You work hard to develop strong, shapely gams only to have them tarnished with varicosities. Varicose veins are more than a cosmetic issue, they make your legs feel tired and, in severe cases, can cause pain and leg fatigue and heaviness. If you have some of these dilated, twisted veins, you’re in good company. Up to half of all women past menopause have them. Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to treat them if they pop up and lower your risk for developing them in the first place.
What Causes Varicose Veins?
Varicose veins, or varicosities, are the result of damaged valves inside veins. Veins carry blood from your lower extremities back to your heart. When all is as it should be, blood flows smoothly from your feet and legs up towards your heart. Valves, located inside veins, keep blood moving forward towards your heart and prevent backflow and pooling of blood in your calves and feet. Unfortunately, the valves that prevent backflow become damaged in people with varicose veins. As a result, blood can’t easily move out of your legs and feet and back to your heart. Instead, the blood becomes trapped in the vessels in your legs and the pressure increases. This causes the veins to dilate and expand.
You can get varicose veins at any age but they become more common as you get older. Genetics are a factor too. Want to know if you’re at risk for varicose veins? Look at your mom’s legs. Not to say genetics is destiny, but your risk for varicosities is higher if varicosities run in the family. Being overweight, obese or pregnant puts more pressure on the valves and increases the risk of damaging them.
Sometimes veins become damaged due to trauma like a fall or hard bump to the legs. Some medications like hormone replacement therapy and birth control pills increase the risk. Lifestyle factors do too. Standing for long periods of time and wearing high heels puts pressure on the valves that prevent backflow and can damage them.
Does Exercise Lower Your Risk for Varicose Veins?
With so many benefits, it’s not surprising that exercise helps prevent varicose veins. Aerobic workouts increase blood flow and circulation so blood is less likely to pool in your calf muscles. Walking around and sitting less improves circulation and helps prevent varicose veins and keep them from worsening. If you work an office job, get up and take a stroll every 20 or 30 minutes to get your circulation going. At the very least, stretch your calf muscles and wear compression stockings to give your veins greater support. If possible, elevate your legs when you’re sitting in a chair.
Resistance training can also lower your risk for varicose veins. How so? Resistance training builds strong calf muscles. Strong leg muscles can more easily push blood back to the heart, reducing pressure on the veins in your calves. When you contract your leg muscles, it squeezes the veins in your legs and moves blood back to the heart. Each time you contract your leg muscles during exercise this happens.
Varicose Vein Treatments
What can you do if you already have varicosities? A procedure called sclerotherapy is one option. Sclerotherapy involves injecting dilated veins with a solution that causes the vein to close off and disappear. Previously, the solution was saline but there’s now a newer solution called polidocanol that doesn’t cause the burning and discomfort that saline does.
Another option is a procedure called minimally invasive endovenous laser ablation. With this procedure, a doctor inserts a fine optical fiber into a varicose vein and shoots laser pulses into the vein. The heat and pulses of light cause the damaged vein to collapse. Once the damaged vein is gone, the surrounding veins pick up the slack. There’s almost no downtime and the procedure works for almost everyone.
Which of these methods is better? It depends on which veins are malfunctioning and the extent of the damage. A vascular surgeon can do a procedure called duplex ultrasonography to see which of your veins aren’t functioning properly and recommend the best procedure.
Are There Natural Treatments for Varicosities?
An herbal product called horse chestnut is marketed as a treatment for varicose veins. Some small studies show it may have benefits for people with varicosities, although more research is needed. Horse chestnut also seems to relieve some of the symptoms of varicose veins including swelling, pain and leg fatigue.
Don’t underestimate the importance of diet for healthy veins. Plant-based bioflavonoids from sources like blueberries, cranberries, pine bark, and grape seeds strengthen the walls of veins and help relieve swelling and leg fatigue due to varicose veins. Vitamin C and vitamin E are also important for vein health. Can eating a bioflavonoid-rich diet prevent varicose veins? No one knows for sure but it certainly can’t hurt.
The Bottom Line?
Regular physical activity, more walking, and less sitting, and resistance training can lower your risk for varicose veins and keep existing ones from getting worse. Once you have them, exercise won’t cure them but other treatments like sclerotherapy and laser ablation can destroy those troubling varicosities with minimal pain, discomfort or downtime.
The take-home message? You don’t have to live with varicose veins. If they make you feel subconscious or cause your legs to feel tired or painful, have them evaluated by a physician that specializes in treating them – but keep exercising to help prevent new ones from forming.
References:
New You. “Get a Leg Up”
Medline Plus. “Horse Chestnut”
University of Maryland Medical Center. “Varicose Veins”
Semin Intervent Radiol. Sep 2005; 22(3): 178-184.
doi: 10.1055/s-2005-921950.
Medscape.com. “Varicose Veins and Spider Veins”
Medscape Family Medicine. “Varicose Veins: Evaluating Modern Treatments, With Emphasis on Powered Phlebectomy for Branch Varicosities”
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