This invention relates to an elastic bandage for supporting a body extremity such as a leg. Such bandages are used to overcome problems with fluid retention and swelling in the legs, occurring as a consequence of varicose veins, vascular incompetence, pregnancy, etc. It is a task of this invention to supply an active support for a body extremity such as a leg, which can be used by a person underneath the clothes and will not reduce the mobility of the patient. This task is solved in that an elastic bandage comprises an elastic layer for surrounding a body extremity to exert compressive force on the extremity, the bandage being, at least partly, formed by elastomeric actuation elements, whereby electrical control of the compressive force is possible, and where the control is due to a signal from some sensing system.