A common complaint of all workaholics having a sitting desk job is swollen feet and ankles. Sitting for prolonged periods in front of computer screens isn’t only detrimental for the eyes; rather, it impacts the lower body to a large extent as well. Not to mention the discomforts like tightness, tingling, numbness, and heaviness that it brings with it. While a pair of compression socks 15-20mmHg, would aid your legs in beating gravity to push back blood to the heart, there are some measures and tips you can follow to prevent swelling in your feet and ankles while doing a sitting job. Read on as we uncover some of those effective measures while knowing more about what causes swollen feet and the associated risks with it.
What Exactly Causes Feet Swelling While Sitting?
Gravity plays a major role in causing swelling in feet and ankles when you sit for long hours at a desk job. Due to gravity, natural blood flow gets interrupted, resulting in the legs working hard to push back blood to the heart. Moreover, fluid starts accumulating, resulting in fluid build-up in the ankles and feet, leading to edema and discomforts like numbness, itching, pain, and difficulty walking.
Risks Associated With Swollen Feets
Although swollen feet only cause minor discomforts like those mentioned above, they can take a serious turn if left untreated for a long while. Instances include blood pooling in the lower extremities that leads to serious threats like venous insufficiency, blood clots, increased risk of infection, and skin ulcers. In circumstances like these, a healthcare expert might recommend using a pair of 20-30 mmhg compression socks.
Ways To Prevent Feet Swelling While Working At A Sitting Job
First things first. Start with getting a medical check-up to ensure your feet swelling isn’t a result of any underlying health ailment but is caused due to prolonged sitting itself. After getting favorable results, you can proceed with the following tips to ensure you stay safe from the ailment of swollen feet.
1. Using Compression Socks
Compression socks, also known as medical socks, are a kind of medical garment made to provide gentle pressure to the legs that helps restore the slowed bloodstream flow to its normal state. Being tighter at the ankles and a bit loose around the knees, they carry a quite distinctive design than normal socks. Based on this unique proposition, they help blood reach back to the heart more effectively, resulting in reduced chances of swelling and fluid build-up in the legs. If not during work, you can wear them after office hours.
2. Taking Breaks
No matter how demanding your job is, it’s recommended for everyone to take small breaks at regular intervals of time. During this meantime, focus on doing mobility-inducing movements that help restore optimal blood flow throughout your legs while relaxing them. You can simply stroll around a block during the lunch break or have some moments in the break room. For those having a sturdy work regime, go for setting up break reminders and opting for the Pomodoro technique, involving working for a set of 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break.
3. Staying Hydrated
The human body is made up of around 60% water only. This fact alone outlines the crucialness of fulfilling your body’s daily water requirement. Although it might sound contradictory, water deficiency in the body worsens the problem of fluid retention, increasing the probability of swelling and edema in the legs. Staying hydrated helps the blood flow more optimally throughout the body.
4. Following A Healthy Diet And Lifestyle
You need to inculcate healthy eating habits and follow an active lifestyle if you want to stay safe from the problem of swelling in your feet and ankles. Obese people are more prone to face instances of swelling due to the increased strain on the feet. Try limiting your sodium intake and avoiding too much fast food to ensure you remain safe from fluid retention in the body.
5. Opting For The Right Footwear
At every cost, avoid wearing tight and uncomfortable footwear to work. Doing so puts a lot of pressure on ankles and feet, due to which issues like swelling and inflammation arise. You have to choose something in which you can feel comfortable throughout the day. Prefer options that have some extra space and support that provide your feet the room they need to remain comfortable throughout the day. To be brief, it’s about offering some breathing space to your feet and ankles.
6. Doing Feet And Ankle Exercises
By promoting healthy circulation in your lower limbs, you can effectively avoid swelling in the feet. For it, you need to incorporate deskercise (exercises that can be done at a desk) in your work routine that would help you combat the negative effects of sitting for extended periods of time. Possibilities for it include calf raises, desk pushups, shoulder shrugs, chair squats, neck rotations, wall sits, and more.
7. Using A Standing Desk
Standing desks aren’t only good for improving your mood and productivity; rather, they are great for solving your swollen feet issues as well. Choose a height that you find comfortable working at and continue your shift working with it for a couple of hours. It’s crucial to note that you need not work all day on the standing desk only and need to opt for it for selected hours only, i.e., working standing and sitting concurrently. Neglecting this variation might cause you swelling that you were trying to avoid while sitting.
8. Opting For Under Desk Footrest
It’s great for those who aren’t comfortable with a standing desk. By opting for an under-desk footrest, you can effectively induce blood circulation while sitting only. Choose a footrest that comes with height adjustability, allowing you to vary your foot position during your shift. Moreover, for more comfort and added circulation, you can alternate your feet ' position by resting them on the footrest and on the ground itself.
9. Leg Massage
Massaging is one key method for enhancing blood flow in the body. While it might be quite challenging for you to remain active during working hours, you can simply do a self-leg massage at home. Massaging is great for muscle relaxation and providing relief from a day full of stress. The most common techniques for it are squeezing and chopping motions. Alternatively, use them to get the best possible results for yourself.
10. Sitting With Flat Feet
Laying your feet flat is a key aspect of following good ergonomics when sitting. Adjust your chair height to a level from where you can keep your feet flat on the ground. While it’s great to follow this measure as a part of keeping swelling at bay, you need to opt for doing regular body movements as well.
Reflecting On
Although getting swollen feet and ankles due to sitting jobs is normal, you necessarily need not accept it as your fate. By understanding and inculcating the above-given tips/measures in your daily regime, you can for sure reduce your chances of facing the uneasinesses linked to feet and ankle swelling. For those needing compression socks, whether it’s for normal wear or recovering from an injury, they can go with our brand, SNUG360. Available in multiple sizes, our exclusive range of unisex medical socks is fabricated with a 400-needle count and high-grade compression fabric, depicting the level of craftsmanship involved in its fabrication.