My feet and ankles are often very swollen and painful during the evening. why?

Swollen foot & ankle: The most common cause of pain and swelling at end of the day is due to venous stasis. This is a condition where the veins become weak and are unable to push the blood back up to the heart and gravity pulls the blood down and causes swelling and pain in the foot and ankle. Start with elevating your legs as much as possible and avoid prolonged standing. If that does not help see your doctor

A few possibilities: There are a few causes of fluid collection in the ankles. All are typically worse at the end of a day of being on your feet. Commonly, this is just an annoying but harmless condition, usually suffered by middle aged women. More serious causes can be hear failure, liver failure, and kidney inflammation. Also, some blood pressure and cardiac medications can cause this to occur. Your doctor can help.

Not why: Why Not: What do you do during the day? Does the swelling go away with elevation? You have any problems with the veins in your legs? How's your heart doing? Any liver problems? Medications? Feeling well otherwise? If all these are OK then you are one of the 23% in whom no horrible cause can be found. You'll need to take a few breaks during the day. If you have any concerns, you'll have to see your doctor.