Your circulatory system to your lower limb has an arterial supply that takes warm blood containing all the nutrients and oxygen to keep skin and muscles working well out to all the cells that need it. You also have a venous part of your circulatory system to remove waste and the de-oxygenated blood from the lower limb. To find out more about your venous system click on ‘if you have trouble with your veins’
Your arterial supply is important because it will keep your skin, muscle and other tissues working properly. If you have a good arterial supply then you should heal quite quickly if you injure your skin. Healing quickly will reduce the chance of a cut or wound getting infected. If a cut or wound does get infected then a good arterial supply can help limit and fight off an infection.
If you have not got a good arterial flow this may contribute to developing wounds because the quality of your skin is altered which can leave it at a higher risk of injury, poor healing and a higher risk of infection if it takes a long time to heal. Reduced arterial flow can be caused by changes taking place in the arteries due to limited physical activity, your diet, conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, or activities such as smoking.
For some advice on how to help improve your circulation and reduce the chances of some of the unpleasant complications, please read our Peripheral Arterial Disease leaflet.
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