- If you want to get instant improvement
with leg circulation,
it can be done if you approach it properly.
- And we're gonna show you the three secrets
that you need to know in order to do this.
- I prefer to say gems or three pearls.
- Okay. - Whatever,
you're gonna learn a lot in this video.
First, we're covering three concepts
that you'll need to know,
and then we're gonna get into five exercises.
Four of them have a double concept
that really is gonna maximize blood flow in the legs
and get you where you wanna be.
- So he first major concept we first want to look at
to increase blood flow is to stop sitting so much
and get moving more.
- That's right, now the medical community
has adopted the saying: sitting is the new smoking.
That's because sitting really does affect your life
in a negative way if you sit too much.
Alright, now one of the key pearls
that I want to talk about is muscle contraction.
In the legs particularly, muscle contraction acts as a pump
to move the blood up into the trunk where it needs to go
to get reoxygenated.
- We're gonna show you some specific exercises
you can do to perform this,
and we're gonna start from the feet
and work all the way up to your trunk.
- There you go.
The last important concept is gravity.
Make sure you use gravity.
It's easy to do, you just have to incorporate it.
What do you say, Mike?
- We're gonna show you two variations,
one against gravity, and one using gravity as your friend.
- There you go!
Alright, the first thing we're gonna address is the foot,
actually the bottom of the foot
to get the muscles in there working.
They're small muscles.
A nice way to get things loosened up in there
is simply take a tennis ball.
You can use one of these little foot massager balls
with little knobbies on it,
and you simply roll back and forth
for about 30 seconds to a minute.
Do both feet.
Go ahead Mike.
- It's a little less aggressive on the bed
because you're gonna push it down into it
and absorb some of the pressure.
So if you want more pressure, do it in a seated position.
Also, the next exercise is gonna be some toe curls.
- That's right. - In order to do these,
you're simply gonna curl your toe onto your foot.
You can do them with your socks on or without,
probably not with your shoes on.
Or you can also use it by grabbing a towel with your feet,
like Brad is gonna show.
- Yeah, this is a nice way
to actually get some motion going.
You grab and you pull the towel towards you.
So I got all the towel underneath my foot.
I'm done with that foot.
Now I'm gonna start with the other one.
That gets these muscles moving
and increases circulation here.
It's a very good way to be complete.
- Okay, now we're gonna work our way up the legs
and do the ankles and calf muscles.
I'm gonna do this in a supine position,
laying in bed here with my feet raised up.
This is gonna help gravity push the blood flow up
to my trunk like we want.
So you're just gonna have to take some pillows
or a leg wedge to get your feet raised up
above your heart level like I have now.
And you can do 10 to 15 repetitions of this.
Now Brad's gonna show a couple other variations.
- You can do it in a seated position.
You will not have gravity assist like this,
but it's still a lot better than not doing it.
You'll still get the muscle pumping action.
Simply do full range of motion, pull up and go down.
I've got no socks on as you can see right now,
but you can do it shoes on, socks, it doesn't matter.
You're still gonna get the motion.
If you want to get a little more aggressive,
simply do it in a standing position up on your toes
and roll back, and hold onto something if your balance
is a little off so you do not fall, obviously.
10 to 15 of these and you'll feel some nice muscle work.
The blood is already flowing in the right direction.
You're doing great.
We've got another few exercises.
Let's go with that, Mike.
- Okay, now we're gonna start getting some circulation going
in the quads and the hamstrings.
To do this, I'm gonna keep one leg planted
in a flex position like this.
Bring my other one up to roughly a 90 degree angle here.
Then I'm gonna simply kick my foot towards the ceiling,
what's comfortable for you.
You're gonna get a little hamstringing stretch here.
So if it feels tight, that's why.
Just try to do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Go nice, slow, and controlled.
Once you do one leg, switch
and make sure to work both sides.
- So obviously with this, gravity is also assisting,
helping pull the blood down,
particularly when the foot is up
and you do the ankle pumps while you're up there.
In the chair is an acceptable way to do it,
without the gravity assist, of course.
Simply kick up and go down, not real fast.
If you wanna do a bonus, do a few ankle pumps
while you're up, two or three, back down,
and do 10 to 15 of these on each leg.
- And the last exercise in a laying down
or seated position, we're gonna work the glutes
to get that last bit of circulation up your legs.
I'm gonna do some bridges here.
You can put your hands at your side
if you need more support.
You're gonna go up, hold for a few seconds,
and then go back down.
Make sure to breathe throughout this.
If this seems easy, you can always put your arms
across your chest like this.
Now, Brad's got a little bit harder variation
he's gonna show to work those glutes.
- Right, so this is gonna be in a seated position.
We're simply gonna go from here to a standing position,
working large muscle groups in the legs and the glutes.
Make sure you have arm rests if you're a little wobbly.
Make sure you're safe.
If this is easy, you can do it, Mike said, hands here
to get a little more muscle contraction.
Make sure you squeeze those butt cheeks in at this point
to help finish off and be complete
with that muscle contraction,
assuring good maximum blood flow throughout the legs.
I'm getting tired, Mike.
- Are you?
Well, the next exercise is gonna be more tiring, Brad.
- Alright, now this last exercise
does not use gravity at all, there is no option.
We're gonna use a stairway.
It works all the muscles from the feet all the way up
to the hips and it works very well.
It may not be for everyone.
If you have problems and you don't feel stable with this
or strong enough, that's okay, work the other ones.
Go ahead Mike.
- For beginners, make sure to use handrails.
If you don't need them and feel comfortable,
you don't have to use them.
But we're gonna do step ups.
We're gonna do the right leg first,
so I'm gonna lead up with the right foot
and then bring the left foot back down.
We're gonna do five on each leg.
So that would be my second rep, my third rep, et cetera.
Once you get to five, we're gonna lead with the left leg
leading up and then bringing the right leg down first again.
You wanna focus on using the leg that's on the step,
that's gonna strengthen that one a little more.
I'm not trying to push hard with my back leg.
If you need to push with both legs
because you can't get up, it's okay.
But focus on the front leg.
- Actually, I have one little pearl to add, Mike.
For those people who really want to get a complete workout,
stand up and now go up on your toe with that foot.
There you go, so you get those calves working
a little bit more.
It's just a little bonus if you really want
to add everything to that.
- I feel taller doing this.
- Yes, and you look taller, Mike.
I'm very happy. - I'm like Bob!
(Brad laughing)
- Alright, now those are five exercises.
I'd recommend doing them all in order just to have them had.
You can either do them lying down on your bed
or the floor, or in a chair,
and do them at least one to two times per day
to maximize the benefits of getting that blood circulation.
You should feel things moving very well.
Now there is some things if you want to actually purchase
some tools to help out.
We've got two things here.
One of them is a foot massager.
Now this is something that Bob really likes.
You're still using this on a daily basis, Bob?
Not so much anymore, I know you were at one time.
The nice thing about this is it uses compression.
So if you have circulation problems,
particularly in the feet with swelling,
it'll do some compression, which is adjustable.
There's massage heads in there
that actually massage the bottom of the foot,
and it's very comfortable and it feels good.
So you can do that 15 to 20 minutes.
Something else that is a little more aggressive
getting muscle contraction, go ahead Mike.
- So mine's actually an active way to get some blood flow
and this is just a little seated elliptical machine.
Just pedaling this is gonna get the blood circulating
all the way from your ankles and feet up to your hips.
Most of the time in physical therapy
before we worked people, we'd warm them up on this
and they'd feel a lot better
before we started exercising more.
- That's right.
You could use a stationary bike as well,
but this was easier to demonstrate.
Alright, another nice option to get those legs moving
in a seated position is the FitGlide.
It's something that Bob and I actually worked on
and invented, and it works very well.
Big advantages of this, it's a low profile,
you can put it below your desk, at any chair,
and it's very light compared to a device like that.
They work well, but that weighs about 20 pounds.
This you can lift with one finger.
So the way it works is simply down
and you have a real free motion going back and forth.
You can do this for five to 10 minutes.
Doesn't look like much, but I guarantee you
you're gonna get your hamstrings
and your quads feeling exercised.
You can actually flip it up
and have it inclined, working this way,
emphasizing quadricep strength, or simply flip it around,
and this emphasizes hamstringing strength.
And it really does work well.
We've had them out for a few years, haven't we, Bob?
- Mm-hmm. - Yep.
All right, shall we go on?
- We shall.
If you'd like to check out another video
on improving blood flow in the leg, specifically lymphedema,
then you can click the video link right here.
- That's right.
♪ Bob and Brad, the two most famous ♪
♪ Physical therapists on the internet ♪