Many patients come to our office with swollen and tender feet and legs. Commonly these patients will complain of leg pain while standing or tightness around the legs. Often times if the swelling gets severe enough patients may have a hard time wearing shoes.
Typically chronic swelling that occurs in the foot and leg is due to fluid buildup. There are muscles within the veins of the leg that push blood back to the heart. As we age those muscles get tired and cannot push blood up to the heart as effectively as they should. Blood then becomes sluggish in the vein walls and swelling occurs. Swelling that is due to an inefficiency of foot and leg musculature of the veins is called venous insufficiency.
Venous insufficiency is a common problem that needs to be evaluated by a foot specialist or your primary care physician. If left untreated this could lead to clot in the leg called a deep vein thrombosis or a clot in the leg. A multitude of other problems can occur from a clot.
There are many simple treatments that can be performed within a podiatrist's office to diagnose this problem. There is a vein test that actually tests the muscles of the veins.
Once a diagnosis has been established treatment options are multiple depending on the diagnosis. There are oral medications to decrease fluid in the blood. There are also stockings that compress the foot and the leg and cause a constant pressure on the leg to keep swelling down at all times. There are even shoes which we stock in our office that accommodate daily swelling issues of the foot and ankle.