Have you been on a long flight?
Many travelers have done this and when they reached their destination they were most likely sore, stiff and with swollen ankles and feet barely fit in shoes, this is a problem because if you are visiting somewhere and have a Limited hours, the last thing you need is to walk stiff in shoes that don’t fit well due to swollen feet.
Ill-fitting shoes can rub the feet and cause blisters, which, if left untreated, can lead to infection and take a long time to heal as the supply of fresh blood to the blister site is reduced.
Why do my legs and ankles swell on long flights?
The basics of swollen ankles
Veins are blood vessels that carry used blood back to the heart; They have one-way valves so that blood can’t go back the way it came.
Swollen ankles
When used, the depleted blood reaches the ankles and simply remains stagnant; lymphatic fluid begins to separate from used blood into tissue spaces; as it cannot be pumped, the legs up to the body, the ankles swell.
Gravity and weight of blood in the body.
Water is subject to pressure: the deeper it is, the more pressure there is at the bottom; for example, on the surface of the water the swimmer feels nothing, but the deeper he goes, the more it affects his body as the pressure increases.
The blood in the body is similar; in someone standing, the pressure in the head is almost non-existent, but in the lower part of the body, the feet, the pressure is higher due to the weight of the blood in the veins, but also because fresh blood is pumped there. under pressure of the heart.
The calf muscle pump
In order for the blood to return to the body, there is a system called the muscular pump, made up of the muscles of the legs; the main motors of the pump are the calf muscles.
The calf muscle pump forces the depleted blood against gravity into the legs and back into the body, where it is re-nourished with oxygen for recycling and sent back to various parts of the body through the arteries.
The calf muscles provide energy for this pump, but they only work if they are used
To keep the circulation in balance in the legs, the same volume of blood that enters the legs must leave the legs; If the calf muscles don’t work, the pump becomes ineffective and nothing moves.
Problems caused by ineffective calf muscle pump include:
Bad circulation
Lymphatic system inactivity
Reduced venous return
First aid is needed for the leg muscles.
The faster your legs get help, the faster they recover, but it’s important that they get it as soon as possible before pain and stiffness limit what can be done with them.
There are ways to give first aid to the legs – recovery takes different forms
Passive and active
Passive leg recovery
This means letting the legs get their way and letting them fix themselves, lying on the back with the legs higher than the body to help the fluid drain back into the body can help relieve them by reversing the effects of the gravity.
(Something interesting on TV, can you understand the language?)
Because it takes time to wait for this to happen, this can consume valuable travel time; He might as well go back to the hotel / villa / hostel / shop and spend the next few days without sightseeing (he might as well have stayed home).
Or you can convert the accommodation into a Mini Recovery Center and get your calf muscle pump working again.
