Physical pain is an unpleasant and multifaceted sensation. The presence of a pain factor signals that there is a problem in the body. By locating and describing the type of pain the patient is experiencing, the specialist will be able to identify their source and cause. If the presence of varicose veins is suspected, general clinical examinations (blood, urine) and probably instrumental examinations will be required to accurately differentiate the problem.
However, in order to independently determine the presence of a problem and bring it to a specialist, it is important to highlight it on the basis of usual fatigue or malaise. What kind of pain does a person with varicose veins experience? What is their specificity? And what treatment is possible in this case? You will find answers to these and other questions in our article.
Pain in the legs with varicose veins: symptoms and causes
Pain with varicose veins is not the only manifestation of this disease, but it causes severe discomfort. How severe is pain in the legs with varicose veins? Of course, there are differences in individual sensitivity thresholds, but the intensity of most pain syndromes is due to the peculiarities of the actual pathological process.
Expert opinion
Pain in the legs with varicose veins includes a wide range of unpleasant feelings: pain, spasms, cramps, burning, distension and pressure along the venous bed. They are of a sudden, tender and throbbing nature.
As a rule, the pain syndrome is felt less or more acutely, depending on what position the body is in, whether it is loaded with any load at the moment or not. Pain also has such a property as time dependence. This means that with the arrival of a certain time of day, the pain syndrome begins to intensify. So severe pain occurs with varicose veins starting in the second half of the day. Varicose veins in the uterus and varicose veins in the small pelvis, where severe pain is often felt in the abdomen, also have a similar dependence on time.
An insidious disease such as varicose veins covers the entire limb and can cause pain in the joints of the lower leg, calf muscle and popliteal cavity. The person experiences the most acute unpleasant sensations within the neurovascular formations. In the area where the vascular bundle lies more superficially, edema in the legs may also occur. This is another sign that varicose veins are progressing and there is already a violation of lymph outflow. Does swelling make your leg pain worse? Of course yes. Puffiness, formed as a result of disorders of the venous system of the lower extremities, is characterized by compression over the affected vessel and even a local rise in temperature. The combination of such signs as pain in the vein and its deformation, persistent, persistent edema and trophic changes indicate stage II varicose veins. This stage is considered an advanced form of the disease. To prevent this, it is important to know the provocative factors for this vascular disease and its exact symptoms.
The presence of even one of the following symptoms should warn and ask you to see a doctor:
- a feeling of heaviness in the legs and a feeling of muscle weakness;
- tingling and burning along the veins;
- feeling of inner pressure or "bloating"
- the appearance of telangiectasia and an increase in the venous pattern;
- bulge of deformed veins;
- trophic skin changes;
- long non-healing wounds on the legs;
- edematous phenomena;
- numbness in the lower extremities
- leg muscle cramps;
- pain syndrome.
No disease occurs alone. There are definitely factors that can be called provocative. Varicose veins are no exception, so their appearance may be due to:
- hereditary disposition;
- congenital weakness of connective tissue and vascular walls;
- inactive lifestyle and static sports;
- excessive physical activity
- forced prolonged standing or sitting (for example, at work);
- inappropriate nutrition and obesity
- the presence of bad habits;
- pregnancy and childbirth;
- hormonal imbalance;
- soft tissue damage;
- surgical procedure;
- liver disease.
Based on the presence of these factors in a person, he is included in the risk group for the development of vascular pathology. How is the risk of developing the disease minimized? What can you do if you start to experience pain in your legs? How and how to relieve or reduce leg pain with varicose veins? How to help yourself relieve the symptoms of varicose veins and how to treat blood vessels, further in our article.
Leg pain with varicose veins: prevention and treatment
Before you start engaging in the prevention and treatment of vascular disease, is it worth understanding a little about why there is pain in the legs with varicose veins? Pain in the legs with varicose veins occurs due to the fact that an irreversible pathological process occurs in the veins, under the influence of which they stretch and deform, the blood circulation is disturbed and venous stasis occurs. Therefore, preventive measures and treatment will be aimed at strengthening the walls of the veins and not solely to get rid of pain. With varicose veins, the legs require special care and attention. What should be done when the first signs of the development of pathology begin to appear?
The very first thing to do when something hurts is to consult a doctor.
If, after a series of manipulations, a specialist finds out that pain is caused by varicose veins, the appropriate treatment will be chosen. It will help get rid of manifestations of varicose veins and improve the quality of life because varicose veins are not a phrase.
When treating absolutely any disease, in the first place is the recommendation to change lifestyle. It is simply impossible to be a healthy person with a passive lifestyle, bad habits, imbalance in daily routine and wrong diet. Therefore, the first step that helps to eliminate pain in the legs with varicose veins will be a qualitative change and the formation of a healthy lifestyle. It is necessary to bring harmony to the way of working and resting. Work should not be associated with excessive physical and mental stress. Rest should include a full, healthy night's sleep. Leisure time must be used actively - staying in the fresh air and playing sports. The latter include swimming, running, aerobics. Any non-hitting and not overloaded with powerful physical activity classes.
Expert opinion
In order for the vein walls to be strong and elastic, it is important to eat properly. Here, a specialist, depending on the stage of the disease and its dynamics, can offer a therapeutic diet. The main principle on which it is built is balance. The diet should include foods enriched with vitamins, fiber, plant fibers, flavonoids, etc. It is useful to eat lean chicken or beef as well as lean white fish, berries and fruits with vitamin C, dried fruits (raisins, dates), almost all vegetables, nutsand legumes, cereals and natural non-carbonated beverages. It is necessary to exclude fried, salted, smoked and spicy.
If for some reason an additional source of nutrition is required, a specialist will prescribe it - a complex of venotonic vitamins and plant extracts that work simultaneously in several directions due to the content of active natural components in its composition. By taking this remedy you can strengthen and clean the walls of venous vessels, improve blood circulation, reduce capillary permeability and fragility.
Depending on which specialist determines the stage of the disease, it will also depend on how the disease will be treated - conservative or radical.
Conservative treatments include:
- taking medication;
- use of external products
- physiotherapy;
- wearing medical compression stocking.
The use of drugs will stop the damage to the venous bed, control the level of blood viscosity and the formation of blood clots and will also have an antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory effect. Taking medication in combination with the use of local remedies will increase the positive effect on the veins. You can use an ointment or cream for pain with varicose veins, not only for treatment but also for prevention. The action depends on the composition of the product. The components in it can be both synthetic and natural. Products with a synthetic composition are used not only to remove swelling, fatigue and pain, but also to recover after a vein surgery. Varicose veins in its initial stages, during pregnancy or in danger can be resisted using products with a natural composition. Their effectiveness is directly related to the active natural ingredients included in the composition. Foot cream with extracts of chestnut, green tea and ginkgo biloba has a venotonic effect, which helps to relieve pain in the legs with varicose veins. Thanks to the use of this cream you can relieve inflammation and pain as well as improve the appearance of the skin.
Medical gymnastics will make an important contribution to the improvement of the venous system.
Daily exercise, no harder than morning exercises, helps to remove the unpleasant feelings of numbness in the limbs, cramps and feelings of heaviness. The set of exercises is chosen individually, taking into account the possibilities and the situation. At home, the most popular are "Bicycle", "Scissors" and a stand on the shoulder blades. In an office environment, sitting at a desk, you can also stretch your legs by simply turning your feet, bending and unbending your toes.
To improve blood circulation you need to relieve unpleasant symptoms like swelling and pain, daily use of compression stockings is recommended. The type of product and the degree of its compression are chosen taking into account the dynamics of the disease.
The radical therapy includes invasive and minimally invasive methods. Specialists try to resort to them last, in cases where conservative treatment does not help or the situation is considered difficult.
Take care of your health!