Compression stockings
Compression stockings (Flight Socks, Support Bandage) are a specialized hosiery designed to help prevent the occurrence of, and guard against further progression of, venous disorders[1] such as edema, phlebitis and thrombosis.
[4] Compression stockings are beneficial in reducing symptomless deep vein thrombosis among airline passengers flying for 7 hours or more.
The meta-analysis of general surgical patients revealed that graduated compression stockings decreased their risk of developing VTE by 68% compared to placebo.
[7] Twenty randomized controlled trials analyzed the effectiveness of graduated compression stockings alone or with other additional prophylaxis in prevention of deep vein thrombosis.
They concluded that graduated compression stockings are effective in deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis in patients who have undergone general and orthopedic surgery.
[11] The use of lower leg compression stockings has been found to reduce symptoms and heart rate when standing upright, in patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
[14]: 745 Stockings are best applied upon waking before the person has gotten out of bed, has been sitting or standing and before venous stasis or edema has had a chance to develop.
[17] They are worn by those who are ambulatory in most cases, helping calf muscles to perform their pumping action more efficiently to return blood to the heart.
A common indicator for the prescription of such stockings is chronic peripheral venous insufficiency, caused by incompetent perforator veins.
[20] A meta-analysis by Sajid et al. was done to compare knee-high and thigh-high graded compression stockings in regards of deep vein thrombosis prevention in medical and surgical patients.
As early as the Neolithic period (5000-2500 BCE), images of soldiers with bandaged lower extremities were found in the drawings of the caves of Tassili in Sahara.
The Edwin Smith Papyrus, which dates to roughly 1600 BCE, included additional evidence of mechanical compression therapy for legs.
This is evidenced by the works of Avicenna (980–1037); Giovanni Michele Savonarola (1384–1468); Ambroise Paré (1510–1590); Girolamo Fabrizio di Acquapendente (1537–1619); and other scientists.
[6] Guy de Chauliac in his book Chirurgica Magna described the use of compression bandages to treat enlarged veins of the legs.
[25] Giovanni Michele Savonarola also treated varicose veins with the help of the leg bandages and described their proper application in his work Practice.
Following that discovery, various compression measures were introduced for therapy: laced stockings, elastic bands, and tight bandages with resin.
Later, new textile materials started to be used for the production of compression stockings: natural or cellulose fibers (silk, cotton, coconut) and chemical (acrylic, nylon, polyester).
[6] It was only at the end of the 19th century, after Fisher and Lasker[citation needed], German phlebologists, discovered that the application of the external pressure helped to treat blood clots in the lower extremities, that compression stockings started to be used for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis.
Upward of 30 percent of the population is estimated to have patent foramen ovale (PFO), a common condition where a small hole exists between the right and left sides of the heart.
