Since past few years, swelling in feet and ankle has become a common problem, which is now seen even in the younger population. Some common causes include prolonged walking or standing for a longer period of time. Swelling because of such activities is harmless and gets treated without any external treatment. However, in some cases, there may be sudden swelling in feet and ankle, which may be. Accompanied by chronic pain. In such cases, it’s necessary to know about the cause. And it’s treatment. Following are the main causes of swelling.
1). Injury: Injury is one of the major reasons for swelling in foot and ankle, and the major reason for injury is an ankle sprain. An ankle sprain results when the ligament, which is connecting ankle with feet gets misaligned, because of a misstep or intensive exercise or any sports injury.
Treatment: An easy and quick treatment for an ankle sprain is R.I.C.E. treatment, which stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. Give your feet some rest, apply a pack of ice 3-4 times a day to the sprained area, applying compression bandage or belt to the injury and then elevating your feet higher than your heart level can help you treat your injury/sprain in your feet and ankle and reduce the swelling.
2). Infection: People who may have had a cut or bruise in their feet, must check the area regularly for any infection that may arise out of it, which can cause swelling in your feet and ankle. Infection in feet is also common for patients with diabetes and in those patients; an untreated infection can also result in gangrene, in which a part of your body tissue dies down because of undersupplying of blood.
Treatment: The treatment for infection in feet and ankle depends on the severity of the case and differs from case to case. However, in most cases, your doctor would prescribe an antibiotic to fight the bacteria in the area. In the case of Gangrene, your feet and ankle specialist may recommend surgery to remove the infected tissue.
3). Blood clot: Swelling in your feet and ankle could also be because of a blood clot in your leg. Usually, it occurs in one side of the limb. If you have swelling, with acute pain in one of your limb, then it may be a case of blood clotting.
There are two types of blood clots happening in the body.
- 1) Superficial blood clot: This happens in a vein closer to the body.
- 2) Deep vein blood clot: This occurs in a vein deep inside the body.
Usually, cases of blood clot demand immediate medical intervention, since at times clot may reach your heart, lungs or brain, which can be life-threatening.
Treatment: In case of a blood clot, the doctor would prescribe you with anticoagulant, which would stop the blood clot from getting bigger. The two most widely available anticoagulant in the market are warfarin and heparin.
4). Venous insufficiency: This is the condition when the valves present in veins of your legs become insufficient and hence the blood cannot flow back too heart from legs, which results in swelling. Apart from swelling, the person with venous insufficiency would also experience skin ulcers, change in skin colour and infection.
Treatment: For not so severe cases, the doctor would recommend exercises, compression belts and elevating legs. For severe cases, the doctor would also prescribe medicines, along with about mentioned recommendations.
Swelling in feet and ankle during pregnancy: Swelling in feet and ankle is normal during pregnancy. It may become worse if the pregnant lady walks or stands for long. However, if the swelling in your feet is accompanied with swelling in face and hands along with headache and nausea/vomiting, then this may be a case of Preeclampsia, the condition which occurs due to high blood pressure during pregnancy.
Treatment: the treatment option for preeclampsia can vary greatly from case to case, and it is best to consult the doctor for the most suitable treatment option.
Dr. Parth Parekh
DNB(Orthopaedic) ; D (Orthopaedic) ; M.N.A.M.S (Orthopaedic)
Consultant Orthopaedic Foot And Ankle Surgeon
CIMS Hospital
Science City Road,
Sola,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat India 380060