Come on up the view looks good from up here!
On a long flight, there is initially excitement which if you do not have a good entertainment system on board soon followed by boredom, so if you are sitting by a window seat you can at least look out of the window and enjoy the view (for a while)
But while it looks good, there may be a problem developing with your legs if you are on a long flight that may interfere with your enjoyment of the flight and your arrival after it
The problem is that while you have been sitting comfortably in your small airline seat space there are physical and physiological changes taking place in your body that can affect your first few days at your destination, this is commonly referred to as jetlag.
You may find it difficult to eat, sleep you may feel as if you are a million miles away from where you actually are as you look through a fog at what you came to see, this will eventually sort itself out as your body adjusts and you don't have much control over how quickly you get over it.
There is a part of you that you can have some semblance of control over though and that is the legs, you can sit in the seat and passively wait for the problems in the images below to happen or you can pro-actively try to prevent it happening while you are in flight
On a long flight, there is initially excitement which if you do not have a good entertainment system on board soon followed by boredom, so if you are sitting by a window seat you can at least look out of the window and enjoy the view (for a while)
But while it looks good, there may be a problem developing with your legs if you are on a long flight that may interfere with your enjoyment of the flight and your arrival after it
The problem is that while you have been sitting comfortably in your small airline seat space there are physical and physiological changes taking place in your body that can affect your first few days at your destination, this is commonly referred to as jetlag.
You may find it difficult to eat, sleep you may feel as if you are a million miles away from where you actually are as you look through a fog at what you came to see, this will eventually sort itself out as your body adjusts and you don't have much control over how quickly you get over it.
There is a part of you that you can have some semblance of control over though and that is the legs, you can sit in the seat and passively wait for the problems in the images below to happen or you can pro-actively try to prevent it happening while you are in flight
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The writer is lucky he had a narrow escape (He was doing research on swollen ankles by flying from Australia to Europe and deliberately copied what some other passengers were not doing-moving except to go to the toilet-what happened to them?
no one knows except possibly their doctor and hospital)
What Happened?
Other than medical reasons which should have been checked out and have been or is being dealt with what can cause legs to swell?
When sitting in a confined space of an airline seat there is not much to do except read or be amused by the in flight entertainment; this means that the legs are not moving enough to work the leg muscles..
As the flight wears on the legs are really moving very little so the used bood in the lower legs and feet is not being pumped back to the body for refreshing and recirculating.
When it just sits, there is no fresh blood going to the leg muscles so they fatigue and feel heavy and the legs ache; water starts to separate from the used blood into the tissues and as it can't be pumped up the legs back tot the body the ankes swell.
This swelling is a minor inconvenience if this is all that happens; the passenger is lucky compared to the one who develops another problem
Economy Class Syndrome (or Deep Vein Thrombosis)
The writer is lucky he had a narrow escape (He was doing research on swollen ankles by flying from Australia to Europe and deliberately copied what some other passengers were not doing-moving except to go to the toilet-what happened to them?
no one knows except possibly their doctor and hospital)
I developed Deep Vein Thrombosis not from flying but from having an operation that went wrong and things got complicated but the effects and the dangers from it are the same-no different and just as uncomfortable at whatever age group.
I recently discovered a 16 year old very distant relative died from it so age is no barrier for protection
Gravity and the weight of blood in the body
Water is subject to pressure-the deeper it is the more pressure there is at the bottom; on the surface the swimmer feels none, but the deeper he goes the more it affects his body as the pressure increases.
The term for this is Hydrostatic pressure (Hydro-water Static-standing still) and is measured in mm hg. Blood in the body is similar; in a standing person, the pressure at the head is almost non-existent, but at the feet the lowest part of the body, because of the weight of the blood, the pressure is higher.
The body is subject to 2 types of pressure down towards the feet
Pressure from the arteries
The heart pumps blood under pressure to all parts of the body; including the legs; because it is being pumped, this pressure is higher than the standing still pressure (Static pressure)
Static Pressure
Pressure from blood and lymph fluid is held in the lower legs by gravity-this blood and lymph fluid should be returned back to the body by the venous system.
To avoid circulation problems the supply and return of blood from the lower legs should be balanced
What goes down should go back up
To keep the circulation in balance in the legs and reduce muscle fatigue, the same volume of blood should come out of the legs as goes into them.
If not, the balance is upset and problems can happen over the long term
Some of the problems include
What can contribute to this?
The Calf Muscle Pump
The calf muscle pump forces used blood from the lower legs back to the body so it can be replaced by fresh blood
The calf muscle pump forces used blood against gravity up the legs back to the body for recycling by alternately putting pressure on the venous system and releasing it
The veins have one-way valves in them; as the muscles sqeeze, they open, letting blood pass through them; when the tension is released, they close stopping the blood flowing back down towards the feet.
Oxygen depleted blood is progressively moved from the lower legs back up to the body where it is re-nourished with oxygen and nutrients and sent back out again to various parts of the body through the arteries.
To work efficiently, the calf muscles must be working properly
• Sitting in one place-the muscles do not move and provide power to the calf muscle pump
The reason
• Tight stiff sore calf muscles put constant tension on the venous and lymphatic systems.
• They are not working the pump properly so it cannot push fluid against gravity up the legs
• Gravity holds blood and fluid in the lowest part of the body A more serious reason for keeping the legs moving
Deep Vein Thrombosis
This is a problem that can affect anyone who sits for many hours in a confined area without moving, age and sex are no defence against it; it is especially noted amongst airline passenger by the term 'economy class syndrome' although is is also known to affect first and business class as well.
Internal contributors' to deep vein thrombosis
There are many contributors to it's causes such as age, physical condition, family
pre-disposition to it, drugs, high blood pressure, women on the pill; these are internal factors and with medication and advice from a medical practitioner before the flight the chances of developing it can be reduced.
External contributors' to deep vein thrombosis
Young people can be affected through external factors so they do not escape either; drugs, alcohol, young women take the birth control pill, bruising on the legs caused by impact of bags, playing games, and doing high risk activities- and of course
Not Moving
Why is it so?
When we walk and move the calf muscles form a pumping system to get the used blood uphill against gravity; when we don't move it doesn't work.
The blood is made up of many parts- the part we are interested in the clotting agents which are there to form a plug to prevent up bleeding to to death from even a small cut; and the anti-clotting agents which prevent them from clotting until they are needed.
We are also interested in the veins which move the used blood from the feet back to the body so it can be recirculated back through the system again.
The surfaces inside the veins are usually smooth and free of defects to allow the free flow of blood through them, but this can change when there is an infection or there has been an impact.
Small quantities of clotting agents are always present in the blood and are usually removed by cells in the liver, but if the blood slows down they can concentrate at the rough spots in the blood vessels and start to clot.
When a blood vessel is broken, the clotting agent takes over as the dominant agent to prevent the loss of blood.
When movement over many hours is restricted and the blood is moving slowly, the clotting agents are not being removed from the blood and they can start to hang around the damaged area and start the clotting process.
As there is nothing to stop the clot, it just keeps getting bigger and if it is broken away, it can block blood getting back to the heart and beyond and eventually cause death.
If caught in time, medical treatment can reduce the chances of this happening.
While there are systems available to help minimize the chances of developing swollen ankles or a Deep Vein Thrombosis, the most important way is to actually move!
no one knows except possibly their doctor and hospital)
What Happened?
Other than medical reasons which should have been checked out and have been or is being dealt with what can cause legs to swell?
When sitting in a confined space of an airline seat there is not much to do except read or be amused by the in flight entertainment; this means that the legs are not moving enough to work the leg muscles..
As the flight wears on the legs are really moving very little so the used bood in the lower legs and feet is not being pumped back to the body for refreshing and recirculating.
When it just sits, there is no fresh blood going to the leg muscles so they fatigue and feel heavy and the legs ache; water starts to separate from the used blood into the tissues and as it can't be pumped up the legs back tot the body the ankes swell.
This swelling is a minor inconvenience if this is all that happens; the passenger is lucky compared to the one who develops another problem
Economy Class Syndrome (or Deep Vein Thrombosis)
The writer is lucky he had a narrow escape (He was doing research on swollen ankles by flying from Australia to Europe and deliberately copied what some other passengers were not doing-moving except to go to the toilet-what happened to them?
no one knows except possibly their doctor and hospital)
I developed Deep Vein Thrombosis not from flying but from having an operation that went wrong and things got complicated but the effects and the dangers from it are the same-no different and just as uncomfortable at whatever age group.
I recently discovered a 16 year old very distant relative died from it so age is no barrier for protection
Gravity and the weight of blood in the body
Water is subject to pressure-the deeper it is the more pressure there is at the bottom; on the surface the swimmer feels none, but the deeper he goes the more it affects his body as the pressure increases.
The term for this is Hydrostatic pressure (Hydro-water Static-standing still) and is measured in mm hg. Blood in the body is similar; in a standing person, the pressure at the head is almost non-existent, but at the feet the lowest part of the body, because of the weight of the blood, the pressure is higher.
The body is subject to 2 types of pressure down towards the feet
Pressure from the arteries
The heart pumps blood under pressure to all parts of the body; including the legs; because it is being pumped, this pressure is higher than the standing still pressure (Static pressure)
Static Pressure
Pressure from blood and lymph fluid is held in the lower legs by gravity-this blood and lymph fluid should be returned back to the body by the venous system.
To avoid circulation problems the supply and return of blood from the lower legs should be balanced
What goes down should go back up
To keep the circulation in balance in the legs and reduce muscle fatigue, the same volume of blood should come out of the legs as goes into them.
If not, the balance is upset and problems can happen over the long term
Some of the problems include
- Varicose veins
- Poor circulation
- Lymph system inactivity
- Venous return reduced
- Swollen ankles
What can contribute to this?
- Constant sitting-the calf muscles are not being used at all so they do not pump fluid up the legs
- Sitting in one place-the muscles do not move and provide power to the calf muscle pump
- Tight stiff sore calf muscles putting constant tension on the venous and lymphatic systems.
- The calf muscle pump not working properly so it cannot push fluid against gravity up the legs
- Gravity holding blood and fluid in the lowest part of the body
The Calf Muscle Pump
The calf muscle pump forces used blood from the lower legs back to the body so it can be replaced by fresh blood
The calf muscle pump forces used blood against gravity up the legs back to the body for recycling by alternately putting pressure on the venous system and releasing it
The veins have one-way valves in them; as the muscles sqeeze, they open, letting blood pass through them; when the tension is released, they close stopping the blood flowing back down towards the feet.
Oxygen depleted blood is progressively moved from the lower legs back up to the body where it is re-nourished with oxygen and nutrients and sent back out again to various parts of the body through the arteries.
To work efficiently, the calf muscles must be working properly
• Sitting in one place-the muscles do not move and provide power to the calf muscle pump
The reason
• Tight stiff sore calf muscles put constant tension on the venous and lymphatic systems.
• They are not working the pump properly so it cannot push fluid against gravity up the legs
• Gravity holds blood and fluid in the lowest part of the body A more serious reason for keeping the legs moving
Deep Vein Thrombosis
This is a problem that can affect anyone who sits for many hours in a confined area without moving, age and sex are no defence against it; it is especially noted amongst airline passenger by the term 'economy class syndrome' although is is also known to affect first and business class as well.
Internal contributors' to deep vein thrombosis
There are many contributors to it's causes such as age, physical condition, family
pre-disposition to it, drugs, high blood pressure, women on the pill; these are internal factors and with medication and advice from a medical practitioner before the flight the chances of developing it can be reduced.
External contributors' to deep vein thrombosis
Young people can be affected through external factors so they do not escape either; drugs, alcohol, young women take the birth control pill, bruising on the legs caused by impact of bags, playing games, and doing high risk activities- and of course
Not Moving
Why is it so?
When we walk and move the calf muscles form a pumping system to get the used blood uphill against gravity; when we don't move it doesn't work.
The blood is made up of many parts- the part we are interested in the clotting agents which are there to form a plug to prevent up bleeding to to death from even a small cut; and the anti-clotting agents which prevent them from clotting until they are needed.
We are also interested in the veins which move the used blood from the feet back to the body so it can be recirculated back through the system again.
The surfaces inside the veins are usually smooth and free of defects to allow the free flow of blood through them, but this can change when there is an infection or there has been an impact.
Small quantities of clotting agents are always present in the blood and are usually removed by cells in the liver, but if the blood slows down they can concentrate at the rough spots in the blood vessels and start to clot.
When a blood vessel is broken, the clotting agent takes over as the dominant agent to prevent the loss of blood.
When movement over many hours is restricted and the blood is moving slowly, the clotting agents are not being removed from the blood and they can start to hang around the damaged area and start the clotting process.
As there is nothing to stop the clot, it just keeps getting bigger and if it is broken away, it can block blood getting back to the heart and beyond and eventually cause death.
If caught in time, medical treatment can reduce the chances of this happening.
While there are systems available to help minimize the chances of developing swollen ankles or a Deep Vein Thrombosis, the most important way is to actually move!
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|
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Legs raised is passive recovery
First aid needed for leg muscles
The faster the legs receive help, the faster they recover but it is important they get it as soon as possible before soreness and stiffness limits what can be done with them.
Recovery takes different forms
Passive and Active Recovery
Passive Recovery
A constant piece of advice is that lying on the back with the legs higher than the body to help fluid drainage back to the body may help relieve them.
Lying down with the feet up so the legs can drain of fluid may not be an option because as it relies on gravity;it needs time to wait for this to happen and the tourist may want to be out seeing the nightlife.
This means letting the legs have their own way and letting them fix themselves up
This advice is usually ignored because it is too time consuming, if someone has been flying for hours and are on a limited time schedule they do not have time to have their legs elevated waiting for the fluid to drain.
The secret to a faster recovery is to increase the input of fresh blood and increase the output of used blood through
Active recovery
Active Recovery means taking a pro-active role in helping the calf muscles to work the pump at moving the fluid up the legs. This is where the legs are helped to recover using a system that is directed at increasing the circulation so that fresh blood can flood the muscle tissues
The best way to achieve this if you do not have time or the financial ability to pay for a course is to go for the ultra-lite version and use what I use to deal with calf muscle inactivity when it has not been working efficiently-just restart it.
This can be done using
This is applied using
The latest in non-technical, non-invasive 'cutting edge' solutions to fatigued aching legs relief
Light Manual Muscle Relaxation
The Do It Yourself recovery system
The faster the legs receive help, the faster they recover but it is important they get it as soon as possible before soreness and stiffness limits what can be done with them.
Recovery takes different forms
Passive and Active Recovery
Passive Recovery
A constant piece of advice is that lying on the back with the legs higher than the body to help fluid drainage back to the body may help relieve them.
Lying down with the feet up so the legs can drain of fluid may not be an option because as it relies on gravity;it needs time to wait for this to happen and the tourist may want to be out seeing the nightlife.
This means letting the legs have their own way and letting them fix themselves up
- Go and drown your sorrows in a bar (it may cover the pain)
- Go back to the hotel/villa/hostel/ tent and spend the next couple of days not doing any sightseeing (might as well have stayed at home-anything interesting on the television-can you understand the language?)
This advice is usually ignored because it is too time consuming, if someone has been flying for hours and are on a limited time schedule they do not have time to have their legs elevated waiting for the fluid to drain.
The secret to a faster recovery is to increase the input of fresh blood and increase the output of used blood through
Active recovery
Active Recovery means taking a pro-active role in helping the calf muscles to work the pump at moving the fluid up the legs. This is where the legs are helped to recover using a system that is directed at increasing the circulation so that fresh blood can flood the muscle tissues
The best way to achieve this if you do not have time or the financial ability to pay for a course is to go for the ultra-lite version and use what I use to deal with calf muscle inactivity when it has not been working efficiently-just restart it.
This can be done using
- Simplicity
- Predictability
- Consistency-conditions the muscles by repetition.
This is applied using
The latest in non-technical, non-invasive 'cutting edge' solutions to fatigued aching legs relief
Light Manual Muscle Relaxation
The Do It Yourself recovery system
- No disrobing
- Works with the muscles not on them
- No oil used
- Non invasive
- User friendly
- Easy to learn
Even a horse training rink in Denmark
Turn Your Accommodation into a Micro-Recovery Center
People usually travel economy class because they have financial constraints; while there are companies that specialize in muscle recovery after a long flight, they operate mainly in the big city hotel areas and can be expensive for the budget traveler.
A cheaper option is to have a system that is do it yourself and flexible enough to do anywhere at any time and does not need equipment to be carried; this will cut down baggage wieghts and be easier to carry.
Where ever you stay,it can be turned into a
mini recovery center
People usually travel economy class because they have financial constraints; while there are companies that specialize in muscle recovery after a long flight, they operate mainly in the big city hotel areas and can be expensive for the budget traveler.
A cheaper option is to have a system that is do it yourself and flexible enough to do anywhere at any time and does not need equipment to be carried; this will cut down baggage wieghts and be easier to carry.
Where ever you stay,it can be turned into a
mini recovery center
