You should put your legs up more often – GOOD FORM

At some point in your life, you must have heard someone say that they need to “put their legs up”. After a day where you walked a lot or spent a lot of time standing, the practice can offer quite the relief for tired feet and legs. But did you know that it also has other health benefits?

WHY PUT YOUR LEGS UP?

Putting your legs up after a long day can bring many benefits, especially for people with disorders related to blood circulation, that is, the return of blood from the legs to the heart: varicose veinsdiseases related to blood microcirculation, thromboses, thrombophlebitis, patients with a family history, etc.

And the reasons for that, believe it or not, start in history. When the human being started to stand up, the distance between the heart and the feet increased a lot, and this impaired the return of blood.

“Who does not have suitable veins or people who stand still for a long timeor who work in hot and humid environments, or who live on the coast, will have more difficulty in returning blood to the heart, that is, the blood stays longer in the feet”, explains the angiologist doctor Álvaro Pereira. “And when that happens, it ends up leaking out of the vessels (which are porous) and can create edema, a feeling of tiredness or heaviness at the end of the day. It gets worse over time.”

In this way, when you put your legs up (and there is no point in sitting and putting your feet on a pillow), the heart is below the ankle and all the blood that is accumulated returns to the heart more easily. This causes almost immediate relief.

OTHER LEGS UP BENEFITS

This position – with your feet backed up against a wall, for example – also greatly relieves back and lower back pain. Standing or sitting for a long time overloads this region of the body – and again, there is a historical explanation for this.

In the past, standing for long periods did not cause complications because human beings were in constant motion: they had to hunt, swim, climb trees… The body was prepared for this nomadic routine. Nowadays, however, a sedentary lifestyle is the norm, and there is an overload on the body, causing back painslegs, neck, lumbar and other regions of the body.

“The legs-up position improves circulation, but also decompresses the spine and lower back”, he explains.

The best thing is that you don’t need much to feel the benefits of the practice: 15 to 20 minutes with your legs up, at the end of the day, is enough. If swelling big, doing the exercise twice a day – once at lunch, for example, and another before going to sleep – will definitely help with the symptoms.

It is important to remember, however, that there are other forms of prevention against vascular problems caused by modern life, such as specific medications, adequate rest and, of course, compression socks. In case of signs of varicose veins or other problems related to the veins of the legs and feet, it is essential to seek specialized help.