Lifestyle Changes That Can Help Varicose Vein Treatment

Modern day laser focused varicose vein treatment has made many people in their sixties feel like they’re in their fifties again. Likewise, people in their forties, who feel like they’re much older due to the crippling heaviness and pain in their legs, feel spritely again after outpatient varicose vein treatments. These treatments are performed in a matter of a half hour and involve a recovery time of only a day to a couple of weeks.

Now, having said the above, patients can delay the need for varicose vein treatment, and multiply the benefit of having these procedures, by making certain lifestyle changes that really aren’t all that hard to do. Moreover, these same lifestyle changes will help with other prevalent diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Below is a discussion of some of these relatively easy lifestyle changes that can make a profound difference.

Walk More

You might be surprised at how just a little bit more walking every day can improve your circulation by a lot, thus delaying the need for varicose vein treatment and or helping to make the most of the varicose vein treatment you’ve already received. We’re not talking about hiking for miles or walking any charity marathons either, although these activities could be fun for those who can.

At lunchtime, make a point of walking for ten to fifteen minutes. You don’t need to “speed walk.” Just go at your own pace and enjoy your surroundings while you walk.

If you can’t walk at lunchtime, try to walk either in the morning or in the evening after work. You may find you enjoy it so much, you’ll want to walk more than once a day.

Find little ways to walk more. Park your car further away from the door. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Attend more activities, such as festivals, that require walking. Instead of talking on the phone or texting back and forth, suggest to your friend you meet at the park for a nice walk and talk.

Get a Dog

Not only will a furry canine friend lift your spirits and do wonders for your mental health, a dog will require walking, at least small walks, several times a day! So, you’ll have no excuse not to walk. Plus, nothing is a better motivator to go for a short walk than those soulful looks from your favorite pooch and those happy tail wags when you do.

Graduated Compression Stockings

Compression stockings put pressure on your legs to prevent blood from pooling, which puts pressure on your veins and makes varicose veins worsen. Most compression stockings are “graduated” which means they are tighter around the ankles and then get progressively less tight as they move up your leg toward your heart. This helps your veins perform their magical trick of defying gravity and moving blood back toward the heart!

Eat Less Salt

Salt is an essential nutrient that we all need but most of us get too much of in our modern diets. If you get too much salt, your body will retain more fluid, putting more pressure on your veins. If you cut back on processed foods, fast foods, take out foods, and deli foods, you’ll automatically eat less salt. Try packing a healthy lunch to work and having a picnic after your short lunchtime walk.

Calf Muscle Exercises

Calf muscles help the veins in your legs carry the blood back to your heart. So, the stronger your calf muscles, the easier it will be for your veins to perform their task because they’ll be getting more help. The easiest calf muscle exercise in the world is to stand up and then go to your “tip toes.” Hold this three seconds (you’ll feel it in your calves) and then go back down again flat on your feet. Repeat this ten times. Once you’ve been doing these a while, you can do several reps of ten. So easy to do and takes very little time!

Pursue a Fun Hobby That Requires Walking

One of the fastest growing hobbies in America, believe it or not, is bird watching. Many people come to it late in life, often after watching birds in their own yard or taking a free nature walk with a birder. One of the “hooks” to this hobby is it gets you outside walking more but not is a strenuous way. Other hobbies like geocaching, golf, beach combing, treasure hunting with metal detectors, antique hunting, and going to flea markets will get you walking more too and you may not even notice it.

Did We Mention Walk More?

Yes, we did but it’s worth repeating over and over again! Walking more, even as little as ten to fifteen minutes a day, will do wonders for your varicose vein condition. If you don’t believe us, get a free consultation with Metro Vein Centers and ask the doctors there. They’ll do a duplex ultrasound test to get a very cool 3D image of all your veins and let you know if you need varicose vein treatment or not. Metro Vein Centers has some of the top vein doctors in the country and many primary physicians make referrals to them when they see their patients experiencing leg pain, swelling, and other symptoms of varicose veins.