If you've ever done a twelve hour shift on a hospital ward, a double in a busy kitchen, or a Saturday on the shop floor in the lead-up to Christmas, you'll know the feeling. You get home, sit down, and your legs feel twice as heavy as they did that morning. Some days your socks leave a dent in your ankles.

That's not in your head. It's gravity, and it's the reason compression has been a quiet staple in these jobs for years.

What standing all day does to your legs

Your calf muscles do a lot of the work of pushing blood back up to your heart. Every time you walk, they squeeze the veins and help it along. When you're standing in one spot, or shuffling between the till and the stockroom, they don't get much of a chance. Blood and fluid settle in your lower legs, and by the end of the day you're left with that tired, achy, puffy feeling.

Long hours on your feet are also linked to a higher chance of varicose veins over time.

How compression helps

Compression puts firm, even pressure on your legs, which gives your veins and muscles a bit of help moving blood back up. Less pooling usually means less swelling and less of that heavy feeling at knock off. A lot of people also find their legs just feel more supported, which counts for something at hour ten.

Nurses worked this out a long time ago. Walk through any ward and you'll find plenty of them wearing compression socks under their scrubs. Hospo and retail have been slower to catch on, mostly because nobody mentions it when you start.

Why tights instead of socks

Socks cover the calf, which is where a lot of the work happens. But fluid doesn't stop at the knee. Full length tights support your calves, knees and thighs, so the whole leg gets the benefit. They also stay put. No rolling down, no cutting in at the top, and no fixing them in the staff toilet halfway through a shift.

Our Zone™ Compression Tights were designed for training, but the same fabric and fit work just as well for a long day on your feet. If your workplace doesn't allow leggings as part of the uniform, they sit comfortably under work trousers.

A few things that help alongside compression

• Move when you can. Go up on your toes a few times while you wait for the coffee machine or for a customer to make up their mind.
• Wear decent shoes. It sounds obvious, but plenty of us are still in shoes that should have been replaced two years ago.
• Put your feet up when you get home, even for ten minutes.
• Drink water. It's easy to forget when you're flat out.

Worth a try

If you spend most of your working day standing, your legs are doing a lot more than you give them credit for. Compression won't make a double shift feel short, but it can make the end of it feel a lot less heavy.

If you have a vein or circulation condition, or diabetes, have a chat with your GP before wearing compression.