If you’re like most people, you probably think that compression socks are just for pregnant women and elderly people. But if you’ve ever had any leg discomfort or are worried about maintaining your health on the road, maybe you should give compression socks another look!
Benefits of Compression Socks for Truckers
1. Prevent leg discomfort. One of the best reasons to wear compression socks is that they simply make your day to day life on the road more comfortable. Runners wear them to help tightly hold muscle, tendons, and bones together to protect the body from the effects of vibration. They’ll help you to deal with vibration as well. And if you suffer from leg cramps, compression socks help with that problem, too. They improve circulation to the legs, reducing cramps for many drivers.
2. Ease the symptoms of plantar fasciitis. Face it, you spend 11 hours a day with much of the weight of your legs balanced on your heel. This puts you at increased risk for plantar fasciitis, which is an inflammation of the fibrous tissue on the bottom of your foot. If you have this condition (and tons of truck drivers do), compression socks can improve blood flow to the area to speed heeling. They can also help to relieve tension from the supporting muscles which might be overworked while trying to compensate for your injury.
3. Fight Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). One of the biggest threats to a truck driver’s health is DVT. DVT tends to strike people who sit for long periods of time, making it a big threat to trucker health. A blood clot that forms in your leg can easily travel to your lungs, causing heart attack or stroke. Compression socks help to keep blood from pooling in your feet, making it much harder for blood clots to form in the first place. And if you already have DVT, compression stockings are a widely recommended solution for increasing your comfort and reducing the growth of further blood clots.
4. No one will ever know (unless you show them). If you’re worried about style, keep in mind that the graduated compression socks that are all the craze among runners are actually pretty cool. And keep in mind you won’t be the only driver out there wearing them! Flying J Travel Centers began selling HEALTH+ graduated compression socks last year. Wear them and you might just start a trucker health (and fashion) trend!
If you have any questions about your health, make sure to talk to your doctor!
Sources:
NOLA
Huffington Post
Mayo Clinic
PR Web