If you have varicose veins with mild symptoms, you can likely benefit from conservative treatment options. These measures allow you to manage your symptoms and can slow down the progression of the varicose veins. Let’s go over some conservative treatment options and find out what to do if they don’t provide relief.
You might avoid exercise because you’re afraid it will make your symptoms worse. In reality, exercise boosts circulation and alleviates symptoms. Exercises that work out the legs are the best for managing varicose veins. Walking, cycling, and time on the elliptical machine can help you control your symptoms. You can also do leg lifts, knee raises, and ankle rolls to help with your symptoms.
While exercise is beneficial, there are some activities you might want to limit or avoid. Heavy weightlifting, especially if you hold your breath and bear down during exercising. This is call a valsalva maneuver and can put pressure on your veins, making your symptoms worse. If you engage in these activities, do so in moderation and monitor your symptoms.
Excess weight also puts stress on your veins. Increased intra-abdominal fat causes higher pressure on the larger intra-abdominal and intra-pelvic veins. The pressure from this excess weight can make your symptoms worse. Many patients notice improvement in symptoms as they take off the pounds. Exercise and weight loss can make a dramatic difference in the degree of varicose vein symptoms.
Varicose veins cause blood to pool in the legs. You can reduce your symptoms by elevating your legs whenever possible. This makes it easy for the blood to move to the heart. So if you spend a significant amount of time watching tv, put your legs up and use gravity to your advantage. Improving your circulation should provide immediate relief.
Compression stockings also help your blood move from your legs to your heart. The stockings put pressure on the lower leg and ankle, boosting circulation by moving the blood into healthy deep veins, so that it can make its way to the heart. To get the best results, you need to wear compression stockings all day until you’re ready for bed.
If conservative measures don’t work, you need to take a more aggressive approach. That might include changing jobs if your current position requires lots of standing and sitting. If possible, switch to a job that allows you to move around more.
You can also undergo treatment for your varicose veins. Minimally invasive treatments collapse the varicose veins so blood no longer pools in them. Then, the blood is diverted to healthy veins returning normal circulation to the heart.
Dr. Vinay Madan at the Center for Varicose Veins offers a full range of minimally invasive treatments for varicose veins. These treatments include radiofrequency ablation (RFA), endovenous laser ablation (EVLA), VenaSeal and sclerotherapy. Call to schedule a consultation or book your appointment online.
