Sore Feet and Ankles: Causes and Treatment

Most people experience sore legs and ankles multiple times in their lives. It is one of the compact and complex regions of the body. It has 26 bones and 33 small joints. And everything is held together by soft tissues forming your feet and an ankle. Muscles, tendons, nerves, ligaments, and blood vessels are also present to help form the shape of your feet. Even if one of the joints or one of the tissues is problematic then, your whole feet and ankle becomes an issue.

Swollen feet and ankles are not generally a cause for concern. But you need to look into the matter if it lasts for many days. It can be a cause of heart, liver, or kidney problems.

Here is a list for the causes and treatment of your sore feet and ankles.

1. Edema:

Edema is a common condition that causes swelling of the tissues directly under your skin of your feet or ankle. Possibly, it can also affect your arms. It is caused because excess fluid gets trapped in your body’s tissue. If you feel difficulty in walking, or an increase in the abdominal size or just a patch of stretched shiny skin, then there are chances that you might have Edema.

It can be treated with drugs that help your body to discard excess fluid in the form of urine. Reducing salt intake, lying down with your feet higher than your heart or just practicing wearing compression stockings can help you reduce the symptoms gradually.

2. Drinking Alcohol:

Drinking alcohol has more bad than good to it. It can lead your body to retain more water after drinking, making your ankles and feet to become swollen. In general cases, the swelling should subside with time. But if it does not then it is a major concern for your body.

To reduce the symptoms, you can increase your water intake and reduce the salt intake. Also, soaking your feet in cold water and resting your feet on elevated foot rests can help in such cases. 

3. Kidney Diseases:

If you have kidney problems then there are chances that you have a greater amount of salt in your blood, which causes your body to retain more water. This further leads to swollen feet and ankles. Here, you need to use slippers for swollen feet to walk around pain free.

If you have high blood pressure, chest pain, shortness of breath, dry-itchy skin, nausea or vomiting and increased urge of urination then there are high chances that you might have some kidney disease. And you need to get yourself checked as soon as possible.

The treatment includes diuretics, medications prescribed for blood pressure, statins, cholesterol-lowering, anemia etc. Also, doctors prescribe to increase the intake of calcium and vitamin-D along with its supplements. But you need to ensure a low protein diet.

4. Liver Diseases:

Liver diseases can be generic as well. But other factors like viruses, alcohol, and obesity are also linked to liver damage.

Liver damage leads you to walk in your slippers for swollen feet. It causes sore legs and ankles. It is caused because of excess fluid in your legs, causing swelling.

If you have a painful and swollen abdomen, easily get bruises on your body, and have jaundice-like symptoms such as yellowish eyes and skin then, you need to look for other symptoms as well. Other symptoms include dark urine and pale-bloody or tar-coloured stool with fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. If you have all such symptoms, then please get yourself checked.

Your treatment options include weight loss if in case you also suffer from obesity, medications and surgery are the best options after that. Also, in such cases you need to avoid alcohol to help reduce your symptoms and improve your condition.

Conclusion:

The only reason for your swollen feet is the increase in the fluid content that has no route to escape. You need to reduce the salt and protein intake and increase calcium intake. You also need to lose fat in some cases. But for swollen feet, you can always use foot rests to help your feet recover faster and help you in more relaxation.