctor.