General information for Canadian shoppers, not medical advice. ValuHub sells compression garments; we do not diagnose or fit. Speak to your doctor, nurse practitioner or a certified fitter before starting compression.

Table of Contents

• Do compression stockings help varicose veins?
• What are varicose veins, and what is actually failing?
• What do compression stockings actually do?
• Which mmHg level and which length should you choose?
• Who should not wear compression stockings?
• When should you see a doctor instead of buying stockings?
• How does compression fit alongside sclerotherapy, ablation and surgery?
• Do you need a prescription in Canada, and is anything covered?
• What ValuHub's team learned putting this guide together
• Which ValuHub products fit these use cases?
• Sources
• FAQ

Do compression stockings help varicose veins?

Compression stockings relieve the aching, heaviness and swelling that varicose veins cause. They do not cure them. A Canadian Medical Association Journal review is blunt: compression "does not cure varicosities, although it may relieve symptoms and prevent deterioration." For varicose veins, 20-30 mmHg is the level clinicians prescribe most often.

That distinction matters more than anything else here. A stocking is a pressure garment. It changes how blood moves through your leg while you wear it. It does not repair a damaged vein valve, and the ropy vein will still be there when you take the stocking off.

What are varicose veins, and what is actually failing?

Your leg veins move blood upward against gravity. One-way valves inside them open as blood flows toward the heart, then close to stop it falling back. Mayo Clinic describes the failure simply: "If these valves are weak or damaged, blood can flow backward and pool in the veins, causing the veins to stretch or twist."

Cleveland Clinic names that backward flow venous reflux. Pressure builds, the vein wall dilates, and the valve seals even less well. It is a feedback loop, and varicose veins are the visible result — usually in superficial veins near the skin.

Clinicians stage venous disease 0 to 6. Spider veins are stage 1. Varicose veins at least 3 mm (0.12 in) wide are stage 2. Swelling without skin changes is stage 3, and chronic venous insufficiency is diagnosed at stage 3 or above. So varicose veins alone do not mean you have insufficiency — but Cleveland Clinic notes varicose veins affect about 1 in 3 adults, and each year roughly 1 in 50 of those people develop it.

Mayo Clinic names family history and obesity as the two main risk factors, then age, being female, pregnancy, and long periods of standing or sitting. Johns Hopkins adds inactivity, leg injury, smoking, and oral contraceptives or hormone replacement.

What do compression stockings actually do?

A graduated compression stocking is tightest at the ankle and loosens upward. That gradient is the point. The CMAJ review explains it: the pressure gradient "ensures that blood flows upward toward the heart instead of refluxing downward to the foot or laterally into the superficial veins," and adequate compression narrows major veins, increasing the velocity and volume of blood flow.

It also works with your calf. Each step squeezes the calf muscle, which pumps blood upward — Cleveland Clinic calls this your "second heart." Keeping the vein narrow means each squeeze moves more blood.

Now the honest version of the evidence. Studies across all stages of chronic venous disease report improved pain, swelling, activity and well-being. But for uncomplicated varicose veins the CMAJ review found the literature "equivocal" and "often contradictory," and a review of 25 studies "found no evidence that wearing the stockings slowed the progression or prevented the recurrence of varicose veins." The UK's NICE recommends against compression as a treatment for varicosities unless an interventional procedure is unsuitable.

So buy compression because your legs ache by mid-afternoon and it helps. Do not buy it expecting the vein to shrink. And note this: a meta-analysis of 11 randomised trials found 15-20 mmHg improved oedema and symptoms versus under 10 mmHg or nothing, with no measurable difference between 10-20 mmHg and above 20 mmHg. Stronger is not automatically better. CMAJ reports non-compliance of 30-65%, mostly for pain, heat, difficulty donning and cost. A 15-20 mmHg stocking you wear daily beats a 30-40 mmHg pair in your drawer.

Which mmHg level and which length should you choose?

mmHg means millimetres of mercury, the same unit as a blood pressure reading, measured at the ankle. Levels are not standardised worldwide, so the same garment can carry different class labels in different markets.

Choosing the compression level

Source: SIGVARIS Canada, "Compression levels and indications," and SIGVARIS Canada FAQ. Retrieved 26 September 2026.

Canadian practice is clear at the 15-20 boundary. SIGVARIS Canada states that in Canada no prescription is needed for 15-20 mmHg, but at 20-30 mmHg and above a prescription is recommended — and although none is legally required, most pharmacies will not dispense higher compression without one. Cleveland Clinic is firmer: stockings rated 20 mmHg or higher require a prescription. Treat 30-40 mmHg as prescription-level here. Our 20-30 mmHg compression collection is the range most Canadians with varicose veins are sent to.

Sources: JOBST Canada documentation (JOBST Opaque); class thresholds per Lim & Davies, CMAJ 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2026.

One terminology note. SIGVARIS distinguishes support hosiery from medical compression: support stockings "exert passive resistance to swelling, while compression stockings apply active pressure on the veins of the leg." If a product does not state a graduated mmHg range at the ankle, it is support hosiery.

Knee-high or thigh-high?

Cleveland Clinic's rule: knee-high is the most common type, and "if swelling extends above your knee, you may need longer stockings or tights that come up to your waist." If your veins run up the thigh, a knee-high is not covering them.

The trial evidence does not settle it. CMAJ found "insufficient evidence to determine which length of graduated compression stocking (below knee or thigh length) was most beneficial." So length is a practical decision about where your symptoms are, made with whoever examines your legs.

The trade-offs are real. Knee-highs are cooler, cheaper, easier to don and far more likely to be worn daily. Thigh-highs cover more leg but can roll or dig at the band, which is why JOBST engineers Softfit, Dot Band and Sensitive Band tops specifically to stop sliding without constricting. A thigh-high that slips to mid-thigh has become a tourniquet where you wanted a gradient. If the band will not stay, waist-high is the answer, not a tighter band. Start with our thigh-high compression stockings if thigh coverage is what you were told to get.

Who should not wear compression stockings?

This is the part most product pages skip. CMAJ lists these contraindications to graduated compression stockings:

• Suspected or proven peripheral arterial disease, including a history of peripheral arterial bypass grafting
• Severe peripheral neuropathy or another cause of sensory impairment
• Allergy to the stocking material
• Massive leg oedema or pulmonary oedema from congestive cardiac failure
• Local skin or soft-tissue conditions, including recent skin graft, fragile "tissue paper" skin, gangrene, oozing dermatitis and severe cellulitis
• Extreme deformity of the leg, or unusual leg shape or size preventing correct fit

The mechanism behind the first is worth understanding. Compression squeezes the leg. If arterial supply into that leg is already restricted, squeezing harder can worsen ischemia — CMAJ says so directly. SIGVARIS lists the same category as arterial insufficiency, intermittent claudication and ischemia, plus uncontrolled congestive heart failure, acute dermatitis, weeping dermatosis, cutaneous sepsis, and any sign of infection in the legs.

With diabetes, the concern is sensation. Neuropathy means you may not feel a garment cutting in or a pressure sore forming. Cleveland Clinic also notes many people with venous insufficiency have peripheral artery disease and may be told to avoid compression entirely.

Fit is a safety issue, not just comfort. Cleveland Clinic warns that stockings which do not fit "can make your condition worse by blocking blood flow in the area where they're bunched up." In the CLOTS trial — about 2,500 stroke patients in thigh-length stockings — skin breaks, ulcers, blisters and necrosis were significantly more common with stockings than without: 5.1% versus 1.3%. Get measured.

When should you see a doctor instead of buying stockings?

Some leg symptoms are not a comfort problem. Stop shopping and get assessed for any of these.

Sudden swelling in one leg with pain. Johns Hopkins lists pain, swelling and redness of the leg as symptoms of deep vein thrombosis, and says clots need medical care right away. Mayo Clinic advises seeking help for ongoing leg pain or swelling because it can mean a clot. One leg, suddenly, is the pattern.

Chest pain, breathlessness, coughing blood, a fast heartbeat, sweating or fainting. Johns Hopkins says call 911 or get emergency help — these can indicate a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal.

Skin breakdown or an open sore near the ankle. Mayo Clinic: see your healthcare professional right away if you think you have a leg ulcer. A discoloured patch often appears first.

Bleeding from a vein. Rarely a vein close to the skin bursts. Mayo Clinic notes the bleeding is usually minor but still needs medical attention.

Also worth a visit rather than a purchase: reddish-brown discolouration, leathery or flaking skin on the lower leg, or a calf that feels large and hard to the touch.

How does compression fit alongside sclerotherapy, ablation and surgery?

Compression is the conservative first step, not an alternative to treatment. Mayo Clinic is explicit: "Wearing compression stockings all day is often the first approach to try." If self-care and compression do not work, or the veins are more severe, the options are procedures.

Mayo Clinic lists them. Sclerotherapy injects a solution or foam that scars and closes the vein, which fades over weeks. Catheter-based radiofrequency or laser ablation is the treatment most used for larger varicose veins, heating the vein so it collapses and seals. High ligation and vein stripping ties off and removes the vein through small cuts. Ambulatory phlebectomy removes smaller veins through tiny pricks. Removing a superficial vein does not stop blood flowing in the leg, because deeper veins carry the larger volumes.

Compression usually returns afterward. 20-30 mmHg is used "in combination with elective surgical procedures such as sclerotherapy and phlebectomy," per SIGVARIS. CMAJ notes compression after sclerotherapy reduces thrombus formation and helps prevent pigmentation and matting — though one 60-patient trial found no difference in outcomes after foam sclerotherapy with or without three weeks of stockings. Follow your surgeon's protocol, not a general rule.

What no procedure fixes is the underlying tendency. Cleveland Clinic states flatly that treatment cannot reverse damage to vein valves.

Do you need a prescription in Canada, and is anything covered?

Prescriptions first. In Canada 15-20 mmHg is over the counter. From 20-30 mmHg upward, SIGVARIS Canada recommends a prescription and notes most pharmacies will not dispense higher compression without one. A prescription may also be required for private insurance reimbursement even at lower levels.

Public coverage is where Canadians are most often surprised. Ontario's Assistive Devices Program does fund compression garments — 75% of cost, or 100% if you receive Ontario Works, ODSP or Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities. But eligibility is narrow: primary or secondary lymphedema, or hypertrophic burn-related scarring. And the program's own exclusion list names this exact case. The ADP does not fund "devices used to treat varicose veins, venous insufficiency, or thrombo-embolosis," nor devices needed for under six months.

Read that plainly: in Ontario, the provincial program that pays for compression garments will not pay for them for varicose veins. We verified Ontario's rules directly and will not guess at the other provinces and territories — check your own program, and more usefully your private extended health plan, which is where most Canadians actually get compression reimbursed. Non-Insured Health Benefits and Veterans Affairs Canada have separate criteria.

Two practical consequences. Keep the prescription and the receipt, because private plans generally want both. And if you are paying out of pocket, the gap between a $36 pair and a $190 pair is real money — so read how ValuHub handles shipping and returns before ordering, because sizing is involved.

What ValuHub's team learned putting this guide together

The catalogue is shaped like the real demand. We stock 46 items at 20-30 mmHg against 30 at 15-20 mmHg and 36 at 30-40 mmHg, and 71 knee-high options against 31 thigh-high. Knee-high outnumbers thigh-high more than two to one for the same reason non-compliance runs 30-65% in the literature: the easier garment is the one that gets worn.

Sizing, not compression level, is what goes wrong. Compression garments are sized by limb measurement, and there is no universal sizing standard between brands — a large in one brand's thigh-high is not automatically a large in another's. You will be asked for ankle circumference at its thinnest point, calf at its thickest, and calf length from floor to the bend of the knee while sitting. Measure first thing in the morning, when swelling is lowest, as SIGVARIS advises. If you are between sizes on a first order, buy one pair, not three.

Donning technique accounts for most "it doesn't fit" messages. JOBST's method is specific: turn the stocking inside out to the heel, pull the folded foot section over the foot, then work it up piece by piece, finishing by massaging out every crease. Rubber gloves help enormously. Put them on immediately after getting up, before swelling accumulates.

The honest answer costs us a sale sometimes. Shoppers arrive wanting something to make varicose veins go away. The evidence does not support that, and we will not claim it. If someone needs the vein dealt with, they need a vascular assessment, and a $190 stocking bought instead of that appointment is a bad purchase. More on how we operate in our page on whether ValuHub Canada is legit.

Which ValuHub products fit these use cases?

Real garments from two clinical brands — browse the full SIGVARIS range and JOBST range. None of these is a treatment for varicose veins; they are compression garments that manage symptoms.

• JOBST Opaque 20-30 mmHg Thigh High — from $192.86 CAD (check the product page for current pricing). The closest match to the classic clinical case: varicose veins extending above the knee, at the most commonly prescribed level, with engineered top bands to stop sliding. JOBST's own documentation says it "helps to manage varicose veins." Not for you if your veins and symptoms stop below the knee.
• JOBST Opaque 20-30 mmHg Knee High — from $122.12 CAD (check the product page for current pricing). Same fabric and class, below the knee. The default for below-knee varicose veins and aching calves. Not enough if swelling extends above the knee.
• JOBST ActiveWear 20-30 mmHg Knee High — from $122.12 CAD (check the product page for current pricing). Prescription-level compression built as athletic hosiery. Not the pick if you need a dress-hosiery finish under work clothes.
• Green Drop Herb-Infused 20-30 mmHg Knee High, Closed Toe — from $35.99 CAD (check the product page for current pricing). The lowest-cost route into 20-30 mmHg, which matters when nothing is reimbursed, and useful as a rotation pair. Not for you if you have a fabric sensitivity: allergy to stocking material is a listed contraindication.
• SIGVARIS 150 Sea Island Cotton 15-20 mmHg, Women — from $46.00 CAD (check the product page for current pricing). Over the counter in Canada, cotton-rich, for mild aching or for someone who found 20-30 mmHg unwearable. Not sufficient if a clinician specified 20-30 mmHg or higher.

If a clinician has prescribed 30-40 mmHg, fill it from our 30-40 mmHg range using their measurements, not a guess.

Sources

1. Lim CS, Davies AH. "Graduated compression stockings." Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2014;186(10):E391-E398. cmaj.ca/content/186/10/E391
2. "Varicose veins — Symptoms and causes." Mayo Clinic, 6 February 2024. mayoclinic.org
3. "Varicose veins — Diagnosis and treatment." Mayo Clinic, 6 February 2024. mayoclinic.org
4. "Compression Therapy: Types and Benefits." Cleveland Clinic, updated 11 July 2022. my.clevelandclinic.org
5. "Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI)." Cleveland Clinic, updated 17 July 2022. my.clevelandclinic.org
6. "Varicose Veins." Cleveland Clinic. my.clevelandclinic.org
7. "Varicose Veins." Johns Hopkins Medicine. hopkinsmedicine.org
8. "Compression levels and indications." SIGVARIS Canada. sigvaris.com/en-ca
9. "FAQ — compression socks." SIGVARIS Canada. sigvaris.com/en-ca
10. "JOBST Opaque Compression Stockings." JOBST Canada (Essity). jobstcanada.com
11. "Garments, pumps and orthotic braces — Assistive Devices Program." Government of Ontario, updated 10 July 2025. ontario.ca

All sources retrieved and verified 26 September 2026.

FAQ

Can compression stockings get rid of varicose veins?

No. The CMAJ review states compression "does not cure varicosities, although it may relieve symptoms and prevent deterioration," and Cleveland Clinic notes treatment cannot reverse damage to vein valves. Compression manages aching, heaviness and swelling while you wear it. Closing or removing a varicose vein requires a procedure such as sclerotherapy or endovenous ablation.

What mmHg is best for varicose veins?

20-30 mmHg is the level clinicians prescribe most often for varicose veins, per SIGVARIS Canada, and a prescription is recommended at that level and above in Canada. Do not self-select 30-40 mmHg: it exists for severe oedema, ulcer healing and post-thrombotic syndrome, and a meta-analysis of 11 trials found no measurable symptom benefit above 20 mmHg.

Are compression socks for varicose veins covered in Canada?

Ontario's Assistive Devices Program funds compression garments only for primary or secondary lymphedema or hypertrophic burn scarring, and its published exclusions specifically list "devices used to treat varicose veins, venous insufficiency, or thrombo-embolosis." Check your own province's program. Most Canadians who get compression reimbursed do so through a private extended health plan, usually with a prescription and receipt.

Can I wear compression stockings if I have diabetes?

Ask your clinician first. Severe peripheral neuropathy is a listed contraindication, because reduced sensation means you may not feel a garment cutting in or a pressure sore developing. Cleveland Clinic also notes many people with venous insufficiency have peripheral artery disease, where compression can worsen restricted arterial flow. Diabetic compression should be fitted and monitored professionally.

Should I sleep in compression stockings?

No, unless your doctor has prescribed it. SIGVARIS states it is not recommended to wear compression socks to bed. Put them on in the morning immediately after getting up, before swelling builds, and remove them at night. Replace daily-wear stockings roughly every six months, and rotate two or more pairs to extend their life.