Black toes, unhappy athletes — the cotton socks tragedy

Why wearing socks of the appropriate material is important.

LAHORE:

Socks have been a part and parcel of the life of human beings since ancient times. The Ancient Greeks and Romans were using materials such as animal hair and leather to make the earliest socks going back well into the BCE, and the latter was also adopted in the culture of early Europe.

For most of the rest of history though, socks remained a simple matter of either ‘cotton’, ‘wool’ or ‘silk.’ This first changed with the invention of nylon in 1935. Then, in the last few decades, a whole range of synthetic fibres emerged to rival their natural counterparts, and with good reason too — a sudden outpour of research in the late ‘80s began to show the superiority of artificial sock fibres for human use. The results were of supreme importance for active individuals such as athletes or those in the military. In fact, the prevalence and severity of foot-blisters in the United States military had prior to this development been such that it carried out its own research to document the potential of different sock materials to cause blisters.

Did you know?

The human foot can produce upto 0.47 litres of sweat in one day under hot and humid conditions. Moist feet will cause significant friction between sock fibres and the skin surface. Some sock fibres — those termed ‘hydrophobic’ — repel moisture and help it evaporate from the feet into the shoe through a process called ‘wicking.’ Natural fibres such as cotton and wool, however, tend to be ‘hydrophilic’, meaning they hold on to moisture (think of towels) and thus make the hot skin a perfect environment for bacteria to thrive. In fact, cotton fibres retain three times the moisture as acrylic and remain 10 times longer! — a characteristic directly leading to a very high (poor) score on the newly developed ‘coefficient of friction’ measure. Similarly, natural fibres also have a lower ‘abrasion resistance’ — cotton socks typically lose their shape after a few wash cycles and become rough on the skin’s surface.

Effects

Not surprisingly, studies have demonstrated that wearers of socks made from synthetic fibres such as acrylic, polyester and especially nylon, experience much less friction-induced blisters and foot irritation in general. A study at the University of Missouri-Columbia confirmed that pure cotton socks were the absolute worst for walkers and runners.

Poor choice in socks, however, may have cosmetic implications too. Abrasive socks in scraping against the skin precipitate ‘hyperkeratosis’ of the toes — a condition in which the skin on the joints will become thick, dark and rough. Many young women with such an affliction may thus be found endeavouring to return their feet to their former glory by applying Fair and Lovely, quite unsurprisingly to no avail.

For our athletes

According to one Mr R, the consequences for Pakistanis may be a little closer to the heart as they are deeply involved in the sport of cricket. He shares an experience:

“Do you have nylon socks,” he asked a salesperson as he stepped into a shoe store in Y-block, Defence. Looking bewildered with the question, the salesman responded: “What do you want to do with nylon socks?” Then seemingly weighing the possibility that Mr R comes from abroad, he added, “Everyone here wears cotton socks,” pointing to a poster behind the counter with Shahid Afridi in his trademark arm-in-arm pose endorsing Cheetah brand’s “100% cotton socks”.

Thus, while research scientists in the first-world develop advanced synthetic fibre blends such as ‘CoolMax’ with ‘Blister Guard’ technology, it may be a good first step for us to get acquainted with the recent advice of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine: “For the serious athlete, socks have become recognised as an essential component of footwear that can determine the difference between success or failure on the playing field.”

 The author is involved in a project called Scholars By Profession which intends to introduce graduate-level research to Pakistan. Please visit their Facebook page for further details.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2012.            

Like Life & Style on Facebook and follow at @ETLifeandStyle for the latest in fashion, gossip, entertainment

The authors are involved in a project called Scholars By Profession which intends to pioneer introducing graduate-level research to Pakistan. Please visit their Facebook page for further details.