Runners Wearing Grandma’s Compression Socks!

My mother is stubborn; I think all mothers are at a certain age. Rightfully so, they have lived enough years to discover their likes, dislikes, and the best way to do everything.  Age brings wisdom, but sometimes it is just stubbornness.  My mother came home with her first pair of compression stockings from the doctor.  You would think he’s asking her to wear a corset in public. “ How ridiculous are these things!  So cumbersome, ugly, too tight, unnecessary……I’m not wearing them!”  Not only does mom need to wear her compression socks, but many athletes especially runners are lining up to get a pair.  Why would runners want to wear grandma’s socks?

Our lower extremity has the difficulty of fighting against gravity to return blood flow back to the heart.  Our veins have the torturous job of sending blood up hill.  This system is assisted by valves.  As we age, after injuries, blood clots, or venous disease, our valves can become leaky or non-functional.   This can lead to pooling of venous or un-oxygenated blood in our tissues.  As a result, swelling, skin discoloration, skin break down, and ulcers can result.  The efficiency of our veins is not only dependent on our valves but also our muscles especially the calf muscle.  As we walk our calf muscle contracts and stretches acting as a pump.  Our calf muscle is the legs version of a heart.

Applying compression to the leg by socks or special wraps can prevent and treat the symptoms caused by vein disease or insufficiency.  Compression decreases the allowable space for expansion.  The leg can only swell as much as the socking will allow.  The skin is no longer the source of resistance and therefore is no longer bearing the stress of the fluid and swelling.  This prevents skin breakdown and ulcers.  Decreasing the amount of swelling also decreases the amount of pooling of un-oxygenated blood.  The blood not only provides oxygen to muscles but it also picks up waste products.  With swelling or chronic venous disease, these waste products build up in the tissues of the leg.  This is the primary cause for skin color changes.  These changes and waste accumulation also weakens the skin to the point where just bumping the leg can cause a sore that may not heal.

A newer theory among runners is that compression allows for a more efficient calf muscle pump.  This increase in efficiency may result in an increase in endurance capacity.  Lactic acid is a byproduct of muscle contraction without oxygen.  Lactic acid build up is common in runners and athletes due to the high demand on their muscles.  A study by the American College of Sports Medicine found no significant difference among athletes who wore compression socks in respect to oxygen consumption, heart rate or minute ventilation to those who didn’t wear compression. But, a study by Stellenbosch University found that lactate recovery after exercise was significantly greater in those who wore compression socks.  Currently many runners are using compression after a race to help speed up recovery.  Paula Radcliff, women’s marathon world-record holder, has been spotted supporting grandma’s tight stockings.  If she can do it, I think my mom can!