10 Days of Compression and Christmas Eve!

Hello all and Merry Christmas Eve! It's the day before Christmas and I'm at work, per usual. It's pretty empty here, lots of people with their families getting ready for the big day tomorrow. It doesn't bother me too much to be here today since I will be getting out a bit earlier today than normal, thank you to the CEO!

The extra time at home will give me a couple of hours to do some food prep for tomorrow mornings festivities. My sister and I usually take care of breakfast and pastries for Christmas morning, while my parents take care of dinner. On the menu this year is homemade cinnamon rolls (with and without pecans), two different quiches, fruit salad and mimosas. Well, no mimosas for my sister and I. :(  It will be a nice day where we get together early (7:30am, GASP!) have pastries and coffee and wake up a bit. Then we open presents and have breakfast. We then spend the rest of the day watching Christmas movies and putting together a puzzle, have an early dinner and play board games into the night. It really is a fun day and the last one we'll have with just us, next year we will have kiddos in the mix which will change the dynamic of this day going forward.

Today is also the final day of my 10 Days of Compression! Let's have a quick recap of the previous entries!

These have been the last 9 days of compression socks I have worn and let me tell you, my legs, ankles and feet are feeling GREAT! The main reason I wear these socks is the science behind what the compression does and keeping swelling at bay. The science behind it is that compression of the lower leg aids in increasing blood flow. In some part due to gravity, blood/fluid can tend to pool in the lower legs, occurring both during exercise or when at rest. You’re probably aware that compression hose became popular in clinical use to prevent such occurrances as deep vein thrombosis. The initial use was for people who were bed ridden or had forced inactivity, and since then has been prescribed out for people who have to sit for long periods of time, such as airplane travel or long car rides.

The technology has come a long way and now there are sport companies that make compression socks that essentially do the same thing, but with activity/recovery in mind. You can wear these socks as part of your recovery regimen, or if you are like me, I wear a pair of socks during my activity (mostly long runs 6 miles or higher) as well as after for recovery. The idea behind it is to keep the blood flowing through the muscles to keep them filled with fresh oxygenated blood and keeping blood from pooling in the legs, ankles or feet. I have seen a marked improvement in my recovery time and just overall well-being of my legs, ankles and feet by using the socks during and after activity.

The same concept is what I'm using for use during pregnancy. During pregnancy, especially towards the end, you are bound to retain water with the worst offenders being your feet, ankles and lower legs. This leads to discomfort in walking and standing as it adds pressure on your feet (making them too big to fit into your shoes!) and a general heaviness to your legs. So what I have done is at the first sight of some swelling I have started to use my compression socks to help fluid and blood from pooling in those areas and to hopefully help redistribute. This is especially crucial for me because I stand at work, which makes this pooling even more prevalent.

These 10 days of compression has not only been a way to countdown to Christmas with the help of a company I firmly believe in their product and use exclusively, but to also do an experiment on this theory for use during pregnancy. I'm happy to report that these socks have worked like a gem! My legs, ankles and feet feel great every night and swelling has been little to none! I'm one happy Momma-to-be!

So to finish out the countdown, I present Day 10 of compression that features this years Holiday socks!

I was SO BUMMED that I missed out on the Holiday socks from last year (they sold out before I could order a pair) that once these popped up on the website I jumped on them! They are just so fun and festive and ready for any holiday race or run you may have. Though today they are hiding under a pair of leggings while I'm at work, but are still keeping everything nice and tight for me all day.

I hope you've enjoyed the little journey through my 10 Days of Compression and if you haven't tried compression socks yet, I highly suggest you do. Sign up for Pro Compression's email list and each month you will receive an email with their featured Sock of the Month and it will include a discount code for you to try a pair yourself! Just go to their webpage, here is the link Pro Compression and the signup for their monthly specials is at the bottom of that first page. It's easy and they have great deals on some really great socks, not just the marathon length that I've featured here. They have Trainer Low socks which go up mid-calf and Racer socks that are even more low profile. They also have great calf sleeves, I own a pair of those myself and use them almost exclusively during the summer when I want to recover after running, but also want to wear my flip flops! They have also come out with compression arm sleeves, I haven't tried those myself, so I can't give you any tips on those. The website also has their great swag too, so check it out and see if something tickles your fancy.

Remember not all compression brands are the same, so make sure you really enjoy that brand before you make a large investment in multiples!

I hope you have a Merry Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to all those that celebrate it. Enjoy your time with family and friends!