Can You Combat Varicose Veins With Exercise?

Can You Combat Varicose Veins With Exercise?

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Can You Combat Varicose Veins With Exercise?

Can You Combat Varicose Veins With Exercise?

January 16, 2023

Varicose veins affect millions of people. While the only way of removing varicose veins is through medical procedures, you can improve your vein health without taking a trip to the vein clinic. How? With the right exercises! 

At Advanced Vein & Laser Care Center, Our vein specialists have over 30 years of experience and can bring you closer to optimal vein health with their knowledge. 

How a Lack of Exercise Impacts Your Vein Health 

Being older, pregnant, or female are all risk factors for developing vein health. But these factors aren’t really in our control. You can’t help being female or getting older, and pregnancy shouldn’t be avoided to prevent varicose veins. 

However, there is one factor we can control and that’s how active we are. If we’re inactive, we put ourselves at risk of developing venous insufficiency. 

You see, staying still for too long can lead to venous pressure and poor circulation. Plus, a sedentary lifestyle is heavily associated with being overweight, and extra weight only adds pressure to your veins. 

The Reluctance To Exercise 

If you have varicose veins and you’re reading this, you might have some qualms about exercising, especially if you’re dealing with pain. 

We don’t blame you if you’re balking at the idea of moving. Exercise can sound counterproductive. But rest assured, it’s not. Exercise doesn’t have to make your varicose veins worse. With the right exercises, you can avoid adding stress to your veins and minimize your symptoms. 

There’s more too… With exercise, you can prevent the formation of more varicose veins while improving your condition. Exercise can offer you protection by increasing blood flow and circulation. And we can’t ignore all the other benefits exercise provides to your general health. 

Why Exercise is a Great Way To Combat Varicose Veins

Varicose veins crop up when blood isn’t pumped back up to the heart. Instead of traveling up, the blood pools into your legs. Exercise can reverse what’s happening here. Through movement, leg muscles contract. When you squeeze your legs, your muscles can then pump blood back into the body and up toward the heart. 

With exercise, you can strengthen your veins and promote better blood flow. 

The Best Exercises To Improve Vein Health 

OK, so we’ve told you exercise is essential for varicose veins. However, not all exercises are equally great when we’re dealing with varicose veins. Some can make your symptoms much worse. 

To improve your vein health and prevent your condition from worsening, opt for low-impact exercises to minimize stress on your veins. Choose exercises such as walking, swimming, yoga or stationary biking. 

Low-impact exercises are gentle on your veins but will still give you the physical benefits you’re after. With each of these exercises, you’re still going to contract those muscles and reap the benefits!

Specific Leg Exercises For Healthy Veins

You may want to try performing these leg exercises daily to help strengthen your veins. They’re easy to do and you can incorporate them into your day without effort.

The best thing? You don’t need any equipment. You don’t even need to get into your gym clothes!

You can perform the following exercises just about anywhere (although number four may get you some odd looks). 

  1. Calf raises

How to do them: Stand up straight, and push into the balls of your feet so you’re standing on your toes. Lower back down and repeat. 

  1. Feet rocking 

How to do it: While standing up, pretend there’s a ball under the bridges of your feet and just rock back and forth. 

  1. Lunges 

How to do them: Stand up with your feet apart and step forward into a lunge, bending your knee and lining it up with your ankle. Return to the starting position and do the same with the other leg. 

  1. Leg lifts

How to do them: Lay on your back and elevate your legs. When you lift your legs and hold them in position, you prevent blood from pooling into your legs. Doing this can relieve any achiness. 

Exercises To Avoid 

When considering if an exercise is suitable, ask yourself if it can be described with either of the following words: intense or heavy.

Any exercises that are high-intensity are a no-no! These exercises could put too much stress on your veins and could increase your levels of pain and discomfort. 

Heavy lifting should be avoided too. Lifting heavy things can add strain to your venous circulation and do more harm than good. 

Some strenuous exercises you can get around, like jogging. While not an ideal exercise, you can jog on softer surfaces and take your time building up. Take breaks, go slow and be gentle. 

What Else Can You Do To Combat Varicose Veins? 

Besides exercising, there are other ways you can tackle varicose veins. Here are a few ways: 

  • Diet

The typical western diet is packed with salt and fat. This combo decreases circulation and adds pressure to veins. Choose foods that support vein health and circulation instead. 

You can read more on how vein health is affected by diet.

  • Compression stockings 

Wearing compression stockings is a great way to improve vein health. It is an easy way to encourage blood flow. Just slip them on and get on with the day.  

  • Elevate your legs

Try to elevate your legs throughout the day to prevent your blood from pooling into your legs. Stick them up past the level of your heart for the best benefits. 

Want To Get Tid of Varicose Veins? Here’s What To Do 

By far, the most effective way to combat varicose veins is to treat them. Vascular surgeons (like ours) now perform minimally invasive procedures to remove varicose veins.

Proven Procedures are Available at Our Vein & Laser Center, Located in York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

At our Pennsylvania-based center, we provide three highly effective treatments for spider or varicose vein removal: sclerotherapy, ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy and radiofrequency ablation. To find out more about these procedures and how they can eliminate your varicose veins, Get in Touch. 

Ready to take control of your vein health and treat those varicose veins? Book your consultation with our doctors today.

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