Do your feet swell? Do your shoes not fit properly? Do your socks leave a deep imprint on your ankles? Depending on how swollen they are, this can be normal or problematic. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, and/or heart disease, understanding why your feet are swelling is particularly important.
What’s going on? As our blood travels through the body, it has to go all the way down and then all the way up your legs. As you might imagine, getting it back up is the hard part. If fluid can’t climb out, it stays in your feet and ankles, causing them to swell. (The medical term for this is edema.)
Luckily, our legs come equipped with features to help shuttle all that fluid back to our heart. These include one-way valves in our veins and muscular pumps that work as we walk. Unfortunately, these features don’t function as well as we get older.
What can I do? You can take some small steps to minimize this problem. I mean that literally—every now and then, take a short walk. Your leg muscles will pump the blood out of your feet. More ideas:
1. Put your feet up. Fluid has an easier time getting out of your feet when it can work with gravity, not against it.
2. Cut back on salt in your diet. Salt causes your body to retain fluid. Also, your heart and kidneys will thank you.
3. Support Stockings. These will compress your feet and ankles, pushing out the excess fluid and improving your circulation.
Of course, swollen feet might be a sign of something of greater concern. To find out what is happening, call Dr. Reddy or a podiatrist in your area.
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