How to combat swollen legs

Summertime means time for hiking, swimming, sunscreen, mosquitoes, ice-cream and swollen feet. You’ll know the feeling, whether it’s from hiking or long city walks in high temperatures, in warm weather your ankles swell, and sometimes your lower legs, too.

Deutsche Venenliga, (the German Vein League) (website in German) explains the reason for this as follows: «Warm temperatures make it more difficult for the veins to do their work. This is because when the vessels are dilated, the valves in the veins don’t close properly and some of the blood remains in the legs instead of being transported back towards the heart. That’s why complaints of tired, heavy legs, swollen ankles or night cramps are more common in the summer.»

The veins don’t have it easy anyway: every day, about 7,000 litres of blood (article in German) are pumped back to the heart through them – against the force of gravity. On top of that, in warm weather, the veins expand to release heat, so that the body can regulate its temperature. This in turn means the transportation of blood in the veins is weakened. The blood flow slows down, the blood becomes congested, the pressure on the surrounding vessel walls increases, they become more permeable and fluid from the blood leaks out into the surrounding tissue. This is what we refer to as swelling.

When you should get the swelling in your legs checked out

Swollen legs can also indicate serious illnesses. In a scientific paper (paper in German) Dr. Dieter Burchert writes that general practitioners have to diagnose a unilateral or bilateral leg swelling relatively often. Statistically, it’s difficult to determine how often, but the specialist in internal and general medicine estimates a «frequency of between 4 and 8% of cases of the disease.»

Specifically, swollen legs could develop due to diseases of the veins or lymph nodes, or be the result of inflammation of the skin and soft tissues. Swollen legs could also be a symptom of heart or kidney failure, diabetes, or liver or chronic bowel disease.

According to expert Burchert, especially in the case of a unilateral leg swelling, «a differential diagnosis is usually recommended on the same day, whereas bilateral leg swelling, except for acute cardiac and renal decompensations (cardiac and renal disorders), requires a gradual differential diagnosis over days or a few weeks.»

If you’re concerned your swollen legs might not just be a result of the warm weather, see your health care provider to get the swelling checked out. Vein disorders are very common and manifest themselves in a feeling of heaviness or even pain in the legs. Itching or feeling warm are also symptoms.

What helps with swollen ankles?

In the following, we’ll only deal with the harmless swellings, which – provided that diseases are excluded – can be treated by themselves. Swollen legs and ankles due to heat disappear overnight at the latest and don’t leave any permanent pain or redness.

1. Drink lots

If you have water in your legs, should you add more water to your body? Yes! This is because fluid boosts the metabolism and in turn regulates the fluid ratio in the body.

2. Eat healthily

Salt binds to water in the tissues, so a low-salt diet is advised to prevent fluid retention and thus swollen legs. By the way, just 8 grammes of table salt are enough to bind to 1 litre of water in the body. Better to focus on hydrating foods such as asparagus, melon, cucumbers etc.

3. Move it, move it

Even in the office, it’s good to get up more and walk around (at least once an hour) or move your feet up and down and in circles (also works when sitting). You could also take your shoes off and walk around the room on your tiptoes. Instead of using the lift, take the stairs, because climbing stairs boosts blood circulation. More ideas for [vein exercises in the office] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxToLC9hfLU&list=PLrZWNjP0SMmHqR_dvRGytWXQ5vACrKk-W) are shown in these videos. Sports like cycling, swimming or running are good for the legs – but better not in the blazing heat during the day.

4. Put your feet up

Ideally, when the feet are «elevated» they’re higher than the heart. This facilitates the return of blood to the heart against the force of gravity. So put a thick pillow under your legs – or get straight to the floor and place your feet vertically against the wall.

5. Cool down

When you go hiking and take a break at a stream, you do it intuitively – you dip your legs in the cold water. For heat-induced swollen ankles, cold water, in the form of a footbath, compress or a cold hose spray (also works in the shower) is just the thing. The cold makes the veins contract again, blood circulation is stimulated and thus the blood no longer «sits» in the vessels.

6. Lace your hiking boots correctly

During hikes in summer, the legs and feet are subjected to double stress. The hours of exercise increase blood flow, increase pressure in the vessels and, as described, lead to the accumulation of fluid in the tissues. Plus, heat makes the feet swell. Although this can’t be avoided, it’s all the more important to wear good shoes that are neither too narrow nor too short and not two sizes too big – a foot that slips in the shoe also leads to overloading and higher blood circulation. The right lacing supports your foot while hiking. Uphill, it’s recommended to lace the shaft looser and the instep tighter – your feet need more room to move. Downhill, on the other hand, it’s all about good grip to prevent slipping forward or backward – so tie the shaft zone tighter and the instep so tight that your feet are well fixed on the left and right.