There has been an increase in the advertisement of medical technology to improve circulation, specifically in people’s legs. With this increased advertisement, many people may wonder why circulation around the body is essential and want to improve it without forking out valuable money.
Today, I’m providing some tips to help you improve circulation that you can do easily without using the aids targeted when you watch daytime TV.
What is circulation?
Circulation is the process of the body sending oxygen, nutrients and blood around the body. If the body cannot do this as effectively as it should, then you have poor circulation. Typically poor circulation will affect the arms and the legs.
Symptoms of poor circulation
There are many symptoms of poor circulation, such as
- Numbness in arms and legs
- Tingling in arms and legs
- Cramps
- And general pain
Poor circulation is never by itself and is often the cause of another problem such as diabetes, naturally poor mobility, blood pressure and varicose veins.
The first three things I mentioned there, everybody knows. However, some people reading this might not understand what Varicose veins are, and they are enlarged veins caused by valve failure.
Why improve circulation?
Upon reading, circulation helps move oxygen, nutrients and blood through the body. You probably didn’t think it was as important as other areas of staying healthy.
However, it’s essential as good circulation enables the muscles, heart and lungs to work as efficiently as possible. It also allows white blood cells to move around the body properly, which will help you heal from illness quicker.
Ways you can improve it.
Circulation is the result of other problems. You’ll want to improve the root causes of it to see better results. Root problems can be things like obesity, poor mobility and varicose veins. Below are ways to improve those problems.
Obesity
If your poor circulation is caused by excessive weight gain, speak with a medical professional to discuss what you can do. If your obesity is due to a medical problem such as thyroids, you cannot sort out much.
However, if it’s due to another reason, you can get help to sort out your diet or find accessible ways to exercise.
Poor mobility
Sometimes lousy circulation can be caused by poor mobility. Because some people can’t move about as well or as quickly, they can’t get the blood to move to the legs and other people. If you have some degree of movement, you can speak to an occupational therapist to make your house more accessible.
If you have the equipment already, use those mobility aids to move around your house for short bursts, and it’ll help the blood flow to the legs. Just don’t push it to the point where you collapse on the floor.
Massages
If you can’t move or want another way to sort out your circulation problems, you can try massaging the areas where the poor circulation is as it’ll get the body moving and start increasing blood flow.
Drinking enough water
Although I don’t think this one affects circulation as much, many medical websites are naming it as a tip. And who am I to distrust a doctor, so this one is on the list. As a species, we are meant to drink eight cups of water a day. Not drinking enough water causes dehydration, significantly impacting circulation as it decreases blood flow to save energy. Drink enough water to stop this from happening.
Sometimes you can have a condition under control and still have to live with poor circulation, which is where the medical aids come in to manage it, hence why the aids are being marketed more, especially for the over 60s. However, you might be put off by those types of equipment because it’s more expensive or you don’t need something to work that well.
Now I’ve already spoken about massages and moving around a lot more, so I won’t explain that further. But there are other aids available which can help.
Compression Garments
Compression stockings ( and other types of garments) are items of clothing that can be found in a pharmacy. They are great for those with varicose veins and venous leg ulcers. The compression garments such as stockings work by compressing tissue which improves blood flow to the heart and reduces swelling.
Elevation
Another thing you can do is elevate your legs. Elevating your legs above your heart can help blood flow through to the heart. It also takes the pressure off the veins. You can elevate the legs using a pillow, stool or recliner chair. You can ask for mobility furniture designed if needed, so no extra pressure is placed on the knees.
In the end, whilst a lack of mobility is a huge issue, and those ads for those massagers may be helpful, you can take small steps not to have to use those advertised aids to improve your circulation.
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