The idea of compression stockings as ugly and worn only by elderly woman is outdated, and everyone from athletes to stylish young women are understanding compression hosiery are the key to healthy legs. In addition to being treatments for deep vein thrombosis and lymphedema, compression stockings also decrease swelling in your legs/ankles (pay attention frequent travelers, pregnant women, and those of you who work on your feet all day), help prevent varicose veins (the removal of which can cost thousands of dollars), and more. With those things in mind, ActiveForever.com and BSN Medical have teamed up to present Leg Health Days, July 18-21, 2011 at retail stores and online.

The public is invited to attend this FREE, Healthy Legs event at ActiveForever’s retail locations in the Phoenix, Arizona area (specifically in Scottsdale, Arizona and Peoria, Arizona). At either of the ActiveForever.com retail locations you’ll be able to have a complimentary personalized fitting for compression garments, and trained staff will be available to answer your questions about compression accessories and stockings. In addition, this free event will feature discounts on all Jobst compression products, gifts with purchases, ActiveForever giveaways, coupons, and more!

On Wednesday, July 20, 2011, the ActiveForever.com retail store in Peoria, Arizona will have all of the above along with food, drinks, prizes, and experienced compression specialists on-site. If you’re on the other side of the Valley, drop by ActiveForever’s Scottsdale, Arizona retail store for all of the same on July 21, 2011. Both days offer a fun, luxurious shopping experience (we know, those aren’t things you normally associate with a medical supply store).

On a more serious note, it is a sad truth that many healthcare professionals aren’t (or weren’t) even taught the difference between anti-embolism stockings (T.E.D hose) and compression stockings so you may have been prescribed (from the beginning) the wrong product for your health needs. At Active Forever we see this often among our customers, and the Leg Health Days are one way to help you be more informed (though free food, drinks, and prizes never hurts). The complaints of compression stockings being uncomfortable are often the result of ill-fitting compression stockings or the wrong product all together.

For those of you who aren’t able to attend the Leg Health Days events in person, we’ve put together an easy-to-understand explanation of compression garments (from stockings to athletic recovery socks) on our compression stockings page on our website.

Also, starting July 18, 2011 to July 21, 2011, you can receive the same discount on all Jobst compression products online! When you are completing your purchase online (or over the phone) simply use the discount code JOBST and the discount will be applied to your purchase. Feel free to share this information with your friends and family, and pass on our invitation to anyone you know in the Phoenix area.  ActiveForever.com is excited and honored to be presenting the free, Leg Health Days event with BSN Medical, and offer customers information and discounts on compression stockings (and accessories) along with personalized fittings, prizes, giveaways, food, and drinks at ActiveForever’s retail locations and compression stockings discounts online.

I’m not going to lie… when I hear compression stockings I think of old, gray haired ladies, stooped over and fighting with dusty brown tights. I know, it isn’t pretty … and to all the older, gray haired women who have never fought with tights, and wear stylish stockings, my apologies. Where is all this coming from? Yesterday a salesperson stopped by the office, and when this young, stylish woman admitted she wore compression stockings (opaque, according to her, I don’t think dusty brown is very saleable) to alleviate leg pain from all the traveling and standing she does for business, compression stockings just got a lot cooler. It turns out compression stockings aren’t just for elderly women, and any frequent flier, pregnant woman, or those on their feet most of the day would be a lot more comfortable if they gave compression stockings (or compression dress socks for men) a chance.

Jobst compression therapy company founder, Conrad Jobst developed compression stockings to help with the pain related to his venous flow problems. One day in the pool Jobst realized with the pressure taken off of this legs, he had pain relief so compression stockings were made to mimic the pain relief naturally brought about by being in the pool. Compression hose are specially designed to support your veins and increase your circulation. Gradient compression stockings, (often referred to as graduated compression stockings) offer the most concentrated compression at the ankle and pressure reduces further up the leg. It is important to remember the calf muscle is a skeletal pump pumping blood from the legs back towards the body trunk so any compression sock you buy should at least be knee high if you have more substantial circulation problems.

There are many different levels of compression support; lower compression level numbers indicate mild compression (the colors of the box also indicate the compression levels). You may often hear older generations refer to pantyhose as support hose. There are nonmedical support hose that do take advantage of compression technology to minimize leg swelling (to find out if the swelling means you could have lymphedema click here) but if your doctor has recommended you get medical compression stockings you’ll want to look at minimum to the moderate compression levels 15-20. If you are diabetic, you shouldn’t go any higher than a level 15 compression stocking. If you are pregnant, travel frequently, or are standing throughout the majority of your day, you will be amazed at how much better your legs will feel if you wear compression socks. Because the term compression stockings are used most often, men (in particular) often visualize compression therapy to be full length, waist high stockings. Jobst stockings offer compression therapy in everything from thigh high compression stockings (lace tops optional) to athletic compression socks. Unless you tell them, no one will be able to tell the compression socks you’re wearing with your tennis shoes are any different than the regular athletic socks you normally wear. There are even Jobst for Men dress socks.

To learn more about the numerous, superior quality compression garments, compression stockings, and compression devices ActiveForever.com sells at cost effective prices, click here.

Many products pitched on television do little to grab our attention, but we have to admit we tend to listen when medical professionals share their favorite medical supplies. So when the “Sacro Wedgy” was featured on “The Doctors” show today, we paid attention. The Sacro Wedgy was showcased for its ability to treat a variety of painful health symptoms (including piriformis syndrome, hip pain, and sciatica) by treating the origin of the problem, not just providing pain relief from the symptoms (so it promotes long term care).

There is some misunderstanding that the Sacro Wedgy is a “quick fix” for bad posture. While this product does address (and help to correct) bad posture and “out of balance” muscle structure its ability to promote long term care by addressing the cause of the problem and not just the symptoms are what makes this affordable product so unique.

The Sacro Wedgy helps a large variety of symptoms including: sciatica, low back pain, hip pain, knee pain, piriformis syndrome, scoliosis, heel pain, leg pain, and much more. Unexpectedly, golfers and runners are some of the biggest fans (and provide some of the most passionate testimonials) of the product; it helps runners prevent injuries and allows golfers better follow through with their golf swings.

To understand how this product is able to help such a variety of health conditions, it is important to understand how the Sacro Wedgy works. This product was developed from a widely used osteopathic technique of placing the hand under the sacrum, or lower back, and elevating that bone. The hips are then free to relax on either side of the hand. Utilizing the same concept, the Sacro Wedgy is placed under the sacrum bone (a wedge shaped bone located between the hips and tailbone) while the user is  relaxing (sitting or lying down) and the sacrum bone is cradled and elevated by the product. This allows the hips to be suspended, and isolates the sacrum in a neutral position.  Between the user relaxing (the more you relax the better it works) and gravity the hips are able to return to proper alignment naturally. The shape of the sacrum bone is different in men and women so there are both a female and male version of the Sacro Wedgy. Unlike other products, the Sacro Wedgy is all natural, there are no drugs involved, it allows for easy use at home or while traveling (even while driving!), and once proper alignment is achieved the Sacro Wedgy can be used on an occasional basis to prevent the re-occurrence of your symptoms.

Many people with chronic pain symptoms can search for years and spend thousands of dollars in the hopes of finding pain relief, and ultimately a life without the health condition or symptoms so the affordability and versatility of the Sacro Wedgy is certainly worth exploring and trying; feedback so far has been incredibly positive. For more information on this unique product click here.