How Varicose Veins Develop And How They Become Painful?
Varicose veins are prominent veins near the surface of the skin, which swell up with blood. Varicose veins occur in the legs and occur much more frequently in people who have to stand or sit for long periods of time for example people doing a sitting job. After the veins get overloaded with repetitive pressure from the blood (forced applied due to force of gravity towards the lower part of the body), the walls of these veins start to lose their elasticity and then these veins are no longer able to exercise a strong resistance against the blood. As a result, the veins get stretched too much and lose their resistance to the blood. The tendency to develop varicose veins may be hereditary and is more pronounced during pregnancy. Patients who appear to have varicose veins usually complain of appearance, but some may also experience night cramps in legs, symptoms of fatigue, and a dull pain in the legs with swollen ankles and in this way the vericose veins become painful. For detailed info on how varicose veins develop and how they become painful, read on….
How varicose veins develop?
As you know, blood leaves the heart via the blood vessels that are called arteries towards the body to carry oxygen and nutrients and then the blood continues its journey back to the heart through vessels called veins. The first part of the process where arteries are working is easy since the heart is responsible to pump forward the blood, but the push from certain areas in case of veins is more difficult because all of it drives back to the heart. The regions that are above experience it very easy to push the blood because of the effect of gravity and with little effort, the blood on its own circulates in other structures but when the blood has to come back again to the heart via veins, the body parts which suffer the most in sending unpure blood again to the heart to pump are lower legs where vericose veins are located.
Alternative treatments for varicose veins
The veins of the legs have valves, so that blood cannot push up again to drop under its own weight. This pumping process is done by moving the leg muscles or by walking and exercising and when this process slows down, veins in the legs swell up with blood so the best thing to avoid vericose veins is to walk and exercise your legs to activate the movement of your legs. Varicose veins affect around 1 out of 10 people approximately and so twice as often in women, primarily because of pregnancy (which worsens venous return). Varicose veins tend to become larger over time and can be caused by edema or swelling in the legs and varicose ulcers, which often are preceded by brown pigmentation of the skin.
So now you must be able to understand that how varicose veins develop and how they become painful. According to me, in order to help prevent vericose veins, people should exercise their legs on a daily basis and walk frequently for exercise. If your work requires long periods of sitting or standing, make it sure to walk from place to place during regular hours of work. Avoid tight stockings or any clothing that is too tight on your legs, especially women who stock up their legs too much in the wintertime.
For more info on varicose veins, also check out my other hubs Signs and Symptoms of Varicose Veins and Varicose Veins Surgery and Pain Management With Injections that I published today.