Wearing tights on long-haul flights relieves ankle swelling and helps ward off post-flight fatigue, a study of pilots and passengers has found.
Australian researchers tested the benefits of full-length nylon and spandex hosiery on the ankle swelling suffered by 90% of long-distance air travellers.
The uncomfortable condition, called ankle oedema, is caused by a build-up of fluid.
Lower-leg socks are known to relieve the problem, but exercise physiologist Stephen Lambert wanted to see whether the graduated compression tights used to help athletes recover from strenuous competition could also help.
About 60 Qantas pilots and passengers were enlisted to test the hosiery, wearing it on one leg of a trip and flying tights-free on the return leg.
The study, funded by a tights manufacturer, is published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.
"When subjects wore the (tights) they had a 60% improvement in their leg pain rating at the end of the flight, a 50% improvement in their leg discomfort rating and a 45% improvement in their leg swelling rating," said Dr Lambert, from Westmead Hospital in Sydney.
"There was also an 18% improvement in their energy level rating, a 13% improvement in their alertness level and a 12% improvement in their ability to concentrate."
He said the tights may be particularly useful for flight attendants who need to remain alert and active throughout a flight.
More studies are underway to investigate whether tights could be more effective than the standard issue knee-high compression socks.
