Do your legs feel tired after a long day at work or after spending a lot of time on your feet? This feeling of tiredness and heaviness in the legs is common and can affect anyone. It is one of the most common problems among the population, and not only in older people.
Identifying the cause is the first step to relieving this discomfort and improving your quality of life. In this article, we explain everything you need to know about tired legs and how to remedy them.
Causes of swelling in the legs
The heart is responsible for pumping blood to the body through the arteries. That blood returns to the heart through veins, tubes that consist of small valves that open and close as blood passes through them. These valves work thanks to the pressure applied to them by certain pumps, which, in the case of the lower extremities, are the pumps of the sole of the foot and the calf.
When the pumps do not exert enough pressure, the valves do not work correctly, and this causes the blood to circulate worse or even remain trapped. Therefore, the cause of swollen legs is poor circulation through the lower extremities caused by malfunctioning venous valves.
Symptoms or signs of swollen legs
Swollen legs are a symptom in themselves. However, they can be accompanied by other discomforts, such as itching, heaviness and even pain, and manifest in different ways, for example, they can swell in a specific area, on just one side or on both, etc.
How to relieve swelling in the legs
The first thing we should do is go to our doctor to rule out the different diseases that can cause swelling in the legs, such as chronic venous insufficiency or deep vein thrombosis.
If, in fact, we do not suffer from any disease responsible for the swelling in the legs, we must pay attention to the non-medical causes that cause it, such as maintaining the same posture for a long time, standing for many hours or being pregnant.
We will not always be able to avoid all situations. For example, if we spend the day sitting at work, how can we prevent our legs from swelling?
One of the ways is by applying pressure to the legs, pressure that contributes to the work of the capillaries, thus improving blood circulation and reducing fluid accumulation.
For this, there are compression socks, a type of garment that exerts gradual pressure on certain areas of the leg to make blood circulate more easily. In this way, the sensation of swelling, heaviness or even itching decreases.
We explain how they work and what they're for in this article on compression socks.
Who are light compression socks recommended for?
Light compression socks are especially recommended as a preventive measure for those who are prone to swollen legs. However, they can also help other people who, due to certain circumstances, suffer from this problem.
1. People who spend the day standing or the day sitting
Especially at work. We cannot always take all the necessary breaks to change posture (sitting or standing) and relieve swelling.
Whether you spend hours on the go or in a chair, wearing compression socks for standing or sitting work will make the rest of the day less of an uphill climb.
2. People who are going to spend many hours traveling
When we travel in our own car, we can stop whenever we need to. However, when we travel by train or plane we cannot “stretch our legs” as much as we would like.
In these means of transport, where we spend several hours with our legs in practically the same position (especially in economy class), wearing compression socks for traveling is a good idea so that less fluid builds up and your legs arrive less swollen.
3. People who are worried about varicose veins
Varicose veins appear due to excessive dilation of the veins, which causes blood to circulate worse (venous insufficiency). When varicose veins are already there, the compression that forms part of the treatment is medical compression: it is prescribed by a professional and is much firmer. Light compression is not a treatment for varicose veins; its place is to support the day-to-day of legs that are starting to feel tired or heavy. We explain it on our page about compression socks for varicose veins.
4. Pregnant women
There are different reasons why pregnant women suffer from swelling in their legs, such as hormonal imbalances and the weight that the baby exerts on the mother's lower extremities. Result: fluid accumulation and poorer blood circulation.
Click here to read the 5 tricks to relieve swollen legs during pregnancy.
Compression socks for pregnant women are especially recommended in the last months of pregnancy, when the pressure exerted by the baby is much greater due to its weight gain.
In the case of women going through menopause, fluid retention is also due to the hormonal imbalances experienced at this stage of life.
5. Sports people
Athletes, and not just elite ones, can also wear compression socks. Several meta-analyses report less muscle soreness and faster strength recovery after an intense effort, while the improvement in performance is small or none; we sum it up in what the evidence says about compression in sport. If you want them for training, you'll find the models designed for it in our sports compression socks.
Compression socks from Calcetinos
Calcetinos compression socks exert light pressure, ranging from 14 to 17 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). That is, they are designed to relieve mild swelling problems in the legs, NOT for the treatment of diseases such as venous thrombosis, edema or chronic venous insufficiency (if you suffer from any of them, consult your doctor). They are not a medical device and are not available on prescription.
These are socks that cover the entire calf, just below the knee, since ankle socks do not put pressure on the calf. As for the designs, we choose colors that go with your daily life and your work. In addition, we make them without excessive decorations, as these can make them less effective. Finally, they are made with comfortable, natural and breathable materials, such as cotton and bamboo, so you can wear them even in summer.
So, if you spend the day standing or sitting, you are pregnant, you are going through menopause or you want your legs to recover better after training... No pressure, but you need some Calcetinos.
