insideKENT Magazine Issue 93 - December 2019 | Page 137

HEALTH+WELLNESS
EXERCISING WHEN YOU HAVE
VARICOSE VEINS
IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT EXERCISE WILL NOT GIVE YOU VARICOSE VEINS. IF
YOU ARE GOING TO GET VARICOSE VEINS, YOU ARE GOING TO GET THEM AND THERE’S NOT
REALLY ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT THEM. IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT THAT YOU DON’T
LET VARICOSE VEINS BE A REASON NOT TO EXERCISE. BEING ACTIVE IS GOOD FOR CIRCULATION,
STRENGTHENING YOUR LEG MUSCLES AND IMPROVING BLOOD FLOW.
Varicose veins happen when the valves inside your
leg veins don’t close properly. These valves help
deoxygenated blood travel against gravity back to
your heart and lungs. The valves are one way, so
they open when blood is pushed up and close behind
it to prevent it from falling back down – a bit like a
lock gate in a canal. But sometimes there is a problem
with the valve and it allows blood to leak back down
the vein where it pools, putting pressure on the wall
of the vein. Eventually the vein will stretch and bulge
up through the skin.
Many people are not troubled by their varicose veins,
whereas others experience discomfort, itching and
swelling, and these symptoms often become more
pronounced during exercise. This is because blood
flow increases significantly when you are exercising
– around five litres flow through each leg every
minute compared with one litre when resting – so
prolonged activities, like long-distance running and
cycling, put greater pressure on your veins for long
periods of time.
Some keen runners and cyclists find that varicose
veins have an impact on their performance - pain
and swelling in the legs will cause weakness and
adversely affect endurance. If this is the case for you,
you may find the following helpful:
• Elevating your legs as soon as you can after your
work-out to help blood flow back to the heart.
Putting your feet up means that blood is not having
to work against gravity as much, putting less pressure
on your veins.
• Wearing compression socks while you work out
will help prevent your veins from swelling so much
in the first place. The socks squeeze your calf and
increase the rate at which blood returns to the
heart. Some runners and cyclists choose to wear
these anyway for optimum performance.
• Look into having the problem vein removed. There
are several ways that varicose veins can be removed
without surgery so recovery time is very quick. An
example is endovenous laser ablation (EVLA), a
technique that uses a laser to destroy the vein from
the inside without damaging any of the
neighbouring tissue. The procedure is quick to
perform and you will be able to get back to
exercising soon after.
Varicose vein treatment is not normally available
on the NHS as it is considered a cosmetic procedure,
but most people who choose to undergo treatment
feel it’s worthwhile.
Cooden Medical Group’s Canterbury Clinic
has regular open events for people to come and find
out more about varicose veins, meet the doctors and
find out about the different treatments.
For further information, please visit
www.coodenmedicalgroup.com or call
01227 903038.
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