Contributed by Cindi Pearce, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru
Face it. Our legs and feet take a beating daily, particularly if you work in a field, such as nursing, where walking is required for hours upon hours.
The legs, which house the largest muscles in your body, are obviously very important extremities. If the circulation in your legs is bad this is going to create a host of problems for you. You must do everything that you can to improve the circulation in your legs.
The top 10 ways to improve leg health include the best ways to get the circulation going in your legs.
10. Get them up
Elevate your legs any chance you get. Use an elevating leg rest when you sleep. Put a footstool in front of your favorite chair. When you do this you are making it easier for blood to circulate because your legs aren’t required to work against gravity.
9. Pamper
At the end of the day, soak your legs and feet in warm water. Put some Epsom Salts in the water and this will further relax you as well as draw out impurities from your skin. Baby your legs and your feet because they are what hold you up and without them, you’re going to be in a pickle. Moisturize your legs. This feels good and makes the skin on our legs look better. Warm water and massaging your legs increase the flow of blood to your legs, which is the goal.
8. Massage
Get a massage. Use a foot massager when you are sitting in front of the tv, or under your desk at work for really great foot and leg relief. When your legs are massaged this increases the circulation to your legs, which is going to keep your legs healthier as well as the rest of your body.
7. Eat healthy
When your diet is sub-par, there isn’t going to be any part of you that is healthy. Eat better, eat less and see if your legs both feel and look better.
6. Herbal therapy
Go the herbal route and see if this improves the circulation in your legs. Consult with a knowledgeable herbalist about the benefits of garlic, ginkgo biloba and cayenne, which are said to strengthen the vascular system and improve poor circulation, as well as clearing out arteries and strengthening bloods vessels, all of which improve blood circulation.
5. De-stress
On-going stress can do you in. It certainly can affect the way your blood is circulating to virtually every organ in your body and especially to your legs. Figure out a way to better deal with your stress. There are various methods, including meditation, relaxation techniques, yoga, visualization or even just getting out every evening for a nice brisk walk.
4. Support
Wear compression hose that help the circulation of blood in your legs. These hose support the blood vessels that are in your legs. This support makes it easier for the legs to pump blood back up toward the heart.
3. Quit smoking
Smoking screws up your circulation so quit, if at all possible. Smoking causes your blood vessels to restrict, which makes it harder for the blood to circulate. It also damages your vessels in addition to increasing your risk of a heart attack and hardening of the arteries.
2. Exercise
Regular physical activity is a must for healthy legs. Just do it!
1. Lower blood pressure
Keep your blood pressure down. Circulation problems are not uncommon and can be caused by hypertension (high blood pressure), which is the outcome of plaque deposited along the walls of your arteries. The plaque makes the arteries constrict and hardens them. When arteries are smaller as a result the blood has to put forth a greater force against the blood vessel walls and this makes your blood pressure rise.