How do you improve circulation in your feet

Posted on October 27, 2020 by

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Proper circulation is key for maintaining optimal health. It ensures that blood and oxygen continuously flow throughout the body, allowing every organ to function properly. It helps to heal wounds faster, it keeps your brain sharp, it keeps your heart healthy, and it even gives your complexion a natural flush.

“Circulation can also affect the immune system, as certain blood cells, carried by the bloodstream, help to fight infection,” says Marjan Moghaddam, D.O., a family medicine physician with Henry Ford Health.

During a time when the cold, flu and COVID-19 are prevalent, it’s especially important to make sure your circulation is up to par. There are, however, certain conditions that can make maintaining proper circulation more difficult.

What Leads To Poor Circulation

“Peripheral artery disease (when narrowed arteries reduce blood flow), obesity, anemia, untreated blood clots, uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure can all affect circulation,” says Dr. Moghaddam. “Smoking can also lead to poor circulation.”

If you think you may have poor circulation, take note of any of the below symptoms:

• Lack of energy or concentration
• Cold extremities (hands and feet)
• Thinning hair or hair loss
• Delayed or slow healing due to a weakened immune system
• In men, erectile dysfunction

What You Can Do To Boost Your Circulation

The good news is there are several things you can do to get your blood pumping. Try any of the below:

• Increase cardiovascular exercise. Running, biking or walking can help boost circulation—and the same goes for stretching before and after exercising.
• If you smoke, quit. Smoking can inhibit blood flow, destroy blood vessel walls, and cause plaque to accumulate in the veins. “The sooner you quit smoking, the sooner your health will improve,” says Dr. Moghaddam.
• Drink black or green tea. “The antioxidants in these drinks help to increase the width of the blood vessels so that your body can pump blood more easily,” says Dr. Moghaddam.
• If you are anemic, take iron supplements or eat iron-rich food. When you are low in iron (or anemic), you don’t have enough red blood cells to circulate oxygen throughout your body. Talk to your doctor to see if an iron supplement is right for you, or incorporate iron-rich spinach, legumes, and red meat (in moderation) into your diet.
• Dry brush your body. Before a shower or bath, try this technique to stimulate blood flow: Using a soft-bristle brush, gently brush your skin in long, upward strokes. “Make sure to start at your feet and move up to your heart,” says Dr. Moghaddam.
• Decrease stress. “This can be done with meditation, yoga, or by spending time with loved ones safely in person or virtually,” says Dr. Moghaddam.
• Include more omega-3 fatty acids in your diet. “Fish like tuna, salmon and sardines can help improve blood flow and are excellent for heart health,” says Dr. Moghaddam. Try eating them two to three times per week.
• Wear compression socks and elevate your legs. Elevating your legs will help move blood to the upper body, and compression socks put pressure on your feet to help blood vessels push blood through the body up to your heart. They can also help reduce swelling and can be beneficial for those who are pregnant, those have diabetes or those who are standing on their feet all day. (Consider this your permission to relax after a long day of work!)

To find a doctor at Henry Ford, visit henryford.com or call 1-800-HENRYFORD (436-7936).

Marjan Moghaddam, D.O., is a family medicine physician who sees patients at Henry Ford Medical Center in Capitol Park and Harbortown. 

• December 24, 2010

Treatment Options for Poor Circulation in Feet

December 24, 2010

Dear Mayo Clinic:

Can poor circulation in feet due to peripheral arterial disease be treated?

Answer:
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries (atherosclerosis), reducing blood flow to the limbs. Common risk factors of PAD include smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, high blood pressure, high lipids (cholesterol and/or triglycerides), diabetes, obesity, inactivity, age greater than 50, male gender, family history, genetic conditions and ethnicity.

Common symptoms of PAD include pain, fatigue, heaviness, cramping or discomfort in the leg muscles (calf, thigh or buttocks) that occur during activity such as walking or climbing stairs. The location of intermittent claudication depends on where the artery is blocked or narrowed. The pain or discomfort goes away once the activity is stopped and during rest.

Treatment for peripheral arterial disease depends on a person's overall health, the symptoms, and the results of tests a doctor may perform to diagnose the condition. Treatment may be a combination of lifestyle changes, medications, catheter-based procedures or, in some cases, surgery.

For mild disease, we may recommend that a person remain under observation while adopting lifestyle changes. Smokers should quit. Stopping tobacco use is the first step in treating peripheral arterial disease. Regular walking will help condition muscles and improve blood flow in the legs. Exercise will also help control other risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes. Eating healthy foods can help lower high cholesterol levels and control diabetes. And those who are overweight should lose weight.

Medications cannot cure peripheral arterial disease, but they can help treat conditions that contribute to the disease, such as high cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood pressure or diabetes.

Several procedures can treat narrowed or blocked arteries. In angioplasty, a thin tube (catheter) with a tiny balloon at its tip is inserted into a blood vessel and threaded to the blocked area of the artery. The balloon is then inflated, pushing plaque to the side and opening the artery. Sometimes a wire mesh tube (stent) is wrapped around the balloon so that when the balloon is inserted and inflated, the stent is opened and positioned within the artery. The balloon is then deflated and removed, leaving the stent in place.

Bypass surgery can improve circulation in the legs, depending on the extent and location of the blockage. Bypass uses a graft (man-made or a vein from the patient's body) to reroute circulation. The graft is attached above and below the blocked area of the artery, allowing blood to go around the blockage.

A diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease means a person is at risk for other blockages in other arteries — blockages that can cause heart disease and stroke. Patients with peripheral arterial disease are often screened for blockages in the arteries serving the heart and brain.

Because you have peripheral arterial disease — whether or not you receive medical treatment — it is very important that you take care of your health and modify any risk factors to stop the progression of the disease and prevent occurrence elsewhere. Treatment options are available. But you should first meet with your physician to discuss all of your symptoms.

— Henna Kalsi, M.D., Gonda Vascular Center, Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

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