Varicose veins are usually cosmetic concerns many patients dread because of their twisted and bulging appearance. No topical skin care product provides significant results for removing these unsightly veins. But more than these, they may also cause pain and other discomforts, greatly affecting your quality of life. If left unmanaged, patients may experience severe reactions. So you might want to take the necessary steps to avoid or manage varicose veins.
So how can you make your leg with varicose veins more comfortable? To manage your legs and keep them comfortable from varicose veins, you may elevate your legs, apply a hot or cold compress, and wear compression garments. Lifestyle interventions involve keeping a normal weight, improving diet, and exercising regularly. You might also want to shower with cold water and avoid wearing tight-fitting clothes.
What You Can Do to Make Your Leg More Comfortable When You Have Varicose Veins
Varicose veins leave visible veins on your upper and lower leg, leaving many patients conscious about their appearance and affecting their self-esteem. This vein problem can also cause leg pain, swelling, dry skin, and other discomforts.
While you still haven’t undergone any interventional procedure to resolve the affected vein, you may try several steps to keep your legs more comfortable. These may help you manage or even prevent varicose veins from developing.
1) Elevating Your Legs
Varicose veins develop due to disrupted blood circulation, as the damaged vein and weakened valves fail to keep the blood from flowing back. Too much blood collects in the veins, causing them to stretch, bulge, and twist.
If you’ve been sitting or standing for a long time, elevating your legs 3 to 4 times for 15 minutes daily can help prevent varicose veins. You may also prop your feet up above heart level as you sleep or invest in foot elevation pillows. This allows the blood in your veins to flow back to the heart. This not only relieves pain but also promotes better blood flow.
2) Applying a Hot or Cold Compress
To keep your legs comfortable and reduce leg pain, you might want to apply a cold or hot compress to the affected area, depending on the type of discomfort you experience. If your legs hurt because of muscle spasms or joint stiffness, opt for a hot compress. If the leg pain you experience is caused by inflammation or swelling, choose a cold compress. This numbs the affected area and reduces bleeding.
3) Wearing Compression Stockings
Invest in the right compression socks designed for varicose veins. You may find these compression garments at pharmacies. Compression socks apply the right pressure at your legs, feet, and ankles to support blood circulation, especially in the areas where blood tends to pool.
4) Maintaining a Normal Weight
Excess fat applies extra pressure on every blood vessel, greatly affecting blood circulation. Obesity also results in varicose veins because fat deposits cause veins to constrict, allowing blood to pool in various areas. That’s why part of the long-term management of varicose veins is to maintain a normal weight.
5) Avoiding Tight Clothes
Tight-fitting clothes can leave added pressure on leg veins, resulting in or exacerbating your varicose veins. If you have a high risk of developing this venous disease, you may want to opt for more comfortable and loose clothing. Wear flat shoes more often, and save high-heels for special events. High heels disrupt the blood-pumping effect of the feet-ankle coordination when walking.
6) Improving Your Diet
Long-term management or prevention of varicose veins also involves improving your diet – what you eat greatly affects your vein health and overall bodily function. For starters, you may want to observe a balanced diet and cut down on highly-processed and salty food. Food high in sodium increases water retention, which can add extra pressure to the affected vein.
To promote vein health and optimal blood circulation, you may want to incorporate into your diet food rich in:
- Potassium
- Fiber
- Bioflavonoids
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- B-Vitamins
7) Exercising Regularly
Exercising is a vital aspect of preventing varicose veins and promoting optimal cardiovascular health. The blood in the veins works hard to return to the heart because it flows against gravity, but muscle contractions in the legs help pump it. So you might want to ensure the right physical activity, especially if your lifestyle involves sitting or standing for a long time.
Proper Exercises to Manage Varicose Veins
Exercising is vital not only for managing and preventing varicose veins but also for promoting your overall health. If you’re exercising for your vein problem, you should set your expectations and receive a customized fitness plan.
Can You Get Rid of Varicose Veins by Exercising?
No, exercising won’t completely resolve varicose veins, but it can help you manage it, keep symptoms at bay, and avoid your vein problem from worsening. Exercising regularly will also help you prevent this venous disease.
Physical activity can only do much in resolving your varicose veins because its problems lie deep in the veins and vein valves. You’ll need to undergo interventional procedures that target the vein to remove varicose veins completely.
Helpful Exercises for Varicose Veins
Low-impact exercises are the most recommended routines for patients with varicose veins – these promote optimal blood flow without applying extreme pressure on weakened veins. Some exercises to try are:
- Walking
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Yoga
- Rebounding
- Leg lifts
- Calf raises
- Ankle rotations
- Thigh raises
- Side leg lifts
- Ankle rolls
- Rocking
- Toe pull-back
When seeking a physical trainer, you should inform them about your condition. This allows them to come up with a customized fitness plan that accommodates this concern. You can also consult a vein specialist on exercise routines safe for your varicose veins.
Exercises to Avoid Varicose Veins
Physical activity is highly beneficial for patients with varicose veins, but you might want to avoid routines that cause intensive pressure on the legs. This can worsen the pain and other varicose vein symptoms. Some exercises you should avoid or execute with caution are:
- Running
- Weightlifting
- Crunches
- Squats
You might also want to ensure proper stretching and warm-up before and after exercising to avoid muscle cramps and fatigue. Consult a reliable vein specialist to learn more about the exercises you should avoid.
Varicose Veins Treatment for Long-Term Relief
Exercising and other at-home routines are beneficial for preventing varicose veins or keeping them from worsening. But it’s important to note that these steps won’t treat your venous disease and ensure long-term pain relief.
To remove visible veins and relieve pain and other varicose vein symptoms, you should consider undergoing interventional procedures. Vein Center Doctor offers some of the best treatments for varicose veins. If you’re looking for other solutions, like vein surgery, you may consult other healthcare providers.
The Best Varicose Veins Solutions at Vein Center Doctor
Vein Center Doctor is one of the best clinics that offer state-of-the-art treatment for varicose veins with advanced equipment and highly-trained vein specialists. From compression therapy to radiofrequency energy, they offer customized solutions that set you up for success in your wellness plan.
| Varicose Vein Treatment | Description |
| Sclerotherapy | This vein treatment involves injecting a sclerosant into the affected vein to cause irritation and scarring. The treated vein will be reabsorbed into the nearby tissues and fade. Once faded, the blood will reroute to a healthier vein. |
| VenaSeal | A catheter will be inserted into the damaged vein to administer an FDA-approved medical grade glue and close it up. The blood will then flow to a different vein |
| Radiofrequency Ablation Therapy | Heat from radiofrequency energy will be applied onto your vein wall lining to close it up. The RFA device will target your vein via a catheter inserted to it. The blood will then flow to another healthy vein. |
Patients can expect to receive customized treatment plans for resolving their varicose veins. We also guide the patient through recovery with compression therapy. Book an appointment to learn more about our services.
Other Treatments for Varicose Veins
If you’re looking for other treatments for varicose veins, there may be other solutions suitable for you. But most of these procedures also produce similar results to what Vein Center Doctor offers.
| Varicose Vein Treatment | Description |
| Laser Therapy | Suitable for spider veins, broken capillaries, and small varicose veins, this solution involves applying heat with laser energy on the treatment area outside the skin to close up the veins. |
| Endovenous Laser Ablation | Heat from laser energy will be applied on the vein wall lining via a catheter inserted to it. |
| Micro-Phlebectomy | Your vascular surgeon will create small incisions on the skin to access and remove the affected vein. |
| Vein Ligation and StrippingThis varicose vein surgery is an outpatient procedure with general anesthesia. Incisions will be created to access the vein. The affected vein will be tied and removed from the legs. |
Say Goodbye to Varicose Veins at the Vein Center Doctor
Aside from their unsightly appearance, varicose veins also cause leg pain, swelling, itchy and dry skin, and other discomforts. Some of the ways to keep your leg comfortable from this vein disease are elevating your legs, wearing compression stockings, applying a hot or cold compress, and wearing comfortable clothing. It also helps to do lifestyle changes, like keeping a healthy weight, a balanced diet, and physical activity.
Vein Center Doctor is the best vascular center for resolving spider veins, varicose veins, and other vein diseases. With our highly-trained specialists, you can expect world-class services in removing your varicose veins and promoting overall vein health. We’re also equipped with the most sophisticated tools and techniques for comfortable and safe procedures. Get started in achieving long-term varicose vein relief today by booking an appointment with us.
