Google "chi machine" or look up other devices that you put your feet on to increase the circulation in your legs. I personally LOVE my chi machine! Sun Ancon seems to be the best quality and most popular. It is expensive but will last a life time and worth every penny health wise. It can be used on the floor or on a firm mattress with a board under the machine so it doesn't over heat. It makes me feel amazing, gets rid of cellulite/toxins, increases immune system, circulation and oxygen throughout the entire body. I love the oxygen rush that goes through my body when it is done working its magic. I'm 68 years young.

Hi Gracie,

The Amla is very useful for multiple health issues because it is a potent antioxidant and it is also antiinflammatory among other things. Although Amla is an antioxidant on its own, it activates the Nrf2/KEAP1 pathway which brings on even greater antioxidant activity. It lowers cholesterol and triglycerides also, but it is not the strongest in this respect. With continued use, you are likely to slowly notice other benefits, but as far as your leg stiffness that comes after sitting for awhile, this can be caused by several issues.

I don't know your age, but if you are around 45 years old or older, it could possibly be a circulation issue. If that is the case, sitting for awhile could expose it because sitting reduces circulation to the legs. A very simple and healthy thing you can try is to start walking everyday at as fast a pace as you feel stable and comfortable with. This will also have longer term health benefits. It may take about a month of regular fast paced walking to improve leg circulation and potentially alleviate the problem if it is caused by poor circulation.

Another potential cause is nerve compression when sitting. This can cause the nerves that run from the lumbar spine into the legs to become slightly inflamed and this could cause the pain and stiffness when you get up. You can ice the lower spine and hip region while sitting to see if this alleviates the pain and stiffness after several applications.

Based on the fact that you said that the pain and stiffness dissipates quickly within a few steps after getting up, I would lean more toward the poor circulation idea because as soon as you stand, better circulation resumes to the legs and as soon as the circulation normalizes within a few steps, the pain and stiffness resolves itself.

Please come back and let EC know if either of these ideas are helpful for you.

Art

I make the "gin soaked raisins" by putting "golden" raisins in a glass bowl. Pour gin that has Juniper berries over the raisins- enough to cover the raisins. I leave the bowl on my countertop-not in the fridge. First day I cover with plastic wrap to let the gin really soak in. Second day I cover with 2 paper towels. I put 2 knives on top to keep the paper towel from dropping into the liquid. Stir once a day for 7-8 days. You will see the liquid turn thick and syrupy. Eat 9 raisins per day. You might see it help right away or it can take 3 months to see results. When I have been sitting on the ground gardening it really helped when I need to get up again. There is much less stiffness. Also read EC about curcumin for circulation too. Good luck Gracie

Hi, I have the same problem or rather did until a week ago when I decided that sugar and all forms of weight would be taken out of my diet. Within a few days, the stiffness had gone. So whether this is a dietary problem I’m not exactly sure but I am excited that I am no longer stiff after sitting.

I have also noticed that the stiffness could be there in the morning when I first woke up and I would have to stretch and stretch to relieve it. However, there is no sign of it now either from sitting or lying.

Garlic.

Turmeric.

Peanuts/peanut butter.

All together are even better. Use fresh turmeric, the powder tends to be adulterated. You will probably notice a difference within hours.

And/or:

Lemon/garlic/olive oil

In a high speed blender combine:

1 whole lemon cut into 1 inch pieces - peel and all.

1 whole *bulb* (not clove) of garlic - skins and root removed. If you smash the cloves with the side of a butcher knife the skins fall right off.

A few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

1 large glass of cold water.

Blend it until smooth and drink it.

Butcher's broom, horse chestnut, red vine leaf may benefit you.

High dose vitamin C, too.

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/vitamin_c.html

I have had some luck taking SAM-e supplements. I get stiff legs and cold easily. The Sam-e effects dopamine levels. From my reading Sam-e is made in your body but some ppl need more. It activates your dopamine. It has been successfully used in treatment of Parkinson's diease, which has stiff movement of limbs. It did give me a headache at first. I found taking a smaller dose more often and working upward on dosage resolved this issue.

I suffered from backache for several years then shoulder ache then knees. I tried chondroitin & glucosamine for some months. Unfortunately they didn’t help me much beside that they are expensive. Then I found Hyaluronic acid with MSM inexpensive from NOW. I didn’t have to wait even for a week. The pain started to ease then gone. I Normally took it when the pain starts until it stops. But since I’m 70 it seems like I have to take it all the time. Hyaluronic acid with MSM almost immediately eases pain and I can’t live without it. Another thing I do everyday is light jump on rebounder for a minute or two several times a day. Nothing hard or jumping high. just shake the body vertically to massage blood vessels to circulate at the same time lymph vessels are pushed by the blood. It eliminate impurities from the system. I always do low jump or baby jump (feet stay on the rebounder, move knees so that the body moves vertically) for a few minutes then go to horses to clean them. The worst part is lift up hooves to clean. I used to have a severe pain after cleaning 2 horses but if I jump lightly on rebounder I don’t have pain anymore. I hope this will help.

Oh please let me join in this conversation about stiffness and circulation. How about, "I have sat down and now I can't stand up, at least one leg has gone numb." That's the way it was with me. I am 68 years old, however my situation started when I was about sixty years of age.

One day I had left my mother's house by bus, to get to the shopping area. This is about fifteen minute ride. In those days my legs would go numb when I sat, therefore I could not walk immediately after standing. So I would always pull or push up and stand the stop before time to get off the bus. This bus was flying towards the last stop, and the driver was yelling sit down, sit down. I replied, I have to give my legs time to get circulation so I can walk off the bus. Those were interesting days.

What I had later noticed about me, was that though coffee had healed me from a bad case of vomiting once (which was why I started drinking it). Coffee gave my legs a numb feeling even if I was drinking it standing. I don't remember the years but not far apart, I began talking Potassium, Magnesium and at least 10,000 IU vitamin D3 with the K2. About 2 years ago, I added Nattokinase. Now that is how I fought and won the sit down numbness situation.

A side note: my first victory over stiffness was when I took 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 for a few days. The problem there is you have to have doctor's appointments to check your D levels. My sister's doctor gave her this once, 50,000 D3 for five days.

Be sure to take your Vitamin K2 whenever taking D3.

HisJewel

For Gracie -

Pain and stiffness that improves with motion is a keynote of the homeopathic remedy Rhus tox. There is a homeopathic protocol using Rhus tox with another remedy to treat arthritis and other conditions.

I encourage you to go to the following website and look around, use the search feature for your condition. She provides a great deal of free information, but you really need to !earn a bit more than just which remedies and potencies to take. So I encourage you to also read the entirety of each article that comes up with your search so you at least have a framework. While she does offer courses, she also does Facebook live events, podcasts, and a blog - amongst other things. While it's best to learn as much as you can, you don't have to take a course or buy anything to benefit from much of her free information.

Good luck to you!I

https://joettecalabrese.com

Hi,

My thanks to everyone who has responded to my request for advice on stiffness in the legs after sitting. I'm blown away with the variety of suggestions and the kindness of everyone who has taken the trouble to reply.

Which remedy do I try first? Possibly the simplest and most accessible! And I will report back on the results.

I feel sure that many fellow sufferers will gain from reading the posts submitted and putting into practice the recommendations.

Thank you once again and stay well!

Avoid sitting for more than an hour at a time (get up and walk around every hour- set a timer if needed).

This might be tightening of the hamstring muscles while sitting. Those muscles cause a large amount of problems if tight (not flexible) and lead to degeneration of the joints, nerves and muscle in the low back and pelvic regions.

To test, sit up in a straight backed chair and try to extend your legs one at a time. If you cannot easily put them to the point where they are straight out in front of you (if there is a tight pulling sensation on the back of your knee or leg) then those muscles are tight and this can cause all manner of disorder to the spine, nerves and muscles in the legs and low back. Begin doing this little light stretch when ever you sit to get the tension lower in the legs.

Safely stretching the hamstring muscles requires that you DO NOT bend over and pull to stretch (this will only injure most people as the hamstring muscles are big/strong while the low back muscles are smaller and much less strong).

Here is the safest and most effective way to stretch hamstrings over time without injury:

Lay on the floor, on your back, with one leg extending through a doorway and the other going up the side of the door (heel on the door jam) as high as is comfortable (non-painful), now gradually move closer to the door jam increasing the feeling of "stretch" on the back of the leg and behind the knee (but not pushing to where it is really painful). Go slowly until your leg is laying straight up against the door jam and the other one is flat on the floor through the doorway. It will take doing this 2 to 3 times daily for about 2 weeks and suddenly you will be amazed at how flexible you are. Try then to pull your leg away from the door jam using your leg muscles only (do not pull on leg with your hands) attempt to get your heel 12 inches away from the door jam. Never force a stretch, that causes injury, go slow and gradually increase the stretch. Stretch for only 2 seconds and then bend the leg to full flexion through the doorway repeat many times. Avoid holding static stretches for long periods until you are feeling no pain, only stretch sensations, then hold for 10 to 30 seconds while relaxing deeply into the stretch.

Do this daily (I have found that before bed is best) and you will prevent major back (nerve, muscle and joint issues) and relieve issues presently causing you discomfort or mobility trouble.

Tight hamstring muscles are the #1 cause of back pain, injury, imbalance and neurological issues. I know all this because I am an RN/worked in an Orthopedic and Rehabilitation hospitals for years. I also had two low back surgeries (age 22 and 33) and countless back injuries from sports and work in the past. Today I am in my mid 50s and still have a strong, flexible back. I am athletic and pain free too, unless I forget and stop stretching my hamstring muscles (then I start to ache and get nerve pain down my legs).

At 22 yrs of age they told me I would never be able to run, jump, do martial arts, etc, EVER AGAIN. They insisted I needed a spine fusion/steel rods in my back etc etc. I said "No, just clean it up in there and I will do the rest." They removed the broken piece of bone against my spinal cord and cleaned up the blown out disc then I walked that day to the bathroom (this was before they did that after surgery back in the 1980s). I had the "Fastest recovery we have ever seen..." the surgeons said (And they had wanted to fuse my spine up my low back). Same thing at age 33, same result. Always have faith in the body healing if you remove the things you're doing that are causing issues and give it what it needs to heal. Movement is the key to healing the joints. Flexibility is necessary for safe movement. :)

Blessings!

Going off sugar and bread, I found the same the stiffness and joint pain gone. Bread turns to sugar in the body and causes inflammation.

Hi this is for Grace, & stiffness in Legs

I like the Amla, which is an Ayurvedic Herb, fabulous, Moringa Is for Inflammation, surprised you are not getting some help with that! This also might be the case, where your gut microbeam is out of whack, that.s your no 1 defense system, so you might try some probiotics, and lack of circulation Cayenne is very good for that and there are devices on the market to rev up the circulation in the legs, also the raisins in Gin, that one has been around for ages, could work, try some Curcumin Phytosome, all needs to be taken throughout the day, and how about trying some yoga, if a beginner on the net you will find actual strengthen for legs

Suma G, Holistic Health Practitioner, Certified Planetary Chinese Herbologist

P.S. Love all the suggestions!!!

Dear Brett,

Thank you so much for this post. It is so helpful and informative. And it makes so much sense. I have never understood the connection between my back pain and leg muscles, or why my chiropractor recommends leg exercises for my back pain.

This also explains why sitting cross legged (which stretches my leg muscles) is so helpful for my sciatica pain.

Thank you again. I am implementing some of your suggestions.

~Mama to Many~

Good Day.

DMSO / alkaline your diet / Movement (walking)