No doubt you’ve seen athletes wearing them – super tight-fitting clothing, sleeves and gloves thought to reduce soreness, help muscles heal and enhance performance. In addition to helping athletes, compression is also used to help treat many medical conditions. So how does compression help with swelling? There are many types of compression garments such as socks, gloves and stockings that are commonly used to help control lymphedema and relieve pain and swelling. In addition to garments- compression sleeves, splints and braces also help with pain and swelling from arthritis, repetitive stress injuries, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other conditions.
What Is Compression?
The word compression means “to press together”. And that is exactly what compression garments do—they “squeeze”. Graduated compression works by providing the greatest amount of compression in the section of the garment that is farthest away from the heart and the least amount of compression in the section closest to the heart. For example, in compression socks, the greatest amount of compression would be in the ankle and the least in the calf. This type of compression helps to fight the effects of gravity and assists the body in venous return or deoxygenated blood flowing back up to the heart.
| Check out our video “WS6 Wrist Compression Sleeve” – View Video |
What Compression Products Might Be Helpful?
- If you’ve sprained your wrist or suffer from arthritis or tendinitis in your hand, a splint or brace that reduces pain and supports your wrist during activities may be helpful. The WS6 Wrist Compression Sleeve provides controlled compression of the muscles and tendons to help support the wrist without restricting circulation.
- Compression may also help with plantar fasciitis—that burning, stabbing pain felt across the bottom of your foot. Protecting your foot with a compression sleeve can help your “fascia” heal more quickly by increasing circulation. The FS6 Compression Foot Sleeve relieves pain and can be worn day or night.
- If you have arthritis in your knee, runner’s knee or other knee instability conditions the KS7 Compression Knee Sleeve helps to provide medical grade compression to boost circulation and reduce swelling and inflammation.
Although the jury is still out on what compression can actually do and at what level the pressure has to be to be effective, compression products can help reduce swelling and increase blood circulation– helping you to feel better as you heal.
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Our blogs are educational in nature and are not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Because your condition is unique to you, it is recommended that you consult with your health care provider before attempting any medical or therapeutic treatments. We are always happy to answer questions about products mentioned in our blogs, however, we cannot provide a diagnosis or medical advice.
