How to Prevent Feet Swelling While Sitting at Desk? 

Prevent Feet Swelling While Sitting at Desk? Have you ever felt swelling in your feet while sitting at a desk? If yes, you are not alone in this suffering as this problem is a common problem faced by many people as well sitting for long hours on a chair and desk is the key trigger of the problem.

You may experience serious discomfort and pain if your feet swell very often. You might even fail to concentrate on work. However, this can be fixed. Just, understand what causes swelling in the feet and how to prevent feet from swelling while sitting at a desk.

What Causes Swelling in the Feet? 

There could be many reasons behind swelling in the feet. Diabetes, pregnancy, and chronic heart or kidney diseases can be the cause of foot swelling. Moreover, the use of certain medicines such as antidepressants or blood pressure medicines also aggravates the issue.

However, the underlying cause of feet swelling among most desk workers is sitting or standing for a long duration. If you are spending long hours sitting at the desk in an inappropriate posture or using a faulty ergonomic chair, you are certainly inviting this issue.

So, when you sit on a chair, fluids from the entire body build up in the feet, ankles, and legs due to gravity. This build-up of fluids in the feet causes swelling in them. If you are overweight, the problem becomes more serious.

Prevent Feet Swelling While Sitting at Desk

So, as you have understood the roots of the problem, before getting into its solution make sure that your office chair should also comfortable because in many cases it is a bad office chair that comes out to be a culprit.

Improve Sitting Posture 

First of all, try to improve your sitting posture.  All of us tend to cross our legs as it makes us feel natural and comfortable but this practice is not good for our physical health.

Don’t cross your legs while sitting as it relaxes one leg at the discomfort of the other.

The grounded foot experiences more stress and tension as it is supporting the entire body weight while the other receives less fluid intake and decreased circulation.

This imbalanced fluid distribution chiefly contributes to foot swelling so avoid this posture for prolonged times at all costs. Therefore, always keep your feet flat while you sit.

Regular Exercise 

Exercise is very important for good health. Especially if your work is based in an office environment where you have to sit all day long, its importance becomes manifold. Regular exercise helps in pumping fluids from the lower portion of the body back to the heart.

Your daily exercise regime may include leg extensions, ankle circles, knee lifts, and foot pumps or jogging, cycling, or swimming.

Apart from formal exercise, you should exercise in informal ways as well. Take breaks from work, stand up, and walk around instead of sitting in a chair all day long. You can also do exercise while sitting on your chair. Simply keep your feet on the floor and then point the feet upward as high as they can go and repeat it multiple times.

This helps stretch your leg muscles (make sure that you feel a stretch in your calf muscles), improves blood circulation in your lower body, and prevents varicose veins from developing because of poor blood flow. You can also roll your ankle clockwise while making imaginary circles on the floor with the help of your toes. This also helps treat swollen feet.

Other than that, make sure to never avoid any outdoor activity or task that you are assigned. Develop interest in some outdoor games and play them regularly with your friends or children.

Improve Your Diet 

A balanced diet can do magic. So, try to eat healthy food. Eat heart-healthy foods such as leafy green vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Reduce excessive salts from your diet. A low salt diet helps in reducing flood build-up in the feet.

Drink Plenty of Water 

A deficiency of water leads to poor circulation of blood in our bodies. In an office environment, most of us forget to complete our daily water intake. Due to the hectic office routine, we prefer to take coffee or tea instead of water but this practice negatively impacts our health.

So, drink plenty of water throughout the day as it would help in efficient blood circulation and might help in resolving the problem of swollen feet. Make sure to drink 10 to 12 glasses of water a day to fulfill your water intake.

Use Preventive Products for Feet Swelling

Preventive products such as compression socks and stockings can also be used to mitigate the issue. These are specially designed snug-fitting elastic socks that gently compress your legs and feet. These socks improve blood flow throughout the body and prevent fluid retention. These products not only add to your comfort but also decrease pain and treat swollen feet. You can easily find these products both online and in in-house medical stores.

1. Try Under Desk Pedals 

Under the desk, ellipticals are a good way to get a little movement while working on the desk. It helps you to take some extra steps or get daily cardio without compromising your comfort.

It keeps you active while working. Under desk pedals also prevent obesity, diabetes, and heart diseases.

2. Wear Good Quality Shoes 

Uncomfortable or ill-fitted shoes can also trigger the problem. So make sure to wear good quality shoes that are comfortable and have good arch support. Don’t wear shoes that are too tight as such shoes reduce blood circulation and you may end up experiencing feet and leg swelling.

Special shoes designed to prevent feet welling are also available online and in-house markers. Such shoes are made of elastic material and provide excellent support to your feet. However, if they are not easily available use a shoe that has supportive padding and a comfortable sole.

When to see a Doctor?

If you feel difficulty while walking or the swelling is getting painful with time, you should take the problem seriously. Moreover, if your feet are feeling increased stiffness, significant swelling, or pain and you are experiencing swollen legs, and the problem is not going away even after following the above-mentioned tips, it’s high time to visit your doctor.

Last Thoughts!

Sitting all day long in the same posture is the root cause of foot swelling. It happens due to the excessive buildup of fluids in the foot. By improving posture, using a better chair incorporating exercise and a good diet in your routine, you can significantly reduce the issue.