Many people experience varicose vein pain, and I happen to be one of them. There are a lot of good articles about what varicose veins are and what kind of treatments are available. I would like to share with you some of the techniques that have worked for me.
First, and foremost, I will say that when I am very thin and in tip-top condition, my painful varicose veins do not hurt at all! So my number one recommendation for dealing with varicose veins is to eat right and get plenty of exercise! It is hard to have enough time to stay in truly optimal condition, and I don’t! But I stay in pretty good condition, by doing a few little things that anyone can do anytime, anywhere. These simple steps reduce my varicose vein pain a great deal..
One of the most important things I do is watch my diet. This helps keep my weight down and guards my general health. I eat pure foods as much as possible. Avoid high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils as if they were poison (since they are). Use natural sweeteners honey and molasses, and choose oils like olive oil, peanut oil, walnut oil, etc. Avoid processed foods and opt for foods in their natural state as much as possible. Get your roughage, fresh fruits and veggies, and stay regular. It makes a big difference.
Drinking and cooking with pure water is one of the easiest and most essential things you can do to enhance your health. You don’t have to go broke doing this, and you don’t have to pollute the planet with plastic bottles. Get yourself a purifying pitcher and use it for all your drinking/cooking water needs. I have used the same simple filtration pitcher for about 12 years, and I am very happy with it.
I use a supplement called horse chestnut seed extract. This is the main ingredient in an over-the-counter medication called Venastat. Horse chestnut seed extract has been scientifically proven to work by strengthening the walls of your veins, especially in the legs, and it really does work! I recommend you go to a good health store and just buy the herb capsules. They cost about half the price of the brand name product, and they work just as well or better. I have been using horse chestnut seed extract for over ten years. Using it keeps the pain in my legs down to an occasional twinge. I take 3 – 300 mg capsules a day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night. Experiment to see what will help you, starting out with just one capsule per day (with food) and adjusting as needed. Understand that it may take a week or two to feel the results. Once you have started feeling the results and adjusted the amount to suit you, stick with it. Even though it takes a while to build up a therapeutic level, if you miss a couple of days, your pain will return.
I also take a B-50, 2000 mg of vitamin C, 400 IU of E, 400 IU of cod liver oil, and 2 fish oil or flax seed oil capsules daily. The B and C both help thin your blood so it will have less tendency to clot and pool. C also helps the body manufacture collagen and elastin which are used in repair of damaged veins. Vitamin E helps prevent blood clots as well as promoting healthy tissues. The other oils are not specific to treatment of varicose veins, but they do help your body repair damaged tissues and are just generally beneficial to overall health.
As far as exercise goes, as I said, when I am in absolutely perfect condition (by this I mean 113 pounds of solid muscle) I have no varicose vein pain. However, it takes 45 minutes to an hour and a half of aerobics, weight work, and stretching every day to achieve this! It just isn’t practical. Here are a few little things I practice that do help a great deal without consuming massive amounts of time.
I keep my legs moving, even when I am sitting. Get a pedaler, wobble board, and/or stepper to use anytime you are sitting. Whether you are at your desk or watching TV, don’t let your legs just settle. Keep them moving to increase circulation and give yourself some light exercise. If you have to sit for a long time, be sure to get up and walk around every now and then to increase your circulation.
I sit in a rocking chair! I read a study a while back that said that seniors who sit in rocking chairs reap all kinds of positive benefits from the constant, gentle motion and exercise. Among them were improved circulation and joint flexibility.
Sit on an exercise ball while you work at your desk. This is a great way to get passive all over exercise because you are constantly shifting to keep your balance, but you really don’t even notice it. It also increases circulation. One tip: When you inflate your ball to use as a desk chair, keep it a bit soft. If it is too hard and springy, it won’t be comfortable and you will have a really hard time staying on it!
When I am standing in line, I don’t just stand there! I shift from foot to foot. You’ve seen elephants do it! There’s a reason! It keeps the blood from pooling in the legs and feet. As an added bonus, shifting back and forth is weight bearing exercise. You are putting all your weight on first one leg and then the other. This works your muscles and helps build up bone density. There is an excellent exercise method called Synergetics that is based on this motion. It is gentle, safe, very effective, and not time consuming. I have included a link in the resources box.
Sneak squats into your daily activities. I do about 60 squats anytime I make a breakfast shake or smoothie! Using the blender is the perfect time to do squats. No kidding! Be sure to have all your ingredients ready before you start. Get in position, and start blending your shake or whatever! For soft ingredients, I do 5 squats between each addition. For things like ice, I do ten! These do not have to be dramatic to be effective. If you have knee problems, just do very minimal squats (or you could do walking in place, calf raises or some other no impact lower body exercise). Be sure to maintain proper posture. Keep your back straight! No arching! And don’t extend your knees past your toes. Squats work the muscles in your thighs and increase circulation in your legs, and this really helps with varicose vein pain.
Elevate your legs for about 10-15 minutes a day. By this I mean really elevate them. Lie on your bed or on the floor and prop your legs straight up against the wall with the soles of your feet pointing up. This will exercise your veins and relieve the pressure of any blood that may have pooled. As an added bonus, done just before sleep, this exercise is very relaxing. It is also a very highly recommended yoga posture: The Inverted Lake Pose or simply the Legs Up The Wall pose. I have heard yoga instructors say that if you can do only one yoga posture a day, this is the one to choose because it is so beneficial to your overall health. It is good for your lower back, your spine, and your heart and increases blood circulation to your brain.
After lunch rest awhile. After dinner walk a mile! If you do no other active exercise, do these two! Take a brisk walk or bike ride every day! Ten to twenty minutes is enough. Honor your body and get plenty of rest. That is not specific to varicose vein pain care. It just makes good sense. A well rested body is better able to heal itself, and stress just magnifies any existing problem. So be sure to get plenty of rest and take good care of yourself! These are the things that work for me! I hope some of them will be helpful to you!
