Tips for reducing swelling post injury
If you fall down some stairs, roll your ankle or strain a muscle, it is a very normal process to swell. Swelling responds to the tissue damage by initiating the inflammatory process which gets rid of damaged tissue and brings new tissue via white blood cells.
But….
Swelling is painful, it makes your muscles stop working, it alters the way you move and the body typically does more than is needed. The sooner you start getting rid of it the better.
For minor things you only have to manage the swelling for a few days but with bigger injuries like flying off a motor bike, getting hit by a car, post bone fracture or falling off a ladder, swelling becomes a bigger problem for a while.
So being good at the art of getting rid of it is important.
Sometimes the basics create the quickest wins in terms of pain relief and better movement.
So I thought I'd share what works in 2026.
1. Elevate your limb above heart level, not just on a stool
A lot of people come in and think working with your foot on a stool is draining the swelling. Your leg needs to be above your heart for it to drain. Lie down and get the ankle higher than your heart for 15–30 minutes, 3–6 times/day. Elevation reduces swelling by helping venous and lymphatic return.
Best position:
Back lying on the couch or floor → calf/ankle on pillows → knee slightly bent → ankle above heart.
I also love the yoga inversion pose legs against wall which is super effective.
2. Use your calf pump frequently
Your calf muscle on the back of your shin acts as a pump which helps pump swelling out of your leg.
Ever notice when you're standing or sitting for a while without moving your leg swells more? Yet when you walk around and are using your calf pump it doesn’t swell as much.
So when you’re elevating your leg do this
Do ankle pumps: pull toes up towards you then point your toes down away from you.
Aim for 30–50 reps every time you elevate your legs, especially after standing or sitting for a while.
3. Use light compression — but not if it increases pressure symptoms
When someone comes in with an acute injury we normally prescribe tubigrip or a compression bandage. Wearing this for a day normally immediately reduces the pain. . It should feel firm, not tight. The athletic compression tights or your fave “active wear” tights are even better for a bigger injury! If you’re still having problems I'd recommend seeing Waiheke’s lymphatic drainage person Chris Hoffman.
Just use a little common sense and make sure it isn’t
Increasing pain
Causing numbness/tingling
Your feet are changing colour
More painful
For the above if you’re at all concerned see one of Waiheke GP’s to exclude anything sinister.
4. Short, frequent walking beats long rest
Remember the calf pump. You use it when you’re walking. Now quite often walking is painful but do your best to walk as normally as possible. Quite often after injury your brain completely forgets how to use your walking muscles. Copy your unaffected side if you get stuck. Do 2–5 minutes of easy walking every 1–2 hours, Just don’t push through pain and make it worse.
Sitting working at your desk is normally the worst. Quite often people are improving well then go back to work and it goes backwards. Avoid long periods with the foot down. Work with your legs up on the couch or elevate your leg at work for 10 minutes every hour. Sitting is often worse than walking because the calf pump is inactive.
5. Avoid alcohol and massage early
For active post-injury swelling, avoid:
hot baths
deep massage
alcohol
aggressive stretching
When you’ve just injured yourself it sucks. A lot of us exercise for our mental health, it makes us feel happy. So when that is taken away from you the tendency is to go have a drink (or bottle). It makes you feel better temporarily but it just slows the healing rate and increases swelling.
You’ll be out there faster if you can avoid drinking. It’s hard, I know.
It also feels like you want to get stuck in with a foam roller, deep massage to speed it up. But depending on what you did, that tissue needs time to settle and vigorous massage makes it worse.
6. Get K Taped by your Physio.
I love K tape. Your lymphatic system is the system that removes swelling. Using tape is really light and helpful to promote lymphatic drainage. It can be incredible the difference it makes quickly.
This was my daily protocol to get rid of a lot of swelling quickly
Daily swelling protocol
Morning:
Light calf stretches pain free x 30 seconds
Yoga inversion pose legs up the wall x 15 minutes Elevate 10 mins → 50 ankle pumps put your
Go for a 5 minute walk with good supportive walking shoes wearing tubigrip or your “active wear” compression tights.
Every 1–2 hours:
30 ankle pumps on back with legs up on the couch→ 2–5 min walk.
After sitting:
Before standing, do 30 ankle pumps first with legs up .
Evening:
Elevate 20 mins in legs against wall or on couch → ankle circles → legs against wall 50 ankle pumps
Feel free to share this with a friend or family member that’s struggling with an acute injury or not getting better. You can always see us here on the island or Nick in the city if you live on the Auckland side (check him out at Beyond Balance Parnell on Tuesdays and Thursdays).