Compression Socks: Can They Help My Leg Veins?

Perhaps you overheard some friends talking about how much they love their compression socks or you’re seeing more ads for compression stockings and their benefits. However your interest was piqued, you want to learn more.

Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place, as we specialize in leg circulation here at the Vein Institute, which is part of our broader Upper East Side Cardiology practice. So, if you’re interested in learning more about compression socks, here’s what Dr. Satjit Bhusri and our team have to say.

How blood circulates in your legs

Let’s start by painting a clear picture about how blood travels into and out of your legs. The entrance part is fairly easy — your blood flows down through arteries to reach your feet. The return trip, however, is a little more challenging, as your blood has to surmount both distance and gravity to get back up to your lungs and heart.

To help the blood exit your legs, they rely on two support systems: one-way valves and your calf muscles.

One-way valves

The veins in your legs feature one-way valves that close as blood passes through. The valves keep the blood from slipping backward. 

Calf muscles

Your circulation also relies on muscles in your calves. The muscles put pressure on the veins to keep the blood moving upward.

When blood doesn’t flow easily out of your legs

If there’s an ongoing problem with one or both of the support systems that help push blood back out of your legs, you’ve likely developed chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). With CVI, the valves aren’t closing all the way and/or weak calf muscles aren’t helping to push the blood back up.

CVI is the leading cause of varicose veins, which affect about 22 million females over the age of 40 in the United States, as well as 11 million males.

As CVI progresses, it can lead to more problematic symptoms, such as leg cramping and leg ulcers.

Enter compression socks

Now let’s see how compression socks can help encourage better blood flow out of your legs. As the name suggests, these socks or stockings apply a gentle, but firm, pressure on your feet, ankles, and calves to help push blood back up through your veins. This compression can go a long way toward making up for malfunctioning valves and weak calf muscles.

Compression socks are great tools for people who want to avoid varicose veins, which can be especially helpful if you’re at greater risk for these bulging veins, like if you stand on your feet a good deal or you’re pregnant.

Compression socks also come in handy when your legs are still, which can place you at risk for leg swelling and blood clots. For example, if you travel often and experience swelling (edema) in your legs, compression socks can help keep this swelling to a minimum.

Here at our practice, we rely on compression socks to help patients recover from leg vein treatments. After we remove your problematic varicose or spider veins, we want you to wear compression socks to encourage good circulation, which can speed up healing.

There are different types of compression socks, and we’re happy to guide you in the right direction if you feel that your veins can use a little outside support. 

For expert guidance on leg circulation and compression socks, please contact our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan by clicking here, or you can call us at (212) 752-3464 to schedule an appointment.