Your Healthy Family: Avoiding leg aches and pain with compression socks (2024)

Disclaimer: This is sponsored content. All opinions and views are of American Vein & Vascular Insitute and does not reflect the same of KOAA.

With everything going on in our country right now, inflation, supply chain issues, and gas prices we have enough discomfort to deal with on daily basis. If it can be avoided - why add leg and foot pain to the equation?

April is National Foot Health Awareness Month, and it's a good time to remind you that keeping your feet, ankles, and lower legs healthy is the key to preventing unwanted pain and discomfort.

At The American Vein & Vascular Institute across Colorado, they are celebrating Healthy Leg Month and reminding people that compression socks are not just for people with medical conditions.

Dr. Gordon Gibbs, MD is the Chief Medical Executive, and Chief Executive Officer of the American Vein & Vascular Clinic explains, “We see compression stockings all the time now, they're very common. It used to be that they were only for medical-related things, but we realize so many people have venous issues in their legs that you see a lot more compression stockings out there.”

Dr. Gibbs also says thinking about compression socks and wearing them before you need them might help you save some pain and discomfort. “I would say most adults probably should be wearing compression stockings at some point. Sometimes it's just for travel if you have a long car ride or a long flight, compression stockings can be helpful in just making your legs feel better. If someone has chronic pain or aching or swelling toward the end of the day, or nighttime symptoms like restlessness or cramping, compression stockings can be really useful in those situations.”

By squeezing your legs, compression socks help the blood vessels work more efficiently. Dr. Gibbs says, “They (compression socks) help get the blood to return back to your heart from your legs. Sometimes in the setting of abnormal veins, there's higher pressure on the inside of those veins, and they need a little bit of extra help to get the blood back, and generally, people do feel better with compression stockings on.”

These days, Dr. Gibbs says you can find a compression sock for almost any occasion. “There's a variety of different fabrics and styles, some are more cosmetically styled and some are more specifically medically oriented.”

A quick search on Google will bring up a variety of options available, but Dr. Gibbs says not all compression socks are created equally. “Definitely not, and to get the right style of compression stocking, they're tight enough where if they don't fit right, they are uncomfortable. We're all used to buying things online, and in general, it works very well, but when you're dealing with something that needs to be precisely fitted, I feel like it's best to get somebody who is really certified and knows exactly where to measure and how to measure, and can do it accurately, rather than just buying them online, that way you ensure that you're getting the proper sock in the appropriate fit, and you know what all the options are. If they do fright you correctly, and they're fitted for you, where you're measured appropriately for them generally they work very well.”

At the American Vein & Vascular Institute locations, you don't even need an appointment to come in and be measured for compression socks, and they have a wide variety available.

Dr. Gibbs says, “Generally, we find that people are much happier when they get them from our clinic, or from a registered compression center where they can be properly measured.”

As Colorado Springs grows, so is the American Vein & Vascular Institute, opening a brand-new location off Voyager Parkway on the north end of the Springs. Dr. Gibbs says, “We're delighted to be in our new clinic. Venous disease is something that's extremely common, probably 30% of adults have it and we've had tremendous growth in our location on the south side of Colorado Springs, and Colorado Springs is growing, and there are a lot of new healthcare facilities on the north side, so we followed suit based on the needs of the community. We are delighted to be in our new space where the new Voyager and Powers interchange will be right off the freeway.”

During the month of April, when you buy two pairs of compression wear, at the American Vein & Vascular Institute, you’ll get a third for free. Again, no appointment is necessary. You can just stop into any of their 9 clinics in Colorado anytime - for your custom compression wear fitting. During May, if you mention you learned about this through Your Healthy Family on KOAA, they will extend the special to you. If you have questions or want more information feel free to reach out by visiting their homepage, https://www.americanvein.com/ or calling 844-263-5714.

American Vein & Vascular Institute is a proud sponsor of Your Healthy Family

Report a typo

now signed up to receive the Breaking News Newsletter.

Click here to manage all Newsletters