Staying Put over the Holidays? Healthy Leg Tips
Many people find themselves on the move more than ever over the holidays, but this year will be much different due to the ongoing pandemic, with less travel and more shopping done online, as well as more people working from home. But curtailing your activities, while certainly essential during the pandemic, could have a negative impact on your leg health. Here’s why, along with some healthy leg tips to help.
Your Legs are Made to Move
You may not realize it, but your heart can’t effectively do all the work of circulating blood on its own. Because your lower legs and feet are the furthest parts of your body from your heart, circulation to these areas relies on you contracting your calf muscles to help pump blood through your venous system.
To help return the blood back to your heart, you should regularly contract these muscles. When you don’t, blood can pool in the veins in your legs, ankles and feet, which can lead to venous insufficiency, varicose veins, leg swelling and blood clots.
Health Leg Tips to Try
When you are seated for a long time, it’s harder for your blood to circulate as efficiently as it should, especially if you already have venous insufficiency or are at risk for blood clots.
Here are some things to try:
- Wear compression stockings. These work to help keep blood from pooling in the veins of your lower extremities
- Do simple exercises that flex your calf muscles. We offer a series of six short videos demonstrating simple movements.
- Take a walk. If you are finding yourself being more sedentary over the holidays, make time for a daily walk. It can be more challenging when the weather gets colder but bundling up and taking a short walk around your neighborhood or a local park will help your legs and overall health tremendously.
If you suffer from leg pain, cramping and heaviness, or have varicose veins, call us to schedule an appointment for an evaluation and treatment options that can help. If you are concerned about scheduling treatments due to COVID-19, please know the health and safety of our patients and staff is foremost on our mind. We are a designated Non-COVID-19 Care Facility, which means we do not treat patients who are known positive or suspected of being positive for COVID-19. We have telehealth capacity for select appointments as clinically appropriate. As a surgical practice, our staff are fully trained in infection control with appropriate mask, glove and gown protections. We have added air purifiers in treatment rooms and throughout our practice. If you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to call.
