You can take simple steps to lower your chances for a blood clot. Exercise your lower leg muscles if you're sitting for a long time while traveling. Get out of bed and move around as soon as you're able after having surgery or being ill. The more active you are, the better your chance of avoiding a blood clot.
“Fortunately, you can do several things to reduce your risk of blood clots during long trips, such as moving your legs frequently or taking a break to stretch your legs,” says Ankur Chandra, MD, a vascular surgeon at Scripps Clinic Torrey Pines. “Activities like this help to improve the flow of blood in your legs.”
Stay active in the air – get up for a brief walk every hour or so, change your sitting position often, and avoid crossing your legs to keep the blood flowing in a healthy way. When you talk to your doctor about DVT, he or she may recommend compression stockings, a special tool to help prevent clots.
Raise your legs 6 inches above your heart from time to time. Wear special stockings (called compression stockings) if your doctor prescribes them. Do exercises your doctor gives you. Change your position often, especially during a long trip.
Raising (elevating) your legs above heart level helps. keep blood from pooling. This makes clots less likely to form. Elevating your legs works best if your lie flat on your back.
As keeping blood moving to all areas of the body helps prevent blood clot formation, simple movements and stretches can help reduce the risk for deep vein thrombosis, allowing for healthy habits during work from home periods.
Sitting or lying down for long periods—due to prolonged bed rest after illness or a long airplane flight, for example—can cause blood to pool in the legs, leading to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and, worst-case scenario, pulmonary embolism if the clot travels to the lungs.
If you have room in front of you, raise your left foot off the floor. Straighten the leg slowly, then return your foot back on the floor. Repeat with your right leg. Alternatively, if you have less space, lift your knee up to your chest, then bring your foot back to the floor; repeat with the other leg.
Most information about blood clots and long-distance travel comes from information that has been gathered about air travel. However, anyone traveling more than four hours, whether by air, car, bus, or train, can be at risk for blood clots.
Do not sit so that you put steady pressure on the back of your knee. Prop up your legs on a stool or chair if your legs swell when you sit.
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration contributes to the development of sluggish blood flow and blood clots. NYU Langone doctors advise drinking 8 to 10 8-ounce glasses of water each day for optimal blood flow. It's especially important to do this when your mobility is limited for long periods, such as while traveling.
Work with your doctor to reduce your risk for blood clots, especially if you are on bed rest or have had a C-section. Exercise as much as your doctor recommends. If you sit for long periods of time, move around or exercise your legs every 1-2 hours. Drink plenty of liquids.
While many blood clots dissolve with the help of blood thinners, some dangerous clots require fast-acting clot-busting medications called thrombolytics. Because thrombolytics can cause severe bleeding, doctors usually give them only to people with large, severe clots that increase risk of pulmonary embolism.
Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) has been noted to occur as much as 60% more frequently in the left lower extremity than in the right lower extremity (1).
If you are currently being treated for DVT, do not massage your legs. Massage could cause the clot to break loose. If you are scheduled for surgery, ask your surgeon what you can do to help prevent blood clots after surgery.
Exercise does not speed up clot dissolution. You can immediately resume exercise once pain and swelling improve. Mild to moderate activity after a DVT in the leg will not increase your risk of dislodging the clot to the lungs.
Bed rest creates physical risks as well. The limited physical activity with bed rest can lead to muscle atrophy, bone loss, weight fluctuations, and blood clots or DVT (deep vein thrombosis).
If you're stuck sitting for a long time -- like in a plane or a car for 4 or more hours -- getting up and walking for 5 minutes each hour helps prevent another bout of DVT. Remember not to cross your legs when you sit. It interferes with circulation.
Many patients are often concerned that strenuous exercise could break their blood clots loose or cause greater stress. But it's important to know that light exercise can actually help alleviate the symptoms of deep vein thrombosis.
Following a DVT, your leg may be swollen, tender, red, or hot to the touch. These symptoms should improve over time, and exercise often helps. Walking and exercise are safe to do, but be sure to listen to your body to avoid overexertion.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) symptoms can include: Leg swelling. Leg pain, cramping or soreness that often starts in the calf. Change in skin color on the leg — such as red or purple, depending on the color of your skin.
Symptoms of DVT (deep vein thrombosis)
throbbing pain in 1 leg (rarely both legs), usually in the calf or thigh, when walking or standing up. swelling in 1 leg (rarely both legs) warm skin around the painful area. red or darkened skin around the painful area – this may be harder to see on brown or black skin.