leg pain

June 11November 3

Here’s a Simple Movement to Relax Your Legs and Hips

Here are two very simple exercises that will relax the muscles in your hips and legs.

You can do this in bed on your back or seated. Here are the seated directions:

Sit pretty straight in a comfortable chair that fits you well and supports your lower back behind the waist.
Pull up a footstool that’s a comfortable height.
Put your foot up.
Roll that foot from side to side like the windshield wiper on a car.

You can do this 10 times to start, one foot at a time.

Roll one foot in circles, in one direction, ten times.
Pause to the count of ten.
Roll the foot in the other direction.
Pause to the count of ten.
And then roll your other foot in circles the same way.

This is a simple and effective way to strengthen and relax your hip and leg muscles.

January 3November 3

How To Get Rid Of Swelling In Your Legs Caused By Sitting At A Desk

If you sit a lot during the day and your legs swell but the swelling goes down overnight try these suggestions.

When you are stuck at the desk do the same thing that is recommended during air travel:

I call them ‘butt-ups.’ Squeeze your buttocks; make the buttock muscles tight so that you get pushed up.

If you did this several times, you would look like you are bouncing. Do it several times in a row.

The muscle contractions get the blood and lymph fluid moving. You can do this with large or small squeezes. You can also alternate sides–left, right.

Also, to help reduce the swelling in your legs, at other times, lift one Continue reading “How To Get Rid Of Swelling In Your Legs Caused By Sitting At A Desk”

January 23November 6

Restless Legs Natural Relief

Tingling, creepy, crawling, wiggling, bugs-under-your-skin feelings? This is what restless legs can feel like.

It’s really quite annoying because it usually kicks in just when you start to relax or fall asleep.

Dr. Andrew Weil is an alternative M.D. and he suggested there is no cure in an article but he had several suggestions. I do, too. I’ll share mine in a bit.

Dr. Weil said:

1. Stop smoking. Smoking impairs blood flow to the legs.

2. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. They can both make symptoms worse.

3. Take a calcium/magnesium supplement at bedtime. He suggested 500 mg of calcium citrate and 250 to 500 mg of magnesium to calm muscles.

4. Exercise, stretch or massage your legs. He said this helps most people who Continue reading “Restless Legs Natural Relief”

November 21November 6

Sciatica – Causes and Natural Cures of that Nervy Pain in Your Hip and Leg

Sciatica is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve. The pressure can be from bones or from muscle. Most often it seems to be muscle. The good news is the pressure can often be removed from the sciatic nerve without surgery.

Sciatic nerves are really large.

They are about the thickness of your index finger and run from the lower part of your spine through the bony hip area. The nerves pass through thick muscles in your buttocks, one on each side.

The gluteal muscles are the powerful muscles in the back of your hip (your buttocks). One of those muscles–a deeper one–is the piriformis. The piriformis muscle can be a cause of the nervy pain in your hip and/or leg. When it is, it is often called “pseudo-sciatica.” (Pseudo means false.)

If the nerve is being compressed by the spinal bones, it is Continue reading “Sciatica – Causes and Natural Cures of that Nervy Pain in Your Hip and Leg”

November 5November 7

Do Your Feet and Legs Ache?

When our feet and legs ache it is often because we aren’t using all of our muscles. I’m going to give you two quick, easy ways to correct that and to feel better fast.

Our ancestors used to run around barefoot. They ran through streams, through cold water and over rough grassy lands. They ran over rocks and pebbles.

They probably had to run so they wouldn’t get eaten!

But, today we usually don’t have to worry about large animals chasing us.

We wear nice shoes that protect the soles of our feet from stones and sticks and dewy grass. We don’t have to use the muscles of our feet and legs to stabilize us. Our shoes do that for us. Many of us wear shoes all the time, even in our homes.

Here’s Simple Pain Relief Tip #1 – The 10-Minute Tip

* Get a tennis ball, preferably, or a golf ball. Naturally, the tennis ball is softer and easier to press against, but the golf ball can get to smaller muscles.

* Stand up and balance yourself by holding the back of a chair or a wall, something sturdy.

*Support all of your weight on one foot.

* Place your other foot on the ball and apply pressure to the ball. Use a fair amount of pressure, enough so that you are aware of the ball.

* Apply pressure in long strokes from your heel to the ball of your foot several times. Keep moving the ball along the length of your foot. Press lengthwise along the outside of your foot, the middle, and the inside of your foot.

* Then move the ball from side to side. Press firmly but gently into the ball of your foot and the bottom of your heel.

* Keep rolling on the tennis ball for five minutes.

When you are done, put your “rolled” foot on the floor. See how much different it feels from the “unrolled” foot.

Now roll the other foot!

Here’s Simple Pain Relief Tip #2 – The 2-Minute Tip

I attended a presentation by a podiatrist. He likes people to be barefoot. He even did his presentation barefoot!

He had this quick and easy way to get circulation and movement back into all the muscles of your legs and feet.

Stand up and balance on one foot. To do this, lift one leg and tuck that foot behind your other ankle.

If you need to lightly touch the back of a chair or a wall to keep your balance, until you get used to it, that’s okay.

Balance on that one foot for one minute. While you are balancing, you will feel that you are using all of the muscles in your foot. You will feel your toes gripping and the sides of your foot trying to stabilize you.

After one minute, put that foot down. How does your foot and leg feel now?

Then balance on your other foot.

If you have really flat feet, without much of an arch, this will be a little harder than for the average person. Still keep practicing, anyway. It’ll be good for you.

Another benefit of this balancing act is that is will help you have stronger legs and be more able to keep your balance as you age.

And, the foot doctor pointed out, if you do this at a party, the conversation will seem much more interesting!

Using your legs and feet like this uses all of the muscles in them. And there’re a lot! It strengthens your muscles as well as helping your legs and feet feel better.