The Importance of Exercise if You Have DVT Studies show that exercise also can improve symptoms of DVT, including swelling, discomfort, and redness. Physical activity can also make you feel more energized. If you have DVT, being active is especially important for your legs. That's where blood clots usually form.
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.
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.
Your goal is to walk for 30 to 45 minutes, 5 to 7 days per week. A resource for patients developed by the North American Thrombosis Forum. were prescribed medication to treat your DVT, such as an anticoagulant, please be sure to take your medication as directed.
DON'T stand or sit in one spot for a long time. DON'T wear clothing that restricts blood flow in your legs. DON'T smoke. DON'T participate in contact sports when taking blood thinners because you're at risk of bleeding from trauma.
The Importance of Exercise if You Have DVT
Studies show that exercise also can improve symptoms of DVT, including swelling, discomfort, and redness. Physical activity can also make you feel more energized. If you have DVT, being active is especially important for your legs. That's where blood clots usually form.
Prolonged Immobility
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.
For years, if you had a DVT, your doctor would order bed rest. This was thought to lower the risk of a clot traveling through your bloodstream to your lungs. But recent research suggests that bed rest doesn't help people with DVT and that it may be fine for you to get up and move around.
Thrombolytic therapy is a treatment that dissolves blood clots. At Tampa General Hospital, our cardiovascular specialists often use this technique in emergencies when the threat of a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism is imminent.
lie on their sides with a pillow between the knees if desirable.
Don't: Sit Too Long. Try not to stay seated for more than 2 hours at a time -- get up and walk around regularly. If you had a DVT in one of your legs, don't cross your legs when you sit down. That position can affect your circulation.
As the clot gets worse, you may feel a sensation ranging from a dull ache to intense pain. The pain may throb in your leg, belly, or even arm. Swelling in the spot where the blood clot has formed or throughout your entire arm or leg. Change in color.
Sitting for a long time without getting up and walking around can cause blood to pool in the veins of your legs. This can lead to blood clots.
It takes about 3 to 6 months for a blood clot to go away. During this time, there are things you can do to relieve symptoms. Elevate your leg to reduce swelling. Talk to your doctor about using compression stockings.
The skin around painful areas or in the arm or leg with the DVT may feel warmer than other skin. Trouble breathing. If this happens, it could mean that the clot has moved from your arm or leg to your lungs.
Symptoms typically improve within a few days of starting the anticoagulant. Most patients with DVT or PE recover completely within several weeks to months without significant complications or long-term adverse effects.
Anticoagulants, such as heparin, warfarin, dabigatran, apixaban, and rivaroxaban, are medications that thin the blood and help to dissolve blood clots.
Blood thinners don't dissolve the clot, but they can stop it from getting bigger and keep new ones from forming. That gives your body time to break up the clot. Different blood thinners work in different ways: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) keep your body from making fibrin, the protein the forms the clot's mesh.
1) Constriction of the blood vessel. 2) Formation of a temporary “platelet plug." 3) Activation of the coagulation cascade.
One of the main causes of DVT is immobility. This is because the blood circulating through the leg veins relies on leg muscle contraction to propel it up the leg. If a person isn't moving their legs and contracting their muscles, their blood flow becomes sluggish and this can result in blood clots forming.
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.