Swollen Ankles

An Overlooked Cause

In general, the tips in part one of my section on swollen ankles have worked well for me. However, I recently had an experience where only acupressure helped. After recovering pretty much from fibromyalgia, I tried going to a gym and using an eliptical exerciser. That was a big mistake. I wasn't on the exerciser for very long, but my left leg and knee hurt for two weeks afterward. I used to walk 1 - 2 miles every day, but after my episode at the gym I had trouble walking from my car the the parking lot into the grocery store. I tried all sorts of yoga poses and stretches, but nothing helped. Finally I turned to my acupressure books.

In the first book I opened, Acupressure for Common Ailments, there was a section on where to press if you have knee pain upon straightening your knee. That was exactly my problem. So I applied the pressure as instructed, and almost instantly my knee started to feel better and the ankle swelling decreased.

Acupressure for Common Ailments

I think what had happened was that knotted muscles in my leg were crimping some of my veins and arteries. This prevented the blood from flowing upward, back into the rest of my body, and caused the blood to pool in my foot and ankle giving it a swollen appearance. By applying counter pressure to the trigger point, it loosened up the knots and let the blood flow better. This also relieved the muscular tension that had been pulling on my knee, causing pain in my knee cap. (The technical term for my knee problem was Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome).

I only had to do the acupressure a few times over the next day, and my leg, which had been sore for two weeks, went back to being even better than before I hurt it at the gym. Now it no longer hurt, but my ankle swelling went down, too. It worked so fast that my husband said that if he had not seen it for himself, he probably would not have believed it.

Related Pages:

Swollen Ankles Part 1 - General treatment tips that have worked for me.

Besides swollen ankles, if you have other features of connective tissue disorders like hypermobility, mitral valve prolapse, scoliosis, pectus excavatum, fibromyalgia, neck pain or related features, check out my Connective Tissue Disorder Site Map.

Natural Therapies for Fibromyalgia Syndrome - Part II, Assorted Tips to Avoid Living in Chronic Pain

Fibromyalgia - Natural Treatments - Part I using moist heat, trigger point therapy and stretching for episodes of acute pain.

Fibromyalgia Diet - simple diet changes designed to maximize muscle relaxation.     

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