Buying Good Socks Is No Sweat, Docs Say

WASHINGTON — Cotton athletic socks are worse than old-fashioned, a sock expert declares.

“State of the art today is using 100% synthetic fibers,” said podiatrist Douglas Richie Jr. of of Los Alamitos. “Synthetic fibers are markedly different from cotton or wool.” Wearing the older fibers gives an athlete or a hiker a higher risk of foot troubles such as blisters and bruises, according to Richie and other experts.

“I would avoid cotton socks at all costs,” said podiatrist Stephen Pribut of George Washington University.

However, an official of a company that makes cotton and synthetic fiber socks said that, for ordinary wear, cotton will do fine.

Such synthetic fibers as polypropylene and Teflon are better for what socks are supposed to do, said Richie, who has done research on sock performance.

One of those functions is to wick away sweat from the foot, because a wet foot is more likely to blister and become infected.

It’s like what happens when you spend too long in the tub, Pribut said: “Your skin gets white and a little more mushy.” Twisting and shearing forces make blisters form.

The pressure created by activity drives sweat back into the outside layer of skin, a covering of protein that is the remains of dead skin cells. The moisture softens the protein, Pribut said.

Movement, such as walking or running, can tear part of the outer layer away from the underlying live skin cells, creating a gap that fills with fluid, which aching hikers and runners know as a blister.

In a properly made sock, however, the movement also can pump sweat away from the foot, Richie said. The moisture enters air pockets in the fabric, and stepping squeezes the sweat out, he said.

But the process breaks down if pressure permanently flattens the fabric, leaving no room for air pockets, Richie said. Cotton is more prone to flatten, he said.

The other part of the sweat-removal process is how to get rid of the sweat once it has been wicked away from the foot. Synthetic fabrics do this better because they dry more quickly, Richie said.

A denser weave makes for more air pockets and less compaction. Better socks have more terry-cloth loops in them, Richie said. A buyer can tell the difference simply by turning the socks inside out, he said.

Some newer socks also rely on a blister-prevention method that dates from the old days--combining a light liner with a heavier outer sock. By wearing what amounts to two pairs, the shearing force that otherwise would fall on the sock and the skin is dissipated to the inner and outer sock.

Synthetic sports socks are far from cheap. They can run $20 or more, although a person can get a decent pair for $8, Pribut said.

“You may not use cotton socks,” Pribut said. “If you are going to use a $2 pair of cotton socks, forget it.”

Synthetics will last longer anyway, so “there is value in a $20 sock,” Richie said.

There are other cost factors as well. Synthetic sports socks are thicker, so people who buy them may also need new shoes, said Debbie Lazenby, spokeswoman for Thorlo, a synthetic sports socks company in Statesville, N.C. And if you are not working up a big sweat, you can get by without synthetic sports socks, Richie said. “Cotton is acceptable for casual wear” and can handle ordinary sweat, he said.