How choosing the right sports socks affects your physical activity

That physical activity is beneficial for one’s health is a no-brainer. Physical activities such as gym exercises and sports not only maintain your health but also improve your mood and allow you to perform other regular activities without problems. But there are aspects of physical activity that are often neglected or downright ignored. For instance, people hardly give any attention to wearing the right gear while working out. Although athletes are serious about having the right sportswear and are willing to spend extra for them, yet they too often overlook the importance of choosing the right sports socks.

Sports socks are essential gear that has benefits that go beyond mere appearance — they affect your physical activity and performance and may also improve your health and prevent injuries. Let’s look at the various types of sports socks.

Types of sports socks

Sports socks are not a one-size-fits-all item of clothing. They come in different cuts and styles to serve various purposes. Here are some of them:

Ankle Socks, Low-Cut Socks, No-Show Socks

These socks are beneath, at, or moderately above one’s ankle. Runners usually prefer these socks.

Crew Socks

These are medium-length socks that often go past the ankle and are found just beneath the calf. Likewise, it has a shorter type, often known as mini-crew socks. These are utility-size socks used across the pitch, in the gym, or in other sports activities.

Mid-Calf Socks

Mid-calf socks are longer than crew or ankle socks. They go halfway up a person’s calf or above one’s calf. These socks are typically worn for any physical activity that needs extra coverage or warmth.

Knee-High Socks or Over-The-Calf Socks

They often go just beneath one’s knee. These socks are typically used in sports done outside where there can be many exposures to elements or for those requiring protection for their lower legs.

Over-The-Knee Socks

These sports socks offer the most significant coverage and length, going extensively over one’s thigh. You can wear this as additional reinforcement for knee pads and some cushioning.

Benefits of wearing sports socks

Let’s look at the benefits of the right sports socks.

1. Improves blood circulation

Physical activity improves blood circulation. Cardiovascular exercises, in particular, increase blood flow in your body, which raises your oxygen levels. Using sports socks can help you improve your blood circulation during physical activity.

In particular, one type of sports socks is compression socks, and they’re usually prescribed for medical purposes. Compression socks are known to soothe worn-out and swollen legs and help with various medical problems such as edema or varicose veins. These days people also wear it in sports. In fact, many athletes use compression socks for endurance events like triathlons.

In terms of blood flow, sports socks allow the blood to move from the lower leg back to the heart. This produces a quicker delivery of oxygen to muscle cells. Such a process is believed to improve performance and endurance during physical activity.

2. Reduces muscle soreness and fatigue

Based on many studies, compression sports socks may reduce muscle fatigue or soreness after a workout. Some people wear them at the time of the activity while others wear them after workout.

Compression sports socks may prevent the build-up of lactic acid, which is known to cause muscle soreness and fatigue. No wonder they are popular among cyclists as they help relieve tired calf muscles.

3. Reduces leg pain

If the physical activity is too strenuous, you may experience tired and achy legs. Support socks can assist your legs by providing better blood flow and reduce your leg pain and fatigue. They do so by adding gentle pressure. The right ones can prevent the risk of varicose veins and spider veins, or if they already exist, prevent them from getting worse.

Likewise, they can also help with leg cramps. One theory suggests that cramps happen when your leg muscles are exhausted and fatigued. Exercise-induced cramps may also occur if you:

• are in the initial weeks of the training program
• into endurance sports, like marathon running, especially during the race
• exercise in a hot place
• are not stretching before the physical activity, or don’t stretch extensively
• overexert during your physical activity

Fortunately, sports socks can assist your calf muscles during the exercise to improve blood flow to your lower legs. This may allow your legs to get the minerals and nutrients needed. They may also help with recovery after physical activity, reducing swollen legs.

4. Improve lymphatic drainage

The lymphatic system includes nodes and vessels. The tissues in this system are cleaned by a fluid called lymph, which is made up of white blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are cells that deal with the blood’s bacteria. The lymph is also composed of intestinal fluids known as chyle, which have fats and proteins.

To deliver the lymph effectively, the body’s muscles must relax and contract during a physical activity like exercise to deliver the fluid to the torso and then get excreted. Likewise, a manual way to increase the amount of lymph delivered is called lymphatic drainage.

However, there’s a condition called Lymphedema, a type of swelling that happens when there’s too much lymph fluid in the person’s extremities. Because of this, the person may see their legs getting swollen, which can affect exercise performance. Fortunately, compression socks can help improve lymphatic drainage, so the excess lymph fluid can go towards the torso to be eliminated.

Conclusion

In terms of physical activity, socks are often an afterthought. We tend to spend time choosing the right footwear or clothes, yet we neglect choosing the right socks. However, using sports socks has many benefits, as we have seen. If you’re not yet wearing sport socks during your physical activities, the benefits listed above might convince you to buy a few pairs. Though more research is needed on some of their possible benefits, they do seem to be beneficial overall.