Stockings and venous disease
Stocking as
a part of compression therapy is the common prescription given to the patients
attending the vascular (venous) clinics. Stockings are usually pressure graded.
The maximum pressure is at the bottom level (ankle) and as we go up, the
pressures decrease. These pressure graded compression garments are expected to
improve venous flows and reduce venous stasis and ambulatory venous pressures.
The venous symptoms are linked with ambulatory venous pressures (AVP). The higher
(>80mmHg) AVPs are associated with non-healing venous ulcers.
Modern compression socks were invented by Conrad Jobst, a
dashing German engineer who lived in Toledo, Ohio. He suffered from varicose veins. The compression
socks, which he invented around 1950, were his flagship achievement. They are tightest
near the ankle, but still pretty tight up top. They work by countering
hydrostatic pressure in the wearer’s legs. After Conrad's death in 1957, his
wife, Carolyn Jobst, successfully grew the business. Under her leadership,
JOBST® expanded its
