Struggling with Feet Swelling During Your Period? Try These Tips

 

Fluid retention and bloating are uncomfortable symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) - an umbrella term for all the discomfort women experience leading up to a period. Swollen feet can be one of the main sources of discomfort during PMS and your period. In fact, one study found that women feel water retention to be one of the most common symptoms after cramping and back pain. When fluid build-up occurs in the lower limbs, women may suffer from edema that leads to painful swelling of the feet and ankles. This research article reports that swelling or edema during PMS or your period is caused by extra fluid retention because of hormonal fluctuations.

If you struggle with feet swelling during or just before your period, this is likely caused by water retention and worsened by lifestyle factors such as having a sit-down job, not hydrating enough, or suffering from poor circulation. To reduce the likelihood of PMS-linked swollen feet, you can:

• Wear compression socks to boost circulation and reduce swelling.
• Ensure optimal hydration levels.
• Elevate your legs as often as possible.
• Stay active.
• Apply self-massage.

Read on to learn more about swollen feet during your period, what causes this, and how you can avoid or solve it.

Easy Tips to Reduce Feet Swelling During Your Period

To reduce the likelihood of your feet swelling, you can adopt a few easy changes that will also improve your circulation and overall health. These include wearing graduated compression socks when sitting or standing for a long time, hydrating and moving your body, elevating the legs, and massaging your feet when you wind down before bed.

1. Wear Compression Socks

Graduated compression socks work by applying therapeutic pressure to the lower legs. They are tighter at the ankles and slowly loosen as they climb towards the knee. This stimulates blood and fluid circulation out of the legs. This reduces the risk of pooling around the ankles, which is how compression socks can reduce feet swelling during your period.

Better blood flow can also help reduce discomfort from fluid retention. This is because compression socks improve lower leg and foot circulation, which removes inflammatory proteins and excess fluid. Increased circulation in the lower legs means more oxygenated blood flows to the muscles, re-energizing them and making them feel lighter and less “heavy.” Studies like this one show that this is why wearing compression socks improves recovery times for athletes.

Finally, the support from knee-high compression socks takes pressure off the lower limbs, which may reduce the impact from standing, walking, or running. This helps women feel less sore during everyday activities performed during PMS, especially if they are struggling with water retention and subsequent feet swelling.

 

 

2. Stay Hydrated but Do Not Overhydrate

Hydration helps reduce bloating and pain during the premenstrual period. This scientific report states that dehydration increases your pain sensitivity, which means that swollen feet or legs during PMS may hurt more if you aren’t hydrating well. Of course, staying hydrated is essential for all bodily functions. This includes hormone regulation and fluid balancing. However, overhydration can cause feet swelling during PMS, especially if you suffer from fluid retention. The Mayo Clinic reports that your daily fluid intake should be:

• 11.5 cups per day for women (2.7 liters)

Importantly, good hydration can reduce headaches and fatigue. We know that insufficient hydration causes lower blood volume, which can trigger headaches. As far back as 1944, scientists made the correlation between dehydration and an increase in heart rate and body temperature, leading to feeling exhausted. Appropriate fluid intake can help you avoid headaches and tiredness–particularly while already contending with other PMS symptoms–.

3. Elevate Your Feet

A soothing, relaxing antidote to swollen and sore feet is simple leg elevation . Prop your feet up on a few cushions at the end of your couch, ensuring that the feet are above heart level, and you will boost venous return and reduce feet swelling during or before your period.

Elevating the feet also removes the pressure on them from your body weight and helps them recover from standing all day or from wearing uncomfortable shoes. Scientific reports found that blood can pool in the legs and feet throughout the day, especially if you don’t compression socks or taking breaks to elevate your legs. Lifting your feet up at the end of the day will help bring down inflammation and swelling. If you can take breaks to do it more often, try for 10-15 minutes at a time and you will notice an improvement in your swollen feet and legs.

 

 

4. Move Your Body

It might feel like the last thing you want to do, but exercise is great for your wellbeing during PMS and your period. Gentle exercise will improve your mood and help blood circulate throughout the body, which helps reduce swelling and fluid build-up in the feet and ankles.

Try to opt for light to moderate physical activity, especially on the first days of your period and if you are feeling sore and/or stiff. Yoga, walking, or cycling can feel good. The key here is to listen to your body and not push too hard. You will still get the benefits for your peripheral circulation, even if you exercise at a low intensity. Additionally, if you wear compression socks while exercising, you will be further boosting circulation while also getting a pleasant massage to your lower leg muscles. Medical research found that walking with compression socks or stockings reduces swelling and pain, so this is a great solution to reducing feet swelling during your period.

5. Massage Your Feet and Ankles

Massage also helps deflate and soothe sore feet. It does not need to be anything complicated: simply place one foot on top of the opposite knee and knead through the foot and ankle gently. You can make a fist with your hand and use your knuckles to push into the sole of your foot - this releases tension and can be extremely relaxing.

To help reduce swelling, even during the day, you can also move your feet regularly (this works while on a plane or sitting at your desk):

• Bend your ankles, then release and point your toes, several times with each foot.
• Rotate your ankles a few times clockwise, then counterclockwise, on each side.
• Roll your feet on a small massage ball.

All these movements help move blood and fluid around the body, preventing it from pooling around the ankles and causing feet to swell.

What Causes Swollen Feet During Your Period?

Studies on edema associated with the menstrual cycle date all the way back to the 1930s, suggesting that around one third of women experienced swelling in their hands and feet or their abdomen around this time. A 2021 study found that swelling is present in 65% of women with PMS. While the exact reasons are not completely clear, anecdotal evidence and medical studies have shown us that hormonal fluctuations during your period and lifestyle factors play a big role in causing swelling, as well as medical conditions that cause poor circulation.

Hormonal Changes and Water Retention

A 2021 study showed that sex hormones (like estrogen and testosterone) have an important role in maintaining the blood and lymphatic system. That study suggests that sex hormones affect a key blood pressure regulation system known as the RAAS system. As a result, lymphedema (swelling caused by lymph fluid build-up) is strongly linked to hormonal fluctuations and has been shown to increase during a woman’s period.

We also know that water retention can increase during your period, which leads to that feeling of heavy legs and swelling in the lower limbs. Moreover, water retention can be made worse by your diet during your period. If you tend to use a lot of salt, you should avoid this during the premenstrual period. There is added salt in processed foods, so avoid these and try to eat mainly whole foods.

Poor Circulation During Menstruation

If you have a circulatory medical condition, such as varicose veins, you are likely to suffer from swelling and discomfort during your period. The hormone progesterone (which allows more blood to pool within vein walls) increases during the premenstrual period, leading to more pressure on the veins. As a result, you are likely to have more of a risk of blood pooling around your ankles, making them and your feet swell.

 

 

Inactivity and Lifestyle Factors

Movement helps your blood flow better throughout the body and re-energizes you after a sedentary day spent in front of a screen at work. Gentle exercise also helps reduce swelling and stiffness in the legs, since you are moving the limbs and allowing your veins to send back some of the blood which will have pooled there while sitting or standing.

If you do not spend a lot of time doing physical activity, start by adding a few gentle walks in your day. Three or four short walks a week can help improve your circulation and mobility, and, over time, you will notice an improvement in leg and feet swelling during your period.

Choosing Compression Socks for Feet Swelling During Your Period

Graduated compression socks are a stylish, convenient, and comfortable way to eliminate swelling and discomfort in the lower legs, regardless of your daily activities or fitness levels. Here is how to choose a pair if you are new to compression wear.

Choosing the Right Compression Level

Not all socks are the same. The therapeutic pressure they apply to the lower limbs can vary, with some being available only with a doctor’s prescription:

• First-time and casual users can start with 15-20 mmHg, which is a comfortable yet effective level of compression that feels supportive and massages the limbs. This is also great for physical activity. Choose all-day comfort with cotton socks or go for moisture-wicking, soft merino wool.
• 20-30 mmHg socks are more appropriate if you have a circulatory condition and need a little firmer support and circulation boost.
• If your doctor deems it necessary, we also offer 30-40 mmHg compression socks by prescription only, to relieve more serious symptoms and improve your wellbeing and comfort.

Finding Your Size

To ensure your compression socks are effective enough, but stay comfortable, we recommend measuring your calf circumference and mapping that against our sizing chart here.

Combining Fashion & Function

Wearing compression socks can be fun and stylish and ensure that you get the therapeutic boost in lower leg circulation you are looking for to reduce feet swelling during your period. At Vim & Vigr, we offer a wide range of lively designs and patterns to add a pop of color to your outfits. If you’re in a more sober setting, you can reach for stylish black tights and leggings that offer full-leg support as well. All our socks and leggings are high-quality, comfortable, and easy to wear, so take your pick!

When to Talk to Your Doctor About Feet Swelling During Your Period

While some swelling and water retention are normal symptoms during menstruation, it may be important to speak to your doctor if you keep experiencing the same problems every month. There could be some lifestyle factors or other underlying conditions to investigate.

If the swelling is uneven (more on one foot than the other), it becomes too painful, or makes it impossible to walk, you should consult with a medical professional right away.

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Feet swelling is not the most common period symptom, but it is something that many women experience because of hormonal fluctuations, water retention, or a series of lifestyle factors or circulatory problems. To reduce swelling and inflammation, you can wear compression socks preemptively or to soothe aching limbs. Elevating and massaging your feet, as well as gentle exercise and good hydration levels, will all help improve peripheral circulation and drain excess fluid and blood pooled around the ankles.

 

 

References

Dennerstein, L., Lehert, P., & Heinemann, K. (2012). Epidemiology of premenstrual symptoms and disorders. Menopause international, 18(2), 48–51. Read it here.

Tacani, P. M., Ribeiro, D.deO., Barros Guimarães, B. E., Machado, A. F., & Tacani, R. E. (2015). Characterization of symptoms and edema distribution in premenstrual syndrome. International journal of women's health, 7, 297–303. Read it here.

Brophy-Williams, N., Driller, M. W., Kitic, C. M., Fell, J. W., & Halson, S. L. (2017). Effect of Compression Socks Worn Between Repeated Maximal Running Bouts. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 12(5), 621–627. Read it here.

Charles, T., Mackintosh, D., Healy, B., Perrin, K., Weatherall, M., & Beasley, R. (2011). Merino wool graduated compression stocking increases lower limb venous blood flow: a randomized controlled trial. Advances in therapy, 28(3), 227–237. Read it here.

Tan, B., Philipp, M., Hill, S., Che Muhamed, A. M., & Mündel, T. (2020). Pain Across the Menstrual Cycle: Considerations of Hydration. Frontiers in physiology, 11, 585667. Read it here.

Pitts, G.C., Johnson, R.E., & Consolazio, F.C. (1944). Work in the heat as affected by intake of water, salt and glucose. American Journal of Physiology. Vol 142(2): 253-259. Read it here.

Guedes, P. M., Saldanha, N. A., Matos, P. M., Carvalho, F. S., Veiga, G., & Norton, P. (2020). Occupational leg edema-use of compression stockings. Porto biomedical journal, 5(6), e093. Read it here.

Yesildere Saglam, H., & Orsal, O. (2020). Effect of exercise on premenstrual symptoms: A systematic review. Complementary therapies in medicine, 48, 102272. Read it here.

Carvalho, C. A., Lopes Pinto, R., Guerreiro Godoy, M.deF., & Pereira de Godoy, J. M. (2015). Reduction of Pain and Edema of the Legs by Walking Wearing Elastic Stockings. International journal of vascular medicine, 2015, 648074. Read it here.

Thorn, G.W., Nelson, K.R., & Thorn, D.W. (1938). A study of the mechanism of edema associated with menstruation. Read it here.