Compression Socks for Better Performance

Running compression socks can make you feel more energized during your run by helping oxygenated blood reach your legs and feet more effectively as well as supporting your calf muscles and keeping them in perfect alignment. Compression socks for running also help delay muscle soreness, meaning you can push yourself and perform at your peak even in the coldest weather. Running compression socks can also protect the all-important Achilles tendon from injury.

Compression Socks for Recovery

After your strenuous training session today, you want to be able to get out there again tomorrow with the same energy and responsiveness. Thanks to compression socks, running in cold weather takes less of a toll on your body. Compression socks for running improve the circulation in your legs, moving the lactic acid out of your muscles quickly to prevent soreness.

Compression Socks for Comfort

Today’s sports compression socks are made with high tech materials that make them more comfortable than ever. For example, CEP running compression socks provide ventilation channels for the wicking of moisture, padded soles for the prevention of blisters, and CellTex Fiber finishing, which activates skin cells and regulates temperature.

Compression Socks for Heat Management

Running compression socks help reduce muscle vibration and provide a cooling effect to keep your muscles loose for peak performance on your winter runs. For instance, CEP running compression socks are designed for serious training, with blister prevention and shin protection in mind, along with the warmth that increased blood flow brings to the legs and feet.

Whether your biggest concern is recovery time, high performance or staying warm so you can continue in your exercise regimen through the cold months, compression socks for running provide many benefits to your running program.

What is R.I.C.E.?

R.I.C.E. stands for the four stages of treatment of an athletic injury:

Rest.

The first thing your doctor will tell you is to stop your activity and rest your injured body part. Don’t try to walk on that sprained ankle or open a jar with that sprained wrist. Take it easy.

Ice.

In the hours immediately after an injury, careful application of ice can prevent swelling and alleviate pain by reducing blood flow to the injury. Never apply ice directly to the skin or ice for more than 20 continuous minutes.

Compression.

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Sport compression socks are an easy way to get medically accurate compression to an injury in the foot, ankle or calf without the difficulty of wrapping or the uncertainty of knowing how much compression is necessary or helpful. Sport compression socks also help reduce swelling by encouraging fluid to drain from away from the injury, which can help alleviate pain. Compression sleeves are also available for injuries to the arm and elbow.

For example, CEP offers specialized compression garments for biking and hiking as well as compression sleeves for arm injuries and sport compression socks for football, soccer and other sports involving running. CEP running compression socks maximize oxygenation of the muscles, support calf muscles, aid in correct alignment and support the Achilles tendon. Wearing CEP running compression socks during exercise can help prevent injury as well as aid in the recovery process.

Elevation.

The last step in injury treatment is elevation, or keeping the injury above the level of the heart. This also helps to remove excess fluid from the injury.

Compression is an essential part of injury recovery. Sport compression socks make it easy to get the right compression to your injury immediately, affording you greater comfort and faster healing.

With rising gas prices and increasing environmental concerns, people everywhere are beginning to commute to work on bicycles. It’s far more fun than sitting in stop-and-go traffic, and it can spice up an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. City dwellers are learning how to beat traffic gridlock by touting two wheels instead of four. And with cycling, you can park almost anywhere – for free!

Seasoned cyclists who’ve been riding for years know that physical health is improved by pushing pedals for about an hour every day. Whether they’re into racing or just want to give the body and heart a workout, any experienced cyclist will rave about the mental and physical benefits of riding a bike. There’s something to be said for going somewhere powered by your own two legs.

But with any type of exercise, you can expect sore muscles and bodily fatigue. For cyclists, much of that wear and tear happens in the legs. However, many cyclists are discovering a secret weapon to combat sore muscles and leg fatigue: cycling compression stockings.

Benefits of Cycling Compression Stockings

Compression socks use a fabric technology called graduated medical-grade compression. This specially constructed knit is tighter around the foot and ankle, but eases in pressure as you move up the leg to the knee and thigh. Compression socks are knit in a way that helps with circulation by promoting blood flow from the lower extremities back up to the heart for oxygen replenishment. Benefits of using compression socks for cycling include:

Reduced lactic acid buildup. Medical professionals will tell you that getting fresh oxygen to your muscles is a vital part of any workout; not doing so can lead to lactic acid buildup. Fortunately, another key advantage of compression cycling stockings is their ability to flush out the lactic acid buildup that occurs after workouts. Lactic acid buildup happens when the body is working hard and can’t supply enough oxygen to the muscles – think of it as a backup fuel source. Cycling compression stockings, such as CEP biking socks, aid in the removal of lactic acid when it builds up during strenuous activity.

Extra leg support. All cyclists exert strain on their legs and feet muscles during a ride. Wearing CEP biking socks or other compression stockings lends extra support to the leg muscles and tendons, including the Achilles. Donning compression socks after a workout also helps your muscles recover. After an intense ride, keeping your socks on will help reduce muscle soreness, fluid retention and swelling. In fact, compression socks can be worn with your regular work attire, making them a versatile choice when it comes to footwear. Cyclists can give themselves added muscle support throughout the workday by bringing an extra pair of socks to wear after commuting to work.

Enhanced comfort. Cycling compression stockings also have special built-in features designed just for cyclists. Each sock is designed for either the right or left foot, which provides a perfect fit each time. And as your workout heats up, cycling-oriented compression socks are designed to keep your legs and feet cool with a special temperature-regulating material. This high-tech fabric also wicks away moisture and sweat as you ride. Plus, compression socks are equipped with extra foot padding to provide extra comfort when wearing cycling shoes – not to mention the prevention of blisters.

Choosing the Right Compression Socks

First, choose between compression stockings or socks. Generally, compression socks go up to your knee, while stockings go up to the thigh or higher. Also, compression stockings tend to look like nylons or leggings.  You will also need to get an accurate measurement of your legs so you can purchase the correct sock size (the LegSmart.com blog has many free resources to teach you how to properly measure your legs). These special socks also come with different levels of compression, so you’ll need to choose the level that best suits your needs.

It is recommended to replace your cycling socks every four to five months. The fabric used in compression socks will eventually lose its elasticity, which is a sign they need to be replaced.

When worn during intense physical activity, graduated compression socks are scientifically proven to:

• Improve blood flow.
• Support calf muscles for optimal alignment.
• Increase stamina.
• Delay exhaustion and soreness.

Keep in mind that increased blood flow also generates more warmth in your body, which means sport compression socks help keep your feet warm through an entire day of fun in the snow. In fact, compression socks can help boost performance in any sport that is practiced or played in cold weather, including:

Football. Not only do sport compression socks support the muscles during intense athletic activity, but they can shorten your recovery time, helping keep you at your peak.

Running. Serious runners go out no matter the weather, and sport compression socks can keep you warm and energized however cold it might be when you run. Performance compression socks can also come with reflector stripes to keep you safe if you like to run early or late during the short winter days.

Skiing. Compression socks will help you stay warm and keep your muscles loose for quick reaction times on the slopes. CEP Skiing Compression Sport Socks are designed especially with the serious skier in mind by helping to prevent blisters and sore spots on the feet, ankles and shins.

Even if your idea of winter exercise is walking around your home town, compression socks can help keep you warm, keep your blood flowing and keep your legs and feet energized all day long.

There are various occasions when people wear compression socks – for travel, athletics and medical conditions, for instance. We’re going to look at how sports compression socks benefit athletes both on the playing field and during travel to and from games.

How Sports Compression Socks Help Athletes on the Field

1. Improved Venous Return

Venous return is a medical term that refers to the movement of blood back to the heart. During athletic performance, venous return is crucial because this is how blood is cycled through the body and how it picks up fresh nutrients, including oxygen. Poor venous return will drag down an athlete, in other words. Studies have discovered that sport compression stockings, among others, increase venous return by sending more blood through deeper veins via compression of the more superficial veins. This makes sense, since the body naturally uses compression of muscles to combat gravity during venous return.

2. Faster Removal of Waste from Tired Muscles

CEP running or Sigvaris sport compression socks also help flush waste out of muscles during exercise by improving overall circulation. Lactic acid is also flushed out with increased circulation, which leads to faster recovery and less time feeling sore.

3. Boosted Muscle Stamina

Many athletes choose to wear CEP running or Sigvaris sport compression socks during especially long workouts, for several reasons. First, sports compression socks help battle delayed onset muscle soreness. Second, many active types have found they can run, bike or walk longer while wearing compression socks. The calf muscles are especially likely to enjoy extended performance thanks to compression socks.

How Sports Compression Socks Help Athletes during Travel

It’s not unusual for dedicated athletes to wear sports compression socks during games or other workouts, but fewer athletes know that it’s also beneficial to wear compression socks for travel. Athletes must travel regularly to access games and other athletic events. During long flights, the seated position puts more pressure on leg veins, thereby reducing venous return and causing inflammation. Travel compression socks encourage circulation, thereby reducing swelling.

Another important benefit of wearing travel compression socks has to do with a potentially deadly disease, deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Athletes and other passengers may experience DVT after sitting during extended flights. Indeed, a nickname for DVT is “economy-class syndrome,” in reference to the cramped position of many airline seats. Really, any extended period of immobility puts a person at risk of experiencing DVT.

Since DVT usually occurs in the calves and thighs, one warning sign that it may be occurring is pain deep in the leg muscles. However, DVT is too often a silent killer – and indeed, it can kill. Many people became aware of the deadliness of this disorder in 2003, after NBC reporter David Bloom died of pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs), a complication of DVT; Bloom had been reporting from very cramped conditions inside military vehicles in Iraq. In addition to cutting off blood flow to the lungs, the blood clot or thrombus in a DVT case can travel to the brain and cause a stroke, or to the heart, where it can cause a heart attack. Travel compression socks prevent DVT by boosting circulation.

Athletes must be especially vigilant about DVT, since according to AirHealth.org, 85 percent of air travel DVT victims are athletes; endurance athletes are especially at risk. Prevent DVT by flexing your legs every 15 minutes during flights, and by wearing sports compression socks for travel.

If you’re looking for a high-quality product to improve your sports performance and increase circulation during travel, choose CEP running or Sigvaris sport socks. These make excellent compression socks for travel and exercise alike.

1. Wearing sports compression socks during the game.

Clinical studies show football players who wear sports compression socks on the field receive a number of benefits that can help boost their performance. For starters, the improved blood circulation in the lower leg helps increase oxygen deliver to the calves, which reduces muscle oscillation and optimizes the muscle alignment and efficiency while walking and running. Additionally, sports compression socks such as the Sigvaris sport brand improve calf muscle stamina, delaying soreness and fatigue until after the game is over.

2. Wearing compression socks to aid recovery.

Proper athletic recovery following a game is essential in helping football players avoid injury; poor recovery can also lead to poor performance in the next game. When worn for at least 2-3 hours after a game, Sigvaris sport socks and other athletic compression socks play an important role in recovery by reducing delayed onset muscle soreness, flushing lactic acid from exhausted muscles and minimizing the swelling associated with exercise.

Compression socks also provide one of the four essential elements needed to help heal strains, muscle pulls and other injuries commonly associated with football. Athletes often use the acronym RICE: rest, ice, compression and elevation. Sports compression socks are ideal for reducing swelling and channeling fluid up and out of the lower legs.

3. Wearing compression socks during travel.

Travel time is a necessary component of athletic team participation at all levels. This can entail long periods of immobility, sleeping while sitting, and dealing with the lower air pressure on airplanes. During travel, compression socks can help prevent edema, or the buildup of excess fluid, in the lower legs.

Sigvaris Athletic Recovery socks are the newest cotton offerings from the leading manufacturer of compression socks for athletes. They’re specifically engineered to counteract muscle soreness and fatigue in the legs following intense exercise. Here’s a look at some of the features of the latest line of Sigvaris compression stockings for athletes:

Reduced lactic acid.

Clinical studies have proven that graduated knee high compression stockings help flush out lactic acids that build up in the legs during exercise. When worn during and after exercise, Sigvaris Athletic Recovery socks promote the flushing of lactic acids by encouraging blood flow in the veins.

Reduced muscle soreness.

Delayed onset muscle soreness, a common experience following unaccustomed levels of exercise, can be reduced by as much as 28 percent by wearing knee high compression stockings, medical research has shown.

True graduated compression.

While many manufacturers label their products as compression socks, often these imitations don’t offer true graduated compression. Rather, they use gimmicks such as a tight foot band or vertical striping to suggest compression. Sigvaris knee high compression stockings, on the other hand, provide true graduated compression from the ankle to the knee.

Moisture and odor control.

Sigvaris compression stockings for athletic recovery feature patented Drirelease and Freshguard technologies to wick away moisture from the feet and eliminate odors for maximum comfort.

Since compression socks are so helpful for day-to-day activities, they can work wonders for athletes. One of the biggest obstacles in the way of an athlete’s peak performance is muscle soreness from training and a slow recovery. However, sports compression socks may help increase an athlete’s performance and help his muscles recover faster.

Sports Compression Socks Overview

Sports compression socks offer several different levels of support. Compression knee high socks only go up to the knee, while compression stockings go all the way up to the top of your thighs. Mediven compression stockings and socks are available for both men and women athletes, and use graduated circular knit compression that is tighter around the ankle and looser towards the top just below the knee. This graduated compression helps promote an athlete’s circulation. Some compression sock manufacturers even make compression socks that hug the arch of the foot in order to reduce the strain caused by repetitive impacts.

The compression range of socks vary in in tightness. The unit of measurement used for socks and stockings is in mmHg (millimeters of mercury), which is the same unit of measure used for recording blood pressure. Athletes generally benefit from sports compression socks or stockings that offer 15 to 20 mmHg or 20 to 30 mmHg of compression. Athletes who use sports compression socks and stockings with higher levels of support do so in order to promote the recovery of their muscles.

Using Compression Socks for Running

The use of compression socks for running is a rising trend. The specialized hosiery may have helped some athletes run faster or for longer distances before feeling muscle fatigue because there is an increase in blood flow and muscles to the leg muscles, as well as a faster elimination of lactic acid from the muscles after a training session or run. A 2010 study by R. Duffield, J. Cannon and M. King revealed that sprinters felt less muscle soreness after completing a series of 20-meter sprints and 10 bounds when they wore sports compression socks.[1] A different study involving fit men who were moderate runners showed a 1.5% improvement in performance at the anaerobic threshold and a 2.1% improvement in performance at the aerobic threshold when the subjects wore compression socks.[2]

Compression Socks for Cyclists

Cycling compression stockings have also proved beneficial for competitive and non-competitive cyclists a like. While cycling requires the leg muscles to perform in a different manner than running, they nonetheless suffer fatigue. Just as with compression socks for running, cycling compression stockings help promote circulation in the feet, ankles and calves. The height of the compression sock can also benefit the muscles that support the knee. A 2004 study with 12 senior-aged men found that they performed better on a bicycle and the muscle recovery time improved while wearing thigh high compression stockings. Scientists found similar results in cyclists of different ages who also wore cycling compression stockings.[3]

Recovery

Sports compression socks and stockings may help speed up the recovery time in athletes because the promotion of circulation helps reduce the swelling of muscles, edema (fluid retention) and general soreness. Moreover, compression socks tend to eliminate lactic acid in the affected muscles faster.[4]

Before using sports compression socks or stockings for the first time, it is best to consult with a physician to make sure you choose the appropriate level of compression. Additionally, when purchasing a compression sock or stocking for exercising, make sure the product is for athletic endeavors.

(From left to right, the Mediven Motion Sport 16-20 mmHg and 20-30 mmHg.)

Features

The Motion Sport is a very forward thinking compression sock. Effectively utilizing synthetic materials and fibers, the Motion Sport is able to manage heat and moisture better than most other cotton sport socks or nylon dress socks. Clima-Comfort fiber technology is used to draw perspiration away from the skin and the soft, plush material on the leg and padded sole gives a luxurious feeling. There is also a ribbed texture on the sock, which stretches out when worn on the leg, providing a cooling effect to relieve excess heat and moisture. The Motion Sport is available in both the 16-20 mmHg and 20-30 mmHg levels of compression and comes in five sizes so almost anyone can enjoy the benefits the Motion Sport has to offer.

Durability

Mediven’s Motion Sport compression socks are very durable. Made of mostly Polamid and Elasthan, Motion Sport isn’t as fragile as other synthetic dress socks therefore, with its thicker more plush construction, the Motion Sport holds up better to washing and wearing than other dress socks. So you’re covered when you’re playing a sport or walking long distances in airports.

Wearability

The plushy material and cushioned sole wears great on any leg and the cool and comfortable material wicks away moisture, feeling like cotton during sport, travel and daily wear. The Motion Sport is extremely easy to wear, care for and it’s comfortable on your legs and feet no matter what you’re doing. Mediven has made an incredible compression sock.

The Verdict

4.5 Stars – Awesome!

Superb – The Mediven Motion Sport utilizes the Clima-Comfort fibers to ensure cool and comfy feet and legs.

Luxurious – The plush, ribbed design looks great on the leg and feels even better for the person wearing it.

Versatile – Not only is the Motion Sport good for sports, it’s also often worn as a dress sock.