We’ve all heard someone say after a long, hard day, “I just need to put my feet up.” While when most of us say it, we mean, “I just need a few minutes to relax,” there are actually several benefits to elevating your feet. Some of these will make you more comfortable, while others offer real health benefits. At ThedaCare At Home, we can get you compression garments that offer some of these benefits, but we figured we’d share some of the benefits you can achieve simply by elevating your feet. 

Feet Elevation Benefits - Improved Circulation 

Elevating your legs allows blood to return to your heart with the help of gravity. Because it is more difficult to get less oxygenated blood back to the heart through your veins, elevating your legs helps the process. This allows blood to get re-oxygenated so it can be distributed throughout the body again. Elevating your legs can also reduce the pressure on your feet because it stops your blood from pooling in your lower legs. This will help eliminate the development of conditions like varicose veins.  

Feet Elevation Benefits - Reduced Swelling 

Whether it’s due to standing for long periods of time or is the result of an injury, you can experience painful edema or inflammation in your legs and feet. By simply elevating your feet, you can help properly drain the excess fluid that causes this swelling.  

Feet Elevation Benefits - Recovering From An Injury 

If you’ve sustained an injury to your lower body, it can create blockages and disruptions in your circulatory system. These blockages can also cause swelling. By elevating your legs, you can aid your circulatory system in helping eliminate the fluid buildup as it recovers.  

Feet Elevation Benefits - Help With Medical Conditions 

There are a variety of conditions that can lead to swelling and circulation issues. Elevating your feet can help relieve these symptoms for conditions that include:  

  • Varicose veins 
  • Chronic venous disease 
  • Pregnancy 
  • Lymphedema 
  • Diabetes 

ThedaCare At Home also recommends using compression garments to facilitate circulation. We offer a full range of garments and can help you with fitting to ensure you get a properly sized compression garment. Please contact us if you have any questions.