How To Prevent Feet Swelling While Sitting At Desk

During this quarantine, many of you might be in some kind of remote work. Also, you probably spend more time sitting than usual. A lot of people have this one condition that affects them after spending too much time sitting with swollen feet. You may have seen yourself too if you stay seated for a long time. Usually, you begin to feel tightness around your lower legs and ankles. If you have this and would like to know how to prevent feet swelling then you’ve come to the right place.

Dependent edema is the medical term for this condition. In this condition, your body's tissues become clogged with extra fluid. Gravity pulls fluid down your legs and feet as you sit and especially if your legs are hanging down the front of the seat for a long time. Because of this, you might end up with swollen feet and might only notice it if you’ve been seated for a long time. The first thing to do is understand why this is happening and how to prevent feet swelling while sitting at a desk.

Why Our Feet Swell After Sitting For A Few Hours In A Chair?

Gravity plays a key role in everything. The blood vessels in our bodies leak. The lymphatic system removes fluid from the legs and feet by returning fluid to circulation. Muscle activity is required to circulate it, just as venous blood return from the legs is dependent upon muscle activity.

Sitting causes the major muscles of the legs to become almost inactive, and they do not squeeze the vessels to move fluid. Walk for five minutes every hour by getting out of your reclining office chair with a footrest or ergonomic desk stool. A family physician should be consulted if this is a new symptom. It is possible to have more serious problems, and even medical intervention might be required to keep feet from swelling.

How Can You Fix This?

To begin with, ensure that your feet swelling is not the result of underlying health issues by getting a health check-up. Once you've done some 'deskercise,' move on to the next step! Office workers are having a hard time fitting exercise into their busy schedules these days, so 'deskercise' has become a huge trend among the remote working kind as it saves them time on learning how to prevent feet from swelling.

There are, however, many exercises that are not very practical for office workers: you might be able to do lunges or squats using your motorized standing desk legs as a support to stop feet from swelling. This works great if your workstation has a door you can close for a little bit of privacy, but most of us do work in cubicles or shared desk spaces, and would prefer not to be jammed in a yoga position!

You should, however, take up some kind of leg exercises at work whenever possible to prevent stiffness and discomfort and prevent varicose veins from developing due to poor circulation. Leg exercises that we recommend here are easier and subtle and you don't need to worry about looking weird if you do them while you’re seated on your standing desk.

Calf stretches

To do this exercise, hold your feet just above the ground and stretch your legs out in front of you when seated on your office chair. You should feel a stretch in your calf muscle as you raise the toe of your right foot towards your shin and bend your ankle. Your left foot should be stretched to the ground while your right foot is stretched to the ground. You will then switch, lowering your right toe to the ground while raising your left toe. 30 seconds is a good time to settle into a rhythm.

Ankle flexes

Your feet should be firmly placed on the ground, with your legs apart at an angle of 90 degrees. Then, pick up your heels right off the floor and then lower them while lifting your toes off the floor. Try to pull them to your shins. Be sure to rock steadily. Alternatively, raise the heels of one of your feet while raising the toes of the other foot.

Foot pumps

Performing lower leg circles after these ankle circles will reduce the amount of fluid accumulated in the leg. Both feet should be lifted toes-down, heels down. Try to reach the highest point possible as you raise your feet. On the backs of your lower legs, you will feel the calf muscles behind your legs stretching - that means you are doing the exercise the right way. Your feet should be flat on the floor when you return to the starting positions. Now try lifting your heels as high as possible while keeping your toes on the ground. go through these same steps a few more times.

Leg lifts

While sitting at your mobile height adjustable desk, raise your other leg to parallel the floor while keeping one foot on the ground. Repeat with the other leg after holding for five seconds. Repeat this process until each leg has been raised 10 times. While lifting your leg, trace a circle with your toes if you want to make this more challenging.

Ankle circles

Due to gravity, it is common for fluids to pool around the calves, ankles, and feet. Some of that fluid can be moved with this exercise. You can even do ankle circles or rotate your ankles during a long meeting or seminar. Step one: Lift your foot off the floor slightly and roll your ankle clockwise. Follow one direction for 10 full circles, then change directions. Use your other foot to do the exercise. Each side should be repeated five to ten times.

Walking

It's a simple question! Try getting up for a brisk, short walk whenever you can. Take the stairs instead of the lift, go visit your colleagues instead of messaging or mailing them, or go for a small walk outside after your lunch break instead of taking the elevator.