Common Causes of Leg Swelling

Posted on April 23, 2015 by admin

Millions of adults have experienced leg swelling at one time or another, for one reason or another. There are so many reasons that legs can swell, including but not limited to medical conditions and injury. Often referred to by healthcare professionals as edema, swelling of the legs can show up one day and disappear the next, or it can occur as an ongoing symptom of something more serious going on within the body. The list of causes of leg swelling is quite long, but some of the most common causes include injury or trauma to the legs, inactivity, varicose veins, medications, obesity, hormone imbalance, and medical conditions. Following is more detailed information from vein centers in New Jersey about these common causes of leg swelling, as well as prevention and treatment options.

Causes of leg swelling

Leg swelling can be caused by a number of factors. These can range in seriousness from relatively harmless to severe or even life-threatening. Following are some of the most common causes of leg swelling, ranging from mild to severe.

Mild

Oftentimes, leg swelling can appear one day and disappear the next. It can also continue in a mild form. It can even be recurring at a mild degree. Some of the causes of mild forms of leg swelling include:

Varicose veins: Varicose veins are purplish, twisted, rope-like veins that appear under the skin. Some varicose veins aren’t serious, but they can cause leg swelling and pain.

Hormone replacement or birth control pills: Many birth control pills and hormone replacement drugs used for menopausal or premenopausal women can cause leg swelling. Because they can lead to venous insufficiency, blood flow to lower extremities is restricted, causing inflammation to legs and ankles.

Medications: Some medications have also been known to cause venous insufficiency, for the same reasons as hormone replacement drugs and birth control pills.

Activity: In some instances, standing for long periods of time can lead to leg swelling, especially for those who must stand all day for their jobs.

Inactivity: By the same token, inactivity can also lead to leg swelling. For instance, sitting for long periods of time at a computer for your job, or sitting in front of the computer playing a video game at a long stretch can cause leg swelling. It’s important to note, however, that leg swelling from inactivity has also been known to be severe and even lead to blot clots and death, in cases of prolonged inactivity.

Severe

There are many illnesses and types of injury that can cause severe leg swelling. It’s important for anyone experiencing leg swelling to see their doctor as soon as possible, as many causes can be life-threatening and can even lead to death.

Varicose veins: Yes, varicose veins are on both lists, both mild and severe. While some varicose veins aren’t serious, others can be severe and can even lead to serious medical complications from poor blood flow.

Heart problems: Some serious medical conditions that involve the heart, such as cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure, can cause severe leg swelling.

Kidney or liver failure: Kidney and liver failures are heavily characterized by leg, ankle, and feet swelling.

Blood clots: Also known as deep venous thrombosis (DVT), some blood clots can cause swelling in legs.

Prevention of leg swelling

If you’re someone who experiences leg swelling, it’s important to first talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Following that, some of the best preventive measures you can take to prevent leg swelling are to avoid prolonged periods of standing or sitting as much as possible; maintain an active lifestyle; eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of nutritionally rich fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole foods; elevate your legs when you feel them swelling; and wear compression stockings.

If you’ve experienced the kind of leg swelling that lasts for just a few hours or a day, you know that it can hamper your lifestyle temporarily. However, if you’re experiencing leg swelling that has lasted for a longer period of time; you should talk to your doctor about your symptoms, as this may be a sign of something more serious going on within your body. And, if you have more questions about the causes, symptoms, and treatments of leg swelling such as spider veins, varicose veins, and other blood circulation issues, contact a vein center to schedule a consultation.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Posted on February 18, 2015 by admin

A chiropractor is one of those things where people that do go, love it, and people that don’t go, just don’t understand why a few cracks and pops can make someone feel better! Well, for those of you that do not go to a chiropractor I can say that it’s about more than just a few cracks and pops. It’s about pain management, posture, pain relief elimination and a whole lot more. If you ever truly wanted to know about the benefits of chiropractic care, but you didn’t know who to ask or you were afraid to ask, continue to read below where we go over some of benefits of going to a chiropractor in New Jersey.

Every single day, no matter how old you are, what type of job you have or what activities you do during the day, your bodies (joints, muscles, bones, tendons, etc.) are constantly under pressure. You also deal with a lot of stress and tension during the day. Because of this, you might experience what chiropractors call “micro injuries”. These types of injuries are usually pretty minor, but through time they become more and more painful and more and more agonizing. Then and only then do we actually seek help because it’s literally too much to stand anymore. Micro injuries are not prevalent in everyone, however, they are very common in people that work on computers throughout the day, people that have physically demanding jobs, and people that are active – either for fun or professionally and for people that have really hectic and rigorous schedules. Instead of letting a small ache or pain get worse to the point where you can’t take it anymore, you can stop it before it gets to that point by visiting a chiropractor that can address the situation early on – before it really becomes a problem.

If you have a lot of stress in your life, you know how it can affect you. Stress relief is one of if not THE most sought after treatment today. A lot of people visit massage therapists, but the one thing they don’t realize is that massage therapists don’t know everything there is to know about your body, specifically. They deal with the musculoskeletal every day, all day as well as your nervous system. They can tell when something is out of alignment or if you are collecting a certain sense of stress or tension in a specific part of your body. Relieving stress can make your mood better, make your posture better, less headaches and neck aches and just allows you to live a better more healthy lifestyle.

If you have a computer, phone, laptop or you even like to read – you might catch yourself leering over the object. It’s unhealthy. It creates all sorts of issues, not only when it comes to pain and aches in your neck, back and spine, but it can also lead to really bad posture! Thankfully, when you start to see a chiropractor they will be able to pinpoint exactly where your spine is not moving correctly and give you tips on how to stand and sit straighter. They also might help you address, how you stand, tilting of your body while walking or sitting, curvatures of the spine and how to work towards creating a strong spine. They even may suggest daily things you can do to create a better posture such as a back brace, better shoes, different types of exercises you can do to strengthen the spin and so much more!

If you have been dealing with a certain pain or ache over a prolonged amount of time – days, week, even years, a chiropractor can help increase flexibility, circulation, muscle and spasm reduction and deal with things like lactic acid, and increased oxygenation. They will also deal with a great way to deliver nutrients to the cells in your body – which can help create a quicker recovery time and the promotion of rapid self-healing. If you have any issues that revolve around your musculoskeletal system, a Chiropractor can help you deal with that pain and in some cases even offer help to eliminate pain altogether.

What is Kinesio-Taping?

Posted on February 4, 2015 by admin

You might think that a Chiropractor just deals with adjusting your back, and while with some Top chiropractors in Clifton that may be true. But, with other more specialized and modern chiropractors, they will also offer other services such as Kinesio Taping, This might sound like a fairly new term to you, but I think once you learn a little bit more about what this is, the benefits of it, and essentially what types of issues it can help with, you might start to understand why this is such a beneficial treatment for your aches and pains. First a little bit about Kinesio taping: Kinesiology tape is a really thin and very stretchy material made from a cotton strip and adhesive. Continue reading →

Common Medical Questions

Category Archives: Pain Relief