What are compression socks used for, can you sleep in compression socks, and other compression sock questions, answered
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Compression socks are an effective tool of foot and leg recovery in many situations. You can wear them during athletic activities to prevent muscle soreness, on your job to stay fresh and energized, or for injury rehab to accelerate recovery. In this post, we’ll answer all the questions you might have about compression socks, so you can maximize the benefits of your compression socks. Let’s go.
Compression socks are used both for non-medical general recovery and as a part of medical treatments. Compression socks can be very effective in reducing:
General fatigue and soreness in your feet and legs, from your job, workouts, or other athletic activities
Pain and tightness in your foot and ankle caused by repetitive stress injuries, like Plantar Fasciitis, PTTD, or Achilles Tendinitis
Pain, discomfort and complications caused by medical conditions, especially circulatory problems, like CVI and DVT
There is strong evidence that properly designed medical-grade compression socks can reduce recovery time from certain injuries and medical conditions.
Compression socks work by applying pressure on the foot, ankle, and calf to reduce fluid accumulation. Because gravity pulls down blood and other fluid, they tend to naturally pool in our lower extremities, even in healthy people with no injury.
Compression socks help the heart circulate "depleted" blood out of your foot, ankle, and calf, and bring in fresh, oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood into these areas. This is called venous return. The fresh oxygen and nutrients help the injured or fatigued tissue recover that much faster.
Compression socks also help pump out other excess fluids that contain waste materials. These excess fluids are usually acidic, which contributes to inflammation and slows down tissue healing. So, by removing excess fluids, compression socks can help reduce inflammation and accelerate tissue healing.
Yes! Swelling (edema) is caused by excessive fluid accumulation. Effective compression socks can help pump these fluids out of the swollen areas, which reduces and prevents swelling.
Compression socks can help with foot pain or ankle pain, whether you are experiencing general soreness and discomfort from activities, or recovering from specific foot and ankle conditions like PTTD or Plantar Fasciitis.
Yes, compression socks can be an effective tool in Plantar Fasciitis treatment. Plantar Fasciitis isn’t generally associated with foot or ankle swelling, but compression socks do help Plantar Fasciitis recovery by reducing the excess fluid in the foot that interferes with the healing of the affected plantar fascia.
Yes, compression socks are great for PTTD (Posterior Tibial Tendonitis). In fact, because PTTD is often accompanied by swelling around the ankle, compression socks are an integral part of effective PTTD treatment!
By reducing fluid accumulation and ankle swelling, compression socks help the tendon affected by PTTD to move more smoothly up and down inside the ankle, reduce discomfort, and accelerate PTTD recovery. That’s why we include a pair of Performance Compression Socks in our PTTD System.
Other conditions where compression socks can help include:
Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI)
Varicose Veins
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
Lymphedema
Achilles Tendinitis
Graduated compression socks are the type of compression socks that have different levels of compression in different areas, instead of having one level of compression all the way through. Graduated compression socks usually have stronger compression around the ankle, with the compression levels gradually decreasing as you go up the calf.
(Pro tip: make sure your compression socks have compression in the foot, too. Many compression socks omit compression in the foot, which reduces their ability to move fluid out of your foot.)
Because these different zones of compression work like a series of pumps, graduated compression socks are more effective at moving excess fluid up and out of your foot, ankle, and calf, than non-graduated compression socks.
Medical-grade compression socks are made to meet the standards established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. There are several classes of medical-grade compression socks, depending on the compression levels, but in order to be considered medical-grade, socks need to be at least 20 mmHg. Socks at high compression levels are usually bought with a prescription and professional fitting, but ones with gentler compression levels, available without a prescription or in-person fitting service, are still quite effective in many situations.
Medical-grade compression socks are exactly what the name sounds like: they are designed to address specific medical problems. Pressure (compression) that helps with blood circulation and fluid return is one, but there are other design features that make some more effective than others - for example, an anatomical fit that contours to your foot and leg.
Are compression socks easy to put on? The honest answer: it depends.
Because medical-grade compression socks are tighter than regular socks by design, it can be difficult to put them on. But how easy it is to put them on varies widely between manufacturers. We know, because we’ve tested quite a few brands in the R&D process of our own medical-grade compression socks. Some we tried left us sweaty in an air-conditioned office, because they were so hard to put on!
To put on compression socks without a sweaty struggle, choose a pair that strikes a good balance between powerful compression and stretchy elasticity. Compression socks with relatively wide top openings also help.
Once you have your pair, here’s the easiest way to put on compression socks properly:
Scrunch up the sock all the way from the top to the heel.
Put the sock over your foot.
Before you pull it up, make sure your toes are all the way in the toe box.
Holding the scrunched-up part of the sock and the heel box together, pull up the sock, and place your heel in the heel box.
Adjust the foot of the sock so that your foot is fully aligned with the foot of the sock. Make sure there are no extra fabric, creases or bumps, and make sure the sock is not rotated around your foot. (Make these adjustments by pulling the foot of the sock, not the scrunched-up calf part of the sock.)
Pull the rest of the sock gradually up your calf.
If the sock doesn’t go all the way up, see if there’s any extra fabric left in the foot. If so, pull the extra fabric up through the foot and around the heel.
Especially for socks with high compression levels, you might need a few tries to get them on properly the first time. We’ve found that two common mistakes are:
leaving extra fabric around the foot, especially in front of your toes; or
having the heel box not going all the way around your heel.
Both of these will make your compression socks feel like they are too short or there’s not enough fabric to comfortably go up your calf. So check for these two issues if you feel something isn’t quite right.
Another tip? Your feet and legs get more swollen as the day goes on, so if you find it hard to put on compression socks later in the day, try putting them on first thing in the morning.
Unless your doctor prescribes specific times or situations to wear your compression socks, you can wear compression socks at any time. Four situations when wearing compression socks can be beneficial:
During athletic activities and cool-downs to shorten your recovery time
When working on your feet all day to reduce fatigue and soreness
On long flights to prevent foot swelling and Traveler’s Thrombosis
During pregnancy, to prevent swollen legs and stay active and comfortable
Yes, you can absolutely wear compression socks while walking or running! When you walk or run for a long period of time, gravity alone can keep excess fluid pooling in your feet and legs, which can lead to soreness, tightness, and fatigue. Wearing compression socks is an effective way to prevent fluid accumulation in your feet, keep up your performance, and reduce your post-walk or post-run recovery time.
It’s a good idea in general, but particularly important if you are recovering from foot and ankle pain conditions like Plantar Fasciitis or PTTD (Posterior Tibial Tendonitis) to wear compression socks during your walks, runs, or other active pursuits that put strain on the affected tissue.
Swelling doesn’t just add to discomfort - its acidity also exacerbates inflammation and slows down your tissue recovery process. So it’s a good idea to reduce swelling as much as you can with compression.
Can you wear compression socks to bed? Yes - you shouldn’t wear compression socks all day, every day, but as long as you are giving your feet and legs some break from compression, it’s fine to sleep in compression socks. (Your skin will want regular breaks from compression socks.)
But is it necessary to wear compression socks to bed? Does wearing compression socks while you sleep speed up your injury or athletic recovery? No. As we’ve seen, compression socks are designed to combat the effects of gravity that keeps excess fluid and blood in your feet and legs. When you are on your back, that pesky pull of gravity is much less. So, in most cases, when you are in bed is when you need compression socks the least.
You can wear compression socks for however long you want (but listen to your doctor, of course!), as long as you aren’t in them 24/7. The more pertinent question, though, might be this: can you comfortably wear compression socks all day?
In our experience, too many compression socks, especially the medical-grade ones with compression levels above 18-20 mmHg, are so tight that you really can’t wear them all day without developing sore spots. Powerful compression socks that are also wearable all day, like the Alleviate Performance Compression Socks, are, unfortunately, a rarity.
Compression socks are generally safe and don’t have serious side effects. Especially at the 20+ mmHg compression level of our Performance Compression Socks, it’s unlikely you’ll develop any serious side effects, but it’s worth mentioning a few cases where you should be careful.
People with cognitive impairment, impaired sensation in their foot or leg, or conditions that reduce blood flow to their extremities may not be good candidates for compression socks. In these cases, definitely talk to your doctor first!
If you have impaired sensation in your foot or leg and use compression socks, make sure to examine your foot or leg before and after wearing compression socks. This will ensure you’ll notice right away if you develop any skin problems.
Your best bet is to refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for how to wash your compression socks. For our medical-grade compression socks, washing is simple: just toss in your laundry machine and wash cool/warm, and line dry. That’s it! To keep their efficacy, make sure not to bleach, tumble dry, or iron.
You might be wondering: what level of compression socks do I need? Good question! With some exceptions, 20+ mmHg is a good place to start.
If you are planning to wear compression socks to treat a medical condition like DVT or CVI, you should consult your healthcare provider and get their recommendation about compression levels.
For at-home treatment of Plantar Fasciitis or at-home treatment of PTTD, we recommend medical-grade compression socks above 20 mmHg throughout. Most “Plantar Fasciitis socks” or socks sold for general foot pain relief use lower-level compression to make them easy to put on, and keep on, but below this compression level, they don’t have enough pumping power to make a difference in fluid accumulation, so they aren’t as effective.
If you are looking to improve your athletic performance and reduce the time you need to recover after runs or workouts, medical-grade compression socks with compression levels at around 20+ mmHg are a good place to start. This is a powerful enough compression level to make a difference.
If your job keeps you on your feet all day, we also recommend compression levels around 20 mmHg. When you work on your feet all day, you want a pair that’s comfortable enough to wear for as long as you’re on your feet. 20 mmHg is high enough compression to really reduce your soreness and discomfort, but not so tight that it becomes uncomfortable after just a few hours.
Compression Socks’ Role: Compression socks help reduce swelling by promoting venous return. Good compression socks can expedite healing by reducing inflammation and preventing accumulation of acidic fluid that can slow healing. For injury recovery, they are most effective when combined with other treatments like load management and strengthening exercises.
The Perfect Everyday Pair: Experience the benefits for yourself with our high-quality compression socks, designed for comfort, performance, and recovery with optimal compression levels—perfect for all-day wear and accelerated healing.
Alleviate was founded by a patient-and-clinician duo to bring the effective chronic pain treatment from physical therapy offices to everyone's home. With our Plantar Fasciitis System | Performance Edition, you get all three components of the gold standard of physical therapy care for Plantar Fasciitis, plus our medical-grade compression socks and massage balm with soothing arnica extract.
Luke Ferdinands, Physical Therapist & Co-Founder
A New Zealand-trained physical therapist with over 20 years of experience, Luke developed the Alleviate Method to bring the gold standard of physical therapy care to everyone's home. Luke leads the development of physical tools and digital physical therapy content, focusing on driving clinical outcomes for people with chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions like Tennis Elbow, Plantar Fasciitis, Runner's Knee, and more.
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