How Poor Circulation in Your Legs Can Lead to Lower Leg and Foot Ulcers

Many people assume that slow-healing foot, ankle, and leg wounds are something only people with diabetes need to worry about, but the fact is that anyone with poor circulation — into and/or out of the legs — is at risk.

At Foot Ankle Leg Wound Care Orange County, board-certified wound specialist Dr. Thomas Rambacher and his team have dedicated their practice to helping patients with lower leg and foot ulcers. Based on our collective experience and expertise, here’s what we want you to know about the link between poor leg circulation and lower leg ulcers.

Venous ulcers

Let’s start with lower leg, ankle, and foot ulcers that stem from issues in your veins, which are the blood vessels that carry blood back to your heart and lungs to pick up oxygen.

To keep your blood flowing back up your legs, your cardiovascular system relies on two things:

Strong calf muscles that help to push blood upward
Small valves in the veins of your legs that close as blood passes through to prevent it from spilling backward

A common issue that develops in the veins in your legs is chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which affects more than 25 million adults in the United States. With CVI, the valves that we just discussed start to fail and don’t close all the way. As a result, blood can pool in your lower limbs.

The early signs of CVI include varicose veins (a superficial vein bulges and rises to the surface). Over time, however, people can develop swollen legs due to edema, a condition in which the pressure inside the blood vessel forces fluids out into surrounding tissues.

This leg swelling places you at risk for what we call venous ulcers. The fluid buildup stretches and weakens your skin, making it vulnerable to breaking open. Exacerbating the matter, the edema also prevents healing resources from getting to the ulcer, which can impede healing.

Arterial ulcers

Now let’s shift our focus to ulcers related to issues in your arteries, which are the blood vessels that deliver oxygenated blood to your body.

The key driver of arterial ulcers is peripheral artery disease (PAD), which affects up to 12 million Americans. With PAD, plaques build up in the arteries that service your legs, which is a condition called atherosclerosis.

When this happens, blood flow down into your legs is compromised. With severe PAD, the lack of blood flow into the legs can lead to tissue damage and any wound, no matter how small, can struggle to heal since critical healing resources are unable to access the wound. This, then, leaves the wound open to infection.

Improving the circulation in your legs

So, if you have a circulatory issue that’s compromising the flow of blood into or out of your legs, we recommend:

Exercising more to move the blood and build muscles in your legs
Quitting smoking (and vaping), which damages blood vessels
Using compression socks
Eating heart-healthy foods
Maintaining a healthy weight
Drinking lots of water
Elevating your legs

We’re happy to sit down with you to come up with a more personalized plan for improving the circulation in your legs to avoid ulcers.

To get that ball rolling, please call our office in Mission Viejo, California, at 949-832-6018 or request an appointment online today.