Cankles can be a very uncomfortable and annoying condition. These are very common foot ailments that can be caused by many different things. But that doesn’t mean you should just sit back and accept it. What are cankles? Main causes of cankles. What should you do to get rid of cankles? What steps should you take to prevent cankles from occurring in the first place? These are all questions that I hope to answer for you in this article. First, let’s take a look at the definition of the word “cankle.”
What are Cankles?
Cankles are defined as puffy, swollen ankles due to excess water retention. Cankle is a combination of two words “Calf” and “ankle”. It is a swollen area above the foot where both ankle and calf meet.
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What is really happening, is that the swelling of your feet and ankles that are caused by fluid build-up. Cankle can be caused by various things. Most commonly, it’s a result of old age or conditions such as heart disease which causes an accumulation of fluids within your legs.
What are the Main Causes of Cankles?
There are many causes of cankle. What is causing this problem for you will be different from what might cause cankles on someone else.
- Heart disease: If your heart isn’t pumping blood properly as it should, fluid build-up throughout your body and can accumulate within the legs. Blood clots are also very common with people who have issues with their flow of blood.
- Improper Diet: Taking the excess amount of salt wrong type of fats, carbohydrates and proteins can be the cause to why you are experiencing cankles.
- Not getting enough exercise: What is happening with your body when it comes to weight? You might notice that you’re gaining weight which leads to extra pressure on the feet. This could lead to fluid buildup in legs as well as ankles because there.
- Pregnancy: During pregnancy weight of women increases due to the carrying of the baby that causes the production of extra fluid which leads cankle. What you can do is to start taking the proper diet and exercise regularly to avoid these issues. But it is normal for women who are pregnant to suffer from swelling feet and ankles.
- Age: As we grow older our bodies change which causes blood flow to slow down that could result in swollen ankles.
- Obesity: Extra weight and obesity can lead to fluid buildup in the legs which then causes cankles.
- Smoking: If you are smoking on daily basis this could lead to poor circulation of blood that results in swelling ankles or feet. It also leads to damaged tissue that could lead to fluid buildup.
- Medication: Medication also causes cankle. Medicines that are used to treat diabetes and control blood circulation could lead to inflammation of the ankles.
- Fungal Infection: Fungal Infection in legs and tissue also leads to cause cankle
Symptoms of Cankles
The main symptoms of cankles are given below.
- Tightening of legs.
- Aching in the legs.
- Color around the ankle changes.
- Feeling difficulties moving your cankles.
- Appearing dimple after pressing for some time.
- Rashies on your skin and feels warm near the puffy area.
What I suggest here is, consult with a doctor to get the proper diagnosis of cankles symptoms.
Treatments of cankles
Cures may vary with the severity of your condition. Thus, treatments of cankles are mentioned below, so read to know more about treatments of Cankles.
1. Medical Treatments
Some doctors can help you to get rid of cankle with treatments like Botox, Injections of fat, or Filler, Sclerotherapy, Banding, and Surgery.
- Botox: Some doctors inject bovine collagen into the area to make it look fuller and more elastic. This procedure lasts for two years but is very expensive. It can cost up to $1000 in Canada and around £500 in the UK.
- Fat Injection: It is another procedure wherein doctors inject your own fat into the cankles. This is another expensive treatment that costs around $2000 in Canada and £1000 in the UK.
- Sclerotherapy: Treatments are also done to reduce or remove veins. These treatments include sclerotherapy, foam sclerotherapy, laser ablation, radiofrequency ablation, and phlebectomy.
- Banding: This treatment is done by placing a band around the ankle. This treatment tightens up the skin so that no more fluid can accumulate there causing it to be smoother in appearance.
- Surgery: Another means of removing or reconstructing your cankles is through surgery. Some people have had success with this method, but it is pretty expensive and may cause scarring.
There are some medicine that increases cankles so, what you can do is, stop taking these medications or consult with your doctor about alternative medication
2. Weight loss
Weight loss is the most important way to treat cankle if you are a heavyweight person. The more you lose weight, the less stress you will have on your legs. After losing weight you will see that your cankles get smaller. You will want to lose a healthy amount of weight and not go too extreme as this may be bad for your health or cause other issues that negate any treatments or preventative measures you take.
3. Taking Exercise
It is important to do exercise for the treatments of cankles. You will want to do these in moderation so as not to hurt yourself or overdo it.
This is important because the wrong kind of exercises treatments for cankles could be bad for your health and potentially cause other issues.
It is a good idea to visit with treatments for Cankle treatments for Cankles your doctor to make sure you are doing this correctly.
It’s better to stop sitting and standing for a long period of time. What you can do, instead of taking short walks every hour if possible or walking up and down the stairs.
4. Taking Proper Diet
Taking a balanced diet and maintaining healthy levels of vitamins is also important to reduce cankles.
Eat more vegetables and reduce the intake of salt. Avoid eating fatty food such as cheese and butter.
You need to take a proper diet and avoid extra calories intake.
Preventive measurements
You also need to take precautions to prevent getting cankles. Some preventions are:
- Avoid standing for long periods of time.
- Wear proper shoes with good arch support.
- Don’t consume fatty food which leads to obesity.
- Take medicines after the recommendation of doctors.
- Stop smoking because its affects badly on all parts of your body.
- If you have a desk job, stand up and walk around for five minutes every half hour or so to prevent cankles from occurring.
Prevention is always the best medicine when it comes to health-related issues such as this one! So be proactive if you want to get rid.
Conclusion
If you are not feeling pain due to cankles, then there is nothing to worry about. However, if you are in pain or feel tightness on the bottom of your leg, it might be time to seek medical advice.
