Top 7 Exercises for Leg Edema or Swelling (Program or Protocol for Edema)

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March 2025. For the original video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQxfWKLaYUU&t=163s

Mike: Are you dealing with lymphedema or swelling in your legs?

Brad: Well, your luck today, we're going to go through seven different exercises that are going to help that lymphedema and swelling go away.

Mike: Yes, we're actually going to take a trip down memory lane and look at an old video with Bob and Brad in it, but make sure to stay tuned after that because we're going to be talking about what Bob did for the swelling he has in his legs.

Brad: That's right. So let's get ready for that memory lane trip.

Bob: All right, so with edema or swelling, what often happens is that gravity is pulling fluid from everywhere in your body, and it often settles in your calf, ankles, and feet. The thing is, if you want to get rid of fluid, it's not going to go out your toes. It has to go back up into your trunk where it gets processed, and then it gets expelled from the body. In other words, you urinate or pee it out.

Brad: Right.

Bob: To be graphic. So we have to get the fluid back up into the abdominal region. So that's why it works really well if you can take, like, a leg wedge. We often recommend this for back pain too.

Brad: Yeah.

Bob: Or if you just take some pillows and put them underneath your feet and get your feet up higher than your heart if possible. But that's doing a pretty good job. But also you can do these in a seated position. It's still going to help. It just won't be quite as effective. So we got the seven exercises. Let's get started, Brad. Before we do, do you want to do a little bit of deep diaphragmatic breathing, which kind of clears the area here? And if you know how to do diaphragmatic breathing, or as a review, when you breathe in, your abdomen is actually expanding, and that opens up the diaphragm. So when Brad breathes in, you can see it expanding; when he breathes out, it actually goes down. And that's the opposite of what people quite often think.

Bob: A lot of times they think if I breathe in, my chest should go out. But it's actually, you want your diaphragm to go out. So five quick breaths, and then we can go on and start the exercises. So the first one, just to kind of get a little movement in the abdomen here, we're actually just going to do kind of flexing forward here for five times. I'm sorry, these are all 10 to 15 times actually; let's stick with 15.

Brad: Okay.

Bob: 15 times. So you're just going to kind of come forward a little bit here. Very easy to do. 15 times, we'll say we're up to 15, all right?

Brad: Sure.

Bob: So people could follow along. Number two, you're actually going to rotate the trunk using your hips. So Brad's going to go ahead and do that. He's going to use his hips. I'm actually going to rotate in the chair, going back and forth. You can actually put your hands together like this. Again, the idea is you're going, well, I'm trying to get fluid outta my legs. Why am I working on my trunk? You have to clear the drain, basically.

Brad: Right.

Bob: The drain is plugged; the fluid is not going to be able to go up into the body and be processed.

Brad: One metaphor that I heard from Aaron, who's certified in this, he said, imagine your belly button is the drain. And that's where this fluid has to get up to. So we want to clear the area here first so it's not like a dam preventing that fluid from your legs and ankles from coming up this way. So we're starting at the stomach and working down that way.

Bob: I've definitely seen it on patients where there was a dam, and actually once we cleared it up here, the fluid started to go down. All right, next one, Brad is butt squeezes. So on this one, you're not going to be able to see me do it really, but I'm just squeezing my butt together. And again, you want to hold it for like three seconds, and we're going to go up to 15.

Bob: Okay, next one, marching in place. So Brad, he's just doing hip flexion, you know, unilaterally, you know, going back and forth. Good, 15 times, you got it, number.

Brad: Oh yeah, we're good.

Bob: Then we're doing kick outs. There you go, yep, excellent. Brad, you're a good student.

Brad: Well, I've been practicing, Bob. I really would like to say, you know, you can certainly use pillows, but if you're going to be doing this for any length of time, you know, this leg wedge is not that expensive, and it's much more comfortable, and they work better than a couple.

Bob: It is a handy thing that you could even fall asleep on if you have edema; that would help matters. Next one, you're going to go just do some ankle pumps. So, yep, I'm doing alternating. Brad's doing, well, you were, either way.

Brad: I like doing alternating, but I can do it this way too.

Bob: This is one you can do throughout the day. You know, even when you're standing, you could do some ankle pumps like this, and the final one is just wiggle your toes.

Brad: Yep.

Bob: You start wiggling the toes. This little piggy went to the market, right, Brad?

Brad: No, Bob, why Bob, why?

Bob: This little piggy said Why Bob, why Bob all the way home.

Brad: But you can clearly see we started with trunk flexion and we worked the muscles here and we just went down the way.

Bob: And to be honest, Brad, what you should do is you want to go that way.

Brad: Yep.

Bob: And the next time, if you want to do a full thing, you can go down and then come back again.

Brad: Okay.

Bob: Or the next time, start with the toes and then go up. Just to mix it up a little bit. And get the fluid moving. So good luck with your edema. Hopefully we can get that resolved.

Brad: Oh, Mike, we're back, we're back to the future. And you are here, I mean, the present. Anyways, so Bob had swelling specifically in his foot and his ankles. But a lot of people with lymphedema, it'll swell in the foot and actually swell up towards the knee. Now one common way to help combat that is using compression socks. Very common; I have a pair on right now, and the unique thing about compression socks is they compress more in the foot and the ankle, pushing the fluid up; we don't want it to go the other direction. Less pressure here, but there's still pressure there, and it helps that movement upward. Now, if you just take a regular sock or if these socks, for example, roll down like this and you have a tighter compression up higher on the calf, that's actually a tourniquet.

Brad: You do not want to have that. Now, if you do want to use compression socks, don't just order them, you know, online or wherever. Make sure you talk to your doctor about it first. They will give you the specific amount of compression because these socks come in different levels of compression. They'll help you get the right ones and have someone show you how to put them on because they don't go on real easy. I know I used these with my parents, and they didn't like to wear them because they were tight, and they struggled, and my dad just said, I'm not going to wear them. But you can get devices to help put these on very easily. They're not too bad if you have nimble fingers and your fingers are strong, but if you've got arthritic hands, it can be a challenge. But there are more than one type of device that will help you get them on with ease.

Mike: Yes.

Brad: I'm stumbling here; help me out.

Mike: You're rambling a little bit. There are some different sock aids you can try to use to help put the socks on. Anyway, the next thing Bob actually did was he used a foot massager. He used it three to five times a day, which is a bit excessive for me, but I guess I don't have foot swelling. I do enjoy them.

Brad: Don't forget about this.

Mike: Yes, so this one's actually one we sell; we have a couple different models. This is the bigger one; we have a light version, but you can adjust the settings and intensity on it. You can have heat as well as how it kind of massages the bottom of your foot. This model comes with the remote, so if you don't want to bend over and press the button on here, you can just simply press the remote. But yeah, this is a pretty handy thing. I like using it, and I have no issues with it.

Brad: Yeah, that just feels good.

Mike: Yeah, now if you're still struggling with circulation in your legs, specifically your ankles, you can watch "Improve Leg Circulation & Reduce Ankle Swelling Fast."

Brad: It's a nice adjunct to this video.

Mike: Yes.

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