Do the circulation boosters work?

The circulation boosters are products that you see widely promoted in television commercials and infomercials and print media with claims that they can improve and boost the circulation. You also see a lot of celebrity endorsements for this type of product. The claims that get made are usually made with caution as there is no evidence that they actually do boost the circulation. No research has shown that these devices lead to any meaningful or beneficial effect on the circulation to the feet and legs. The concept behind a circulation booster is that they use electric muscle stimulation to contract and relax the muscles, thereby increasing blood flow to your legs and feet. This can help the blood flow from the feet back up to the heart. They do that for the short time that you are using the device, but the effect will last no longer that the time that the foot is on the device.

If you really want to boost your circulation then get out and go for a walk. That will do substantially more for improving your circulation than spending money on one of these devices. Increasing the heart rate for periods of time, gently loads the vascular system and leads to improvement in the blood supply. There are also plenty of other benefits from a gentle exercise program than just improving the blood supply, so everyone should be doing it anyway. If you have not exercised for a while then it might pay to check in with your doctor first.

Having said that, the electrical stimulation may prove useful for some people with some types of nerve related pain in their feet. This means that there are no shortages of testimonials that they "work" as they could help some of these problems. They are certainly not helping because they improve the circulation. They are helping some of the symptoms because of the electrical and vibratory stimulation of the muscles. It is hard to pick those that will or will not benefit from this type of relief. Despite the length of time that these circulation boosters have been on the market there is a distinct and obvious lack of scientific and medical research supporting their use.

Another way of looking at it, why are all the vascular surgeons not recommending the circulation boosters for their patients? They are the specialists that deal with blood supply and vascular issues in the lower limb and you will never see any of them recommending these types of products to improve the circulation in the lower limb. Afterall, if theses devices did work, don’t you think they would all be recommending that their patients and those with blood supply issues get help from these devices. There is a reason for why they are not doing this. Also, there is a reason why so many circulation boosters are being sold on second hand websites such as eBay. That is simply because the circulation boosters no not really boost the circulation and do not help those who buy them so many are selling their devices second hand.

Craig Payne is a University lecturer, runner, cynic, researcher, skeptic, forum admin, woo basher, clinician, rabble-rouser, blogger and a dad.