Proper circulation is essential to health. Blood flow to the legs and feet can be impaired by a wide variety of conditions and may be a symptom of a more serious underlying condition. It is important to identify the cause of your poor circulation, or at least identify the risk factors contributing to it, and to develop a plan to improve circulation that addresses these causes.
Clothing
One cause of poor circulation may be so obvious that it gets overlooked. If you typically wear very tight pants, socks, stockings or shoes, these items of your wardrobe may be literally choking off the blood supply to your legs and feet. If so, invest in some looser-fitting clothes and diabetic socks. A podiatrist can help you identify items designed to improve circulation.
Lifestyle
Several lifestyle choices can also have a major impact on circulation. For instance, smoking causes constriction of the blood vessels and leads to their hardening over time. Avoiding or quitting smoking can vastly improve circulation. If you are significantly overweight or lead a sedentary lifestyle, this will also adversely impact circulation to your extremities. Losing weight and getting more exercise will address these factors and improve blood flow. Along these same lines, improving your diet by reducing high-fat foods and increasing antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables will also improve the elasticity of your blood vessels.
Medical Treatment
The simplest form of direct treatment to improve circulation to the legs and feet is massage, which stimulates blood flow. Another technique called hot/cold, in which you bathe your feet alternately in very hot and very cold water, also stimulates circulation. There are also a number of pharmaceuticals, such as Plavix, which thins the blood, and Pentoxifylline and Cilostazol, which dilate the blood vessels, that can improve circulation. If your poor circulation is caused by advanced atherosclerosis of the femoral artery, surgical angioplasty can be used to increase the volume of blood flowing to the legs and feet.
