Support hose are also known as surgical stockings or compression hosiery. They are socks or stockings that employ specialized, high-tensile elastics to sheath the lower extremities in such a way as to promote optimal blood circulation through the veins of the legs and feet. Licensed health care providers either recommend the use of this piece of durable medical equipment as a therapeutic aid to treat medical conditions in which a patient’s lower extremity circulation may be compromised.

While compression hosiery may be a medical device, it is as common as any other kind of foot or lower leg covering. Support hose are often indistinguishable from stockings designed for fashion.

The materials used in compression legwear provide increased tension around the leg, allowing the circulatory system to compensate for weakened blood vessels and fluid overload due to the effects of gravity. During normal activities of daily living, the muscles provide tension by contracting and relaxing. This, along with a person’s natural blood pressure level, promotes the efficient return of blood back to the heart from the bottom of the body. Healthy valves within the veins prevent blood from flowing downward, directing it instead toward the rest of the body. Lacking efficient tone and strength in the muscles or veins, either due to chronic medical conditions, or due to the build up of extra-cellular fluid within the body’s system, blood tends to follow the path of least resistance and pool in the feet. Once settled, the legs fill like any passive vessel, leading to a condition known as edema.

Edema is recognizable as a generalized swelling. While this can occur anywhere in the body, it is most common in the legs of patients with compromised circulatory capacity. Compression stockings are designed to reinforce the natural tension of the compromised circulatory system and restore proper blood flow. This reduces the chance of phlebitis, inflammation of the veins, and thrombosis, blood clotting within strictures and weakened spaces within the venous system that can cause further complications. Thrombosis can lead to a circulating embolus, which is a segment of clotted blood that freely travels throughout the body. When an embolus lodges within one of the body’s organs, it can cause immediate cellular death in the affected area, leading to a stroke or a heart attack in the most extreme cases. These are medical emergencies that can be avoided through the regular use of support hose.

Even people who have not been advised by their physician to wear compression stockings benefit from their use. Wearing them prevents unsightly varicose veins.