Swollen Legs: 5 Home Remedies to Alleviate Them
Swollen legs are a frequent problem for many people. However, it’s neither pleasant nor convenient for anyone. Therefore, it’s necessary to detect what may be the cause of its appearance and, depending on this, what are the best home remedies (or habits) that help to obtain relief.
To help you with this, here are some home remedies that can help you combat swelling and “lighten” the feeling of heaviness in your legs. Take note!
Why do our legs get swollen?
Swollen legs are a very common problem and not only for people who are overweight or obese, or who have cardiovascular disease. It can also be experienced by people who lead a sedentary lifestyle, as well as other bad lifestyle habits.
A sedentary lifestyle is one of the main causes of edema. It’s therefore essential to try to abandon it and adopt an active lifestyle.
However, daily exercise isn’t the only way to ensure health and well-being. It’s therefore necessary to give up other bad habits (such as smoking and alcoholism) and correct certain aspects of daily life that may be damaging to health.
Wearing inappropriate footwear (such as high heels) and tight-fitting clothing can worsen fluid retention and promote swelling in the legs and other areas of the body.
In view of the above, it’s possible to see that there are several reasons why you may have swollen legs on a daily basis.
Home remedies to soothe swollen legs
Here are the best home remedies to relieve swollen legs.
1. Legs up
The first home remedy we suggest for swollen legs is a simple and effective method that will give you relief in just a few minutes. You just have to put your legs up. You can do it lying on the floor, with your legs on the wall, or with cushions under your legs.
Ideally, you want to stay like this for up to half an hour. This will promote blood flow and help relieve the feeling of swelling and heaviness.
Some inverted yoga postures also help to fight this problem. If you experience the swelling daily, you can always sleep with a cushion under your legs . There are even some specific pillows made for this purpose.
2. Foot baths
Foot baths are a very pleasant option to relieve swollen legs and, over time, help you achieve complete relaxation. So, if you do them before going to bed, you rest better and will have a pleasant feeling in your feet and legs.
You can make the baths with just water or by adding one of these ingredients:
- Chamomile
- Sea salt
- Lavender oil
It is important that the water is well heated and you can keep your feet soaking for at least 20 minutes.
3. Alternating shower
Hydrotherapy, that is, healing by water at different temperatures, is a very effective remedy for preventing swelling in your legs. If you do it every day, you will improve your circulation and you can even reduce cellulite.
When you are in the shower, you will have to alternate the cold temperature with the hot one and pass the shower head from top to bottom, from your feet to your knees or your thighs. Switch the temperature every 15 seconds and you will change it several times.
The relief you’ll feel is very pleasant and it’ll allow you to start or end your day with a light feeling in your legs.
4. Dry brushing
Dry brushing is an increasingly popular technique that’s simple and has great results. You just need a brush to rub your body with a dry brush, always bottom to top.
You can do it just to your legs or take advantage of it and use it on your whole body. This simple method improves lymphatic drainage and circulation. If you do it daily, you will also notice an improvement in the texture of your skin. It will be much smoother and free of imperfections.
5. Massage with aloe and mint oil
If you’d like, you can perform a complete treatment with all of these remedies. Lastly, you can’t forget the benefits of a good massage or self-massage. It’ll help you enhance the effects of all these methods and, also, deeply nourish your skin.
If you want to get even greater relief, you can use aloe vera gel, which moisturizes and soothes. If, in addition, you add a few drops of peppermint essential oil, you will increase the feeling of freshness and it will help with your circulation.
We have to emphasize that the massage should always start at your feet and go upwards, with light or medium pressure. Your skin will have a delicious herbal aroma and be well hydrated.
In addition to following these recommendations, maintain a healthy lifestyle.
In addition to these home remedies, it’s essential that you follow your doctor’s recommendations and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Eat well, exercise daily, avoid excesses and maintain consistency and moderation in everything you do. Your body will thank you and will compensate you with health and wellbeing.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Campero Téllez, K. Evaluación del efecto relajante de piernas de un gel elaborado a base de extractos de Cupressus sempervirens L., Vitis vinífera L., Arnica montana L., Matricaria recutita L. y Mentha x piperita L (Químico Farmacéutico Industrial). Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, México. 2016. Disponible en: https://tesis.ipn.mx/bitstream/handle/123456789/25535/CAMPERO%20T%C3%89LLEZ%20KARLA%20VANESSA.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- García-Casal Maria Nieves, Pons-Garcia Héctor E. Dieta e inflamación. An Venez Nutr [Internet]. 2014 Jun [citado 2018 Nov 02] ; 27( 1 ): 47-56. Disponible en: http://www.scielo.org.ve/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&;pid=S0798-07522014000100009&lng=es.
- López Córdova, A. M. El masaje terapéutico profundo como método de prevención en varices tipo i y ii en el personal docente que labora en la escuela particular Carmen Barona de la ciudad de Ambato (Licenciada en Terapia Física), Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Ecuador, 2013. Disponible en: http://repositorio.uta.edu.ec/jspui/handle/123456789/3646
