If you have or had varicose veins, you know these swollen, gnarled veins are caused by blood not properly circulating through the lower limbs, and that they are more than just a nuisance. They cause pain and discomfort and can keep you from fully enjoying your life! That’s why the experts here at Chesapeake Vein Center & MedSpa are dedicated to helping you learn how to prevent varicose veins from forming or relieve the pain and discomfort if you already have them. After all, varicose veins can still form despite our best efforts, but certain lifestyle changes can help make them less likely for you.
Some of these tips can help with prevention AND relief, while others are for relief of existing varicose veins only. Here are a few ways you can help yourself avoid or improve the pain and discomfort of varicose veins!
Prevention & Relief: Exercise
Since varicose veins generally form in the legs, ankles or feet, it can make all the difference to regularly exercise in a way that works your lower extremities. The best way to make exercise part of your lifestyle is to find a routine that you enjoy and that is sustainable for you. Whether you commit to daily walks, dance sessions or even something as low-key as yoga or pilates, if it keeps you moving your body every day, it can help to maintain or encourage healthier vein function and blood circulation.
For those already struggling with painful varicose veins, exercising in water is a great option. Moving in or floating in water removes the discomfort caused by gravity or summer heat, making it possibly one of the most comfortable ways for you to exercise!
Prevention & Relief: Maintain a healthy diet
We all know that maintaining a healthy diet is one of the most important things we can do for our overall health, but we’re here to emphasize that it can really make a difference in preventing or relieving varicose veins, as well. Eating healthier foods and losing weight can both help to maintain or improve healthy blood circulation. That being said, everyone’s dietary and medical needs are unique, so be sure to talk with your doctor before making any significant dietary changes.
Prevention & Relief: Avoid standing or sitting for extended periods of time
Your blood doesn’t flow as well if you remain in the same sitting or standing position for long periods of time, and this can often lead to or exacerbate varicose veins. Of course, we don’t always have a lot of choice in this, if we need to sit or stand for long periods of time as part of our job, but it is worth it to make the best effort we can to change positions more frequently. Whether you try using an adjustable standing/sitting desk or set reminders on your phone to stand up or sit down at set intervals, if you’re able to make this lifestyle change, your veins will thank you!
Relief: Compression therapy
For those already dealing with varicose veins, compression therapy via specially designed compression stockings can help to support and encourage healthy blood circulation, particularly while you are running, playing sports or doing other forms of exercise. It may not sound ideal to be wearing stockings in the heat of summer, but we assure you that advances have been made in recent years to the materials used for these stockings, making them more breathable, comfortable and practical than they used to be many years ago.
Relief: Sclerotherapy
This popular, minimally invasive procedure can effectively diminish and even eliminate your varicose veins for long-term relief! Best of all, sclerotherapy requires no downtime and is available from the vein experts right here in Chesapeake. Our own Dr. Surya Challa is a board-certified vein specialist and surgeon, renowned and widely respected for the treatment of varicose veins and spider veins. Dr. Challa has performed over a thousand sclerotherapy procedures and Chesapeake Vein Center & MedSpa is considered a premier destination for sclerotherapy in Chesapeake.
We wish you success in making positive lifestyle changes to prevent or improve varicose veins. If you’re interested in seeking vein treatment from the experts, you can always reach us at 757.819.7633 or you can request a consultation online!