Heavy Legs: Why & how they develop

If you experience heavy legs from time to time, standing on your feet all day and travelling by air may trigger the sensation. No matter when the feeling hits, you will be able to identify the predicament – tightness, discomfort, and the desire more than anything else to lie down and make the feeling disappear. If you’re on holiday in a hot country, heavy legs can stay with you for your entire break, which is far from ideal. Let’s take a look at why and how heavy legs develop and what you can do to treat them.

Understanding heavy legs

When swelling occurs in your legs, it is known as oedema and is a direct cause of the build-up of fluid in the tissues within your legs. While it can occur anywhere in the body, your lower legs are most prone to the problem. This is because the bottom of your legs are furthest away from your heart, which means that gravity plays a role in the way that blood is pumped around your body. As a result, the odds are stacked against your ankles, feet, and lower legs, which is the main reason why lots of women experience the sensation of heavy legs and swollen ankles and feet.

If you experience heavy legs because of hot temperatures, the condition is known as heat oedema, and it is caused by the dilation of blood vessels in the heat. You might also get heat oedema by having too much salt in your body. Heat oedema is most common among older people and pregnant women, but it can also affect people who are unused to the heat.

What can you do about heavy legs?

Thankfully, heavy legs are a temporary condition, and the swelling and puff will probably go down after a few days or weeks. However, in some instances, heavy legs may be caused by lipoedema, which is a chronic form of fluid retention in the limbs and requires treatment. When you’re suffering from heat oedema, it’s so important to stay hydrated and check your sodium levels. You can also turn to the right products to cool your legs while keeping them elevated while seated can also help.

One product that is made for heavy legs is Air-Lite by Legology. As a fluffy cream/gel hybrid, Air-Lite was developed to be a dependable product when your lower legs feel the heat. It consists of a unique Lymphology Complex, which can successfully reduce puffiness while also relieving fatigue, aches, and general pains within your legs. Here are some top tips to ensure that you apply Air-Lite as intended for the best possible results:

• Keep Air-Lite in the fridge in hot weather until you’re ready to apply it.
• Use your body brush on your legs and spray your legs with cold water from the handheld shower – this will encourage lymph and circulation in your legs.
• Apply Air-Lite upward from your feet to your knees and then over your thighs to your hips.
• Use your thumbs to massage the cream around your ankles and up your legs.
• Once applied, lie flat on your back for at least ten minutes, with your legs raised against the wall. This will help the fluid drain from your legs toward your pelvis.

Be sure to check out Air-Lite alongside Legology’s innovative cellulite products, which can help to improve the general feel and health of your legs.