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If you have varicose veins, you probably know it. Most people with the condition have blue lines on their legs that are unfortunately very easy to see.
Many people who have varicose veins, though, don’t know why they have them or how the condition developed. It can seem a bit mysterious, but science has the answer.
Working Against Gravity
The blood in your legs has to travel in an upwards direction to get back to your heart, where it gets a fresh dose of oxygen. That means the blood is moving against gravity. To keep the blood flowing in the correct direction, your veins have valves. When everything is working the way it should, the action of the valves is very precise. They open when your heart pumps to let the blood in your leg veins go up, then close again until the next pump to keep the blood in your veins from running back down into your legs.
Why Valves Stop Working
There are several reasons why the valves in your leg veins can fail.
- Valves can get weaker as you get older.
- You may have a genetic predisposition to vein disease.
- Lifestyle factors, such as excess weight, a diet that’s not particularly healthy, or insufficient exercise can be hard on your valves.
Any of these factors, or any combination of them, can cause valves to get weak. When that happens, your blood can start pooling in the veins in your legs, which makes the walls of your veins weaker, creating the bulging vein look that is typical of varicose veins.
Can Varicose Veins Be Fixed?
There are several things you can do that may help relieve the symptoms of varicose veins:
- Wear compression socks or stockings.
- Eat a healthy diet and lose weight.
- Get up and stretch your legs if you are sitting for long periods of time.
- If these do-it-yourself efforts do not give you the relief that you want, there are several types of vein therapy that can be used to close or remove varicose veins: using lasers, minimally invasive procedures, or injections.
Our vein therapy professionals would be glad to talk to you about which of these procedures would be best for you. Please contact us at 914-295-2202 to request an appointment. The sooner you get started with your vein therapy, the sooner you will get rid of your unsightly and uncomfortable varicose veins.
