I don't know what it is lately, but the
last few days have brought me topics that I had not expected. This
topic is very much something I deal with on a daily basis. I found
mild compression socks about six years ago and decided to buy a dozen
pair. I have never regretted this decision, even with a few that
lose their hold at the top, and work their way down my leg during the
day. About two years ago, I added another dozen pair.
And yes, I have the edema in my legs
which can make my shoes become very snug late in the day. I was very
happy to read this article in Medscape and I read it several times.
Yes, I have been concerned about
wearing them, but I fortunately I have had no problems. Since I have
neuropathy in my feet plus the edema, I do fit the area of concerns
by the researchers. They were concerned before the study about the
compression being harmful. They did discover in the study that that
there was a significant decrease in calf and ankle circumference,
without vascularity being compromised. Great news!
In addition, skin-perfusion pressure
significantly increased in the group treated with the compression
socks, indicating that microvascular circulation may have improved
with mild compression.
James Wrobel, DPM, from the University
of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan says, “This is
an interesting study that adds more clarity in this area.” He
said the results would encourage him to use mild compression socks
more frequently in patients with diabetes with clinically significant
peripheral arterial disease.
"Using compression stockings
can help with fatigue and cramping associated with edema in the lower
extremities and may also help with long-term venous health,"
he added.
“Edema is a risk factor for venous
and diabetes-related foot ulcers among patients with diabetes, as
well as being implicated in reducing healing for existing
diabetes-related foot ulcers,” said Dr. Wrobel.
But although the standard treatment for
lower-extremity edema is compression therapy, at a graded pressure of
35 to 45 mm Hg, this has traditionally been avoided in people with
diabetes, Ms Branigan told meeting attendees. Instead,
noncompression stockings have been advocated for such patients.
Michelle Branigan, from Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at
Rosalind Franklin University, Chicago, Illinois, said, “A
prior pilot study of mild
compression diabetic stockings (18 to 25 mm Hg) used in 20 subjects
with diabetes and lower-extremity edema, published in 2012, indicated
that this approach significantly reduced calf and foot circumference
and significantly improved the ankle-brachial index, Ms Branigan
explained. In addition, cutaneous edema was significantly decreased
and overall lower extremity edema was reduced without compromising
vascularity.”
Dr Branigan concluded, "Mild
compression diabetic socks may be safely used in diabetes patients
with mild to moderate lower-extremity edema."
This Medscape article says more and I
really enjoyed reading it.
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