How Tight Should Compression Leggings Be for Comfort + Benefits?

Whether you want to wear compression leggings for physical activity, to lounge around in, or to complete a cute outfit, they are a versatile garment that may give you health benefits, like a boost in blood flow or prevention of deep vein thrombosis or lymphedema. It is no secret that a lot of people find their pair of leggings to be slightly too tight or uncomfortable after only a few hours of wear. If that is the case, it may be that you have accidentally selected the wrong size or simply have not gotten the right level of compression for your needs.

How tight should compression leggings be? It is not just a matter of personal preference. Compression tights need to be snug to give you a boost in blood flow and adequate joint support, but they should not get uncomfortable.

Here is all you need to know about the best compression levels for your leggings or stockings and how to add this type of gear into your wardrobe for maximum comfort and added health benefits.

How Tight Should Compression Leggings Be for Maximum Benefits?

When you wear compression pants or leggings, you should feel that they fit tightly on your legs, almost as if they’re providing a massage to the muscles. Importantly, they should feel supportive and not restrictive. They can have various levels of pressure, depending on your needs.

For Exercise and Sports

Athletes wear compression garments to help improve circulation in the leg veins and to give them a boost of energy. This is done to improve performance and speed up recovery. By increasing blood flow in the legs, compression tights reduce the risk of developing blood clots or swelling, and may also help the muscles feel less fatigued during exercise. In these cases, wearing compression tights should feel supportive, but not restrictive. You should be able to move freely the whole time.

Try our 15-20 mmHg compression tights for sports.

For Medical Use

People who have a medical condition that could benefit from leg compression should use tighter fitting pants or leggings to support venous blood flow. If you suffer from varicose veins or venous insufficiency, you should look for leggings in the 20-30 mmHg range or even prescription-only 30-40 mmHg pressure level.

However, this does not mean sacrificing comfort for medical benefits. On the contrary, your pants should still feel nice and cozy, without too much restriction of movement.

For Varicose Veins

Circulatory conditions such as varicose veins, blood clots, or deep vein thrombosis call for firm pressure to be applied to the legs to prevent these issues or further problems from developing. Compression stimulates blood flow through the veins, which helps prevent blockages or blood pools in the lower limbs or around the ankles. Compression leggings give full coverage all the way up to the pelvic area, so you may prefer them in winter or colder months, or for pairing with certain outfits.

Varicose veins compression tights should feel no different than any other tighter-fitting garment if they are in the right size for you. You should look for a gentle, but noticeable pressure on the legs, a slight massage of the muscle, and continued freedom of movement and comfort when you sit down or walk.

If you are looking to prevent these conditions, we recommend our 15-20 mmHg range, especially if you have never worn compression garments before. This pressure level will ease you into using compression leggings and will provide you with gentle therapeutic pressure.

Remember: if you have been diagnosed with a circulatory medical condition, always consult with your doctor. They will advise you on what the best compression tights are for your situation.

For Everyday Wear

Beyond medical and athletic use cases, compression leggings are great to wear with any outfit during long days on your feet, when you travel, or when you simply want your legs to feel more supported and ward off swelling or heavy legs.

Our Vim & Vigr compression tights are functional, sleek, soft, and move seamlessly with your body allowing you to enjoy complete freedom while boosting your circulation.

Why Do Compression Leggings Need to Be Tight?

When we talk about compression leggings being “tight,” it’s important to remember that the whole point of compression garments is that it squeezes the limbs to boost blood flow. If you wear looser fitting clothing, you will not get the benefit of stimulating blood circulation or the support that compression leggings offer for the muscles and joints.

These types of pants need to stay comfortable, though, so you can wear them for as long as possible. If your tights are feeling like they cut off your circulation, which you can notice if they are making your legs tingle or go numb, the leggings are too tight for you. You should also avoid tights that you cannot comfortably sit-down in. For sports use in particular, you’ll want your compression leggings to allow you to squat, jump, lunge, and run comfortably, without any restriction on your movements.

Consult our size guide to help you find the right fit for you so you can get the health benefits you need while staying comfortable.

Signs Your Compression Leggings Are Too Tight

Now that you understand the importance of the tightness of the compression leggings, you need to look out for the signs that they are too tight. If compression stockings or leggings are too tight, you may run into skin issues or even ulcers. Here are three common ways to know that your compression leggings are too tight.

Restricted Movement or Discomfort

No matter what your reason for wearing compression leggings, they should always feel comfortable. Yes, they need to be tight-fitting, and you will feel a gentle pressure on the muscles from good-quality compression tights. Yet, this should not prevent you from wearing them for several hours or even the entire day. It also should not restrict you from moving normally.

Our VIM & VIGR compression leggings are designed to allow you to squat and lunge, but also to feel at ease for a full 8 hours at work. They are made from stretchy nylon fabric that moves with your body, so you will be comfortable while getting the health benefits you want. The goal is that you enjoy the benefits of improved blood flow without any pain or discomfort, so you can wear your compression tights if you want to feel your best.

Relax and soothe aching muscles in compression tights.

Skin Irritation or Red Marks

When you wear leggings that are squeezing your legs too tightly, your skin can become irritated, and you may notice agitated red marks when you take the tights off. Even medical-grade compression tights should still be comfortable and leave no marks on your legs after wearing them.

Numbness or Tingling

Your legs feeling numb or tingling is a sign that your circulation is being cut off by the compression leggings you are wearing. This means either that you are wearing a size too small or that the compression level you have chosen is too high for your condition.

Signs Your Compression Leggings Are Too Loose

While leggings need to be tight to provide benefits to your circulation and your muscles, there’s also the issue that they are not tight enough. Here is how to recognize when you have gone too far in the opposite direction.

Lack of Support

A key element of how good compression tights feel on your body is that your muscles feel supported. The feeling you get is a mix of massage and tightness, which is particularly welcome for people starting to exercise after they have been injured.

However, loose leggings do not offer the necessary support at all. If your pants are feeling more like non-compression items, then you’re definitely not getting the benefits you need and should look for a different size or compression level.

Slipping or Bunching

This happens more often with compression socks, but slipping or sliding down is a clear sign of your garment being too loose for you. Compression leggings risk bunching along the leg as well, which is both unsightly and uncomfortable.

Not Feeling the Compression

Feeling a gentle pressure on your limbs is the key sign of a garment that is working its magic on your blood vessels and muscles. If you are not feeling this immediately after putting on compression leggings, it means they are simply too loose, and they will not be useful for boosting circulation or supporting you in your physical activities.

How to Find the Perfect Fit for Compression Leggings

It is not difficult to get the fit right for compression leggings. It just takes a bit of measuring and understanding key elements of design.

Understanding Compression Levels (mmHg)

Compression clothing comes in various levels of pressure, measured in mmHg. At Vim & Vigr, we offer three different levels, which align with use cases as follows:

• 15-20 mmHg - the “entry-level” compression that you can wear all day, every day; tights in this bracket feel snug and supportive, but give you full freedom of movement and can be worn at work, casually, or during sports.
• 20-30 mmHg - firmer compression for those recovering from a sports injury or addressing milder forms of circulatory problems like blood clots; your doctor or physiotherapist may recommend these after surgery, during long travel, or when going back to running after injuries like a strained muscle.
• 30-40 mmHg - medical-grade compression that is available on prescription only; these are usually for people with serious circulatory problems and for cases post-surgery or when bed-ridden.

Measuring Your Size

Our sizing guide looks at two key measurements, your calf circumference and your dress size. This helps you get more accurate sizing and the most comfortable fit possible. There is a size chart with every item in our catalog or you can refer to a more detailed sizing guide below.

Learn all you need to know to get the right size of compression tights and socks and feel the benefits of compression without discomfort.

Consult our guide.

Leggings vs Tights

Stuck choosing between leggings and tights? It is a simple choice between an item that is closer to compression pants (the leggings or footless tights) and one that is more like regular tights.

You can wear compression footless tights with any type of footwear, including in the summer if you want full coverage of your legs (as opposed to going for compression socks, which are knee-high). They are extremely versatile, working well as a casual item of clothing paired with a cute top, or under dresses, as well as part of a workout outfit.

Tights offer full coverage, including your feet, for optimal compression benefits. When you wear compression tights, your ankles and knees benefit from added support, while you are getting a boost in blood flow from the feet all the way to the pelvic area.

Our VIM & VIGR range of tights and leggings combines functionality with sleek design and optimal comfort levels. We make our compression tights with high-quality, soft, and versatile nylon that is equally breathable for any type of activity and any length of wear. And it is easy to pair them with any outfit for stylish compression.

You can also opt for compression sleeves for coverage from the ankle to the knee only if you are targeting recovery or support for your calf muscles only. And we have a wide range of options and designs for both men and women’s knee-high graduated compression socks, really bringing color to any outfit and giving you lots of choices for better blood flow.

Browse our range.

References:

O'Riordan, S. F., Bishop, D. J., Halson, S. L., & Broatch, J. R. (2023). Do Sports Compression Garments Alter Measures of Peripheral Blood Flow? A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 53(2), 481–501. Read it here.

O'Riordan, S. F., Bishop, D. J., Halson, S. L., & Broatch, J. R. (2022). Compression-induced improvements in post-exercise recovery are associated with enhanced blood flow, and are not due to the placebo effect. Scientific reports, 12(1), 16762. Read it here.

Charles, T., Mackintosh, D., Healy, B., Perrin, K., Weatherall, M., & Beasley, R. (2011). Merino wool graduated compression stocking increases lower limb venous blood flow: a randomized controlled trial. Advances in therapy, 28(3), 227–237. Read it here.

Mota, G. R., Simim, M. A. M., Dos Santos, I. A., Sasaki, J. E., & Marocolo, M. (2020). Effects of Wearing Compression Stockings on Exercise Performance and Associated Indicators: A Systematic Review. Open access journal of sports medicine, 11, 29–42. Read it here.

Knight Nee Shingler, S. L., Robertson, L., & Stewart, M. (2021). Graduated compression stockings for the initial treatment of varicose veins in people without venous ulceration. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 7(7), CD008819. Read it here.