Interesting Phenomenon

This year at the Ironman World Championships in Kona I noticed something very interesting... the increase in the use of Compression Socks. I was blown away by the number I saw during the coverage of the race on NBC.

As I am getting around to read my back log of magazines I just read the Kona coverage edition of Triathlete Magazine and I saw that they counted the number of competitors that used compression socks and the number increased from 82 pairs in 2007 to 416 in 2008. Most notably women's second place finisher Yvonne Van Vierken and third place finisher Sandra Wallenhorst both had the assistance of compressions socks...

This is relevant in the blood clotting world because very often compression socks are recommended to patients as a preventive measure during long flights, after surgery recovery, and other situations that could expose the patient to potential blood clots. The theory behind the compression socks has to do with the increase in blood flow that can help prevent blood clots from forming.

I imagine that the theory behind the use of compression socks for athletes competing in a triathlon has to do with the increase in blood flow but in this case in order to keep feeding the muscles to continue doing the race and avoid or decrease the fatigue. Does this help? I can only hope that it does but I am not sure there is valuable data that can support the claim that these socks really help. I believe that the people using them are doing it because it feels good and they experience less fatigue. Then, the next question is what maker has the best design and are these options all worth your while considering regarding the compression characteristics that make all the difference with these speacial kind of socks.I am not sure if I ever get around to trying them but I am sure that people using them have plenty of good things to say about them. If you are one of those out there I would love to hear about your take on the benefits of the compression socks and if you were to recommend them to us who are still on the fence.

Well, here we are Super Bowl weekend. I don't really care about the game since my Colts are not in contention this year. But because I love an underdog story I will be pulling for the Cardinals to pull off the upset and get their first ring... The Steelers already have 5 there are only 5 fingers in one hand...

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster