One thing 2020 taught us is that our healthcare workers are real-life heroes. They are on their feet for hours on end and always put the health of their patients in the forefront. However, constantly standing can take a toll on anyone, especially nurses. This has given rise to an issue called nurse’s leg pain. The best remedy for sore legs after standing all day is compression therapy. Read more to find out what nurse’s leg pain is, its causes, and why compression therapy is the perfect solution. 

What Causes Aches & Pains in Legs for a Nurse?

One of the biggest drawbacks of working as a nurse is having aching legs and feet after a 12-hour long shift, or sometimes even longer! Working on your feet for long periods means you’re putting a lot of strain and stress on your muscles as your muscles are constantly activated and working. This constant activation is further worsened when it’s a daily routine. Resulting in your muscles being tired and overworked. While the main cause of nurse’s leg pain is standing for a long time, there are a few other causes which aggravate the situation [i][ii].

• Standing Still for Long Periods of Time: Standing still for a long period of time can put an immense amount of pressure on your legs and ankles. Nurses and doctors have to spend hours standing still when in surgery. What’s worse is that even 3 hours of standing in one place can do the same amount of damage as 12 hours of walking around!
• Walking for Hours without a Break: For nurses 12+ hour shifts with no or minimal breaks in between is not uncommon. This constant movement can actually have a strain on your muscles and when you suddenly stop moving after the shift ends, your muscles will lock up; adding more strain. If you’re constantly on your feet through the day and night, blood can pool in your legs and feet which causes pain and swelling. Regular exercise or stretching is important to help increase mobility and reduce stiffness.
• Not Wearing the Right Shoes: Wearing the wrong shoes is a major cause of why your legs hurt from standing all day. As a nurse, you need shoes that are slip-resistant, insoles which give good arch support, and most importantly—comfort. Ultimately you will be spending most of your time in these shoes, and trust us, comfort trumps fashion.
• Not Sleeping & Resting Properly: Sleep and rest is essential for our bodies to recover and reboot, and this is a must for essential workers. If you’re continuously breaking sleep and not resting enough, you’re not giving your body the time to recuperate thereby worsening your situation.

How can you treat leg pain that nurses are prone to? Well, the best remedy is compression therapy, but a leg compression machine has even more benefits.

What is Compression Therapy for Legs?

Compression therapy can be achieved by wearing socks or stockings which compress your legs to help stabilize and support the underlying tissues, while also preventing blood from pooling in the veins around your leg [iii]. After a long shift, you would have certainly spent a lot of time on your feet, and as a result, the blood pooled in your lower extremities can cause tightness and swelling in your legs.

Benefits of Compression Therapy for Nurse’s Leg Pain

Along with improving blood circulation, compression therapy has several benefits:

• Prevention and management of leg swelling
• Help manage varicose veins
• Improves the healing of leg ulcers and sores and helps prevent them in the future
• Prevents the development of deep vein thrombosis in your legs
• Reverse venous hypertension

While there are several benefits that come from wearing a compression sock, there are also certain drawbacks. For instance, compression socks are quite tight. This makes it difficult to take them on and off. They are also not easy to reuse and maintain as  they need frequent washing and air drying. Furthermore, after a while, these compression socks will lose their elasticity and hence the intended compression will decrease over time.

While SPRYNG is similar to a compression sock, it is far more effective as it is an active compression therapy solution that can be used anywhere. It’s patent pending wavetec compression pattern helps manage leg swelling by improving blood circulation. SPRYNG mimics the skeletal muscle pump in your calves to reduce swelling and relieve tired and achy legs.

After a long shift, regardless of whether you’ve been standing for 12 hours or constantly on the move, your legs will feel tight and cramped. This active compression wrap will rejuvenate your tired legs and relieve any pain, that’s due to sore muscles or swelling, at a faster rate. This means you don’t need to wear them the whole day to experience the benefits.

[i] https://www.getfreshlegs.com/blogs/fresh-legs/a-nurse-s-nightmare-feet-pain-and-how-to-prevent-it

[ii] https://blog.sfceurope.com/aching-legs-after-a-12-hour-shift-nursing-problems

[iii] https://www.veinforum.org/patients/what-is-vein-disease/what-is-compression-therapy/#:~:text=Compression%20therapy%20means%20wearing%20socks,arising%2C%20and%20removed%20at%20night.

[iv] https://www.webmd.com/dvt/choose-compression-stockings#:~:text=Compression%20stockings%20can%20keep%20your,dizzy%20when%20you%20stand%20up.