The muscles of your feet, ankles and lower legs become weaker with inactivity, causing muscular tension, stiffness and aches. This can become a difficult cycle to break: inactivity leads to pain, which lead to more inactivity. Good quality walking shoes and a walking program is the best remedy!
Sedentary Lifestyle Can Play a Role
Sitting around too much can lead to swelling in the feet and ankles. This occurs as fluid pools in the lower extremities as a result of gravity and inactivity. This effect is compounded in people who are overweight, as they often have decreased blood circulation.
Benefits of Walking for Foot Health
Strengthen the bones and muscles of the feet and ankles. Increase flexibility and stability in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. A healthy weight can reduce the risk of obesity, which can put a lot of strain on the feet and ankles. Increase circulation and reduce swelling.
In multiple sclerosis (MS) or other conditions that limit mobility, it most commonly manifests as swollen feet and ankles, and occurs because the lymphatic system does not receive help from the muscle movements that normally enable the lymphatic fluid to flow properly.
Poor blood circulation
The University of Indiana researchers say that not moving all day long and just sitting at one place may affect our arteries; it reduces the blood flow and also increases the risk of blood clots. Poor blood circulation can also lead to cramps in legs while walking.
Symptoms of poor circulation are often easy to spot. They include muscle cramping, constant foot pain, and pain and throbbing in the arms and legs. As well as fatigue, varicose veins, and digestive issues. Leg cramps while walking and wounds that don't seem to heal in your legs, feet, and toes are also symptoms.
Put simply, weak feet and ankles throw you out of the proper position on a lift or movement, making it next to impossible to use correct form and the right muscles. This all but guarantees you won't get the full strength, power or size benefits from an exercise. And you'll be at an increased risk of injury.
Although swelling of the feet and ankles can be a minor problem, it can also be an indication of more serious illnesses such as heart failure, renal failure, or liver failure. The abnormal buildup of fluid in the body is called edema.
Common causes of swollen ankles, feet and legs
eating too much salty food. being overweight. being pregnant. taking certain medicines – such as some blood pressure medicines, contraceptive pills, hormone therapy, antidepressants or steroids.
Very often, it is a symptom of some underlying medical condition. Health problems such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and neuropathy can lead to feet stiffness. Moreover, aging and improper footwear are some of the other common causes of this condition. However, feet stiffness is treatable.
Brisk walkers had a 35 percent lower risk of dying, a 25 percent lower chance of developing heart disease or cancer and a 30 percent lower risk of developing dementia, compared with those whose average pace was slower.
Taking 200 mg to 400 mg of magnesium a day may help reduce swelling, Dr. Botek said. (Talk to your doctor before taking the supplement, though — especially if you have a kidney or heart condition.)
Get medical care as soon as possible if: You have unexplained, painful swelling of your feet or legs, particularly if it's only in one leg. The swollen area becomes warm, red or inflamed. The swelling is accompanied by a fever.
Once you've checked with your doctor, it's time to get on your feet. The best weapon in the fight against swollen legs is a simple one: walking. Getting your legs moving means circulation is improved which will sweep up that collected fluid and get it shifted.
Are swollen feet dangerous? Minor lower-leg swelling that comes and goes isn't a huge concern. But if foot and ankle swelling is frequent, painful or persists for several weeks, it's important for consult your primary-care doctor. For starters, swelling can come with complications — including wounds and even infection.
When you have heart failure, your heart cannot pump blood around your body as well as it should, so fluid builds up in your body. This fluid can collect in your lungs, making you breathless, or in your legs and ankles, making them swell (oedema).
This is a common condition among seniors and is caused by fluid accumulating in the soft tissue surrounding the ankles or in the ankle joint. The swelling may be due to prolonged standing, eating a diet high in salt, sitting for extended periods of time, sustaining an ankle injury, or taking certain medications.
“Although often overlooked, your feet can provide an excellent warning of potential health concerns,” said Dr. Peter Chioros, a board-certified podiatrist with Swedish Medical Group. “Sudden changes or chronic symptoms such as pain or inflammation can signal illnesses and other potentially harmful conditions.”
Tired feet are not a medical condition but a common complaint related to various medical conditions. Abnormal foot structure (flatfoot or high-arched foot) can overburden the foot, resulting in muscle fatigue.
A simple, painless and noninvasive test called a duplex ultrasound can determine if you have bad circulation and the severity of the condition. Based on the severity of your condition, a vascular specialist doctor will determine the best treatment option for you.