Physical pain is an uncomfortable and multiple feeling. The presence of pain factors signals that there is a problem in the body. By localizing and describing the type of pain the patient is feeling, the specialist will be able to identify their source and cause. If the presence of varicose veins is suspected, then general clinical studies (blood, urine) and, presumably, instrumental examinations will be required to accurately differentiate the problem.
But in order to independently determine the presence of a problem and come to an expert with it, it is important to point this out against the background of the usual fatigue or weakness. What kind of pain does a person feel with varicose veins? What is their specificity? And what treatment is possible in this case? You will find the answers to these and other questions in our article.
Leg pain with varicose veins: symptoms and causes
Pain with varicose veins is not the only manifestation of this disease, but it causes serious discomfort. How strong are the pains in the legs with varicose veins? Of course, there are differences in the individual thresholds of sensitivity, but the intensity of most pain syndromes is a consequence of the peculiarities of the pathological process itself.
Expert opinion
Leg pain with varicose veins includes a wide range of unpleasant sensations: aches, cramps, spasms, burning, bloating, and pressure along the venous bed. They are sudden, painful and pulsating.
As a rule, the pain syndrome is felt less or more sharply, depending on the position of the body in which it is located, whether it is currently loaded with a load or not. Pain also has such a characteristic as time dependence. This means that with the arrival of a certain time of day, the pain syndrome begins to intensify. Thus, severe pain with varicose veins occurs in the second half of the day. Varicose veins of the uterus and varicose veins of the small pelvis, in which severe pain is often felt in the lower abdomen, also have a similar dependence on time.
An insidious disease like varicose veins covers the entire extremity and can create pain in the lower leg joints, lower leg muscles and popliteal cavity. The person experiences the sharpest unpleasant sensations in the area of neurovascular formations. In the area where the vascular bundle lies more superficially, edema of the legs may additionally occur. This is another sign that the varicose veins are progressing, and there is already a violation of the lymph outflow. Does swelling make leg pain worse? Of course yes. Swelling, caused by a disorder in the venous system of the lower extremities, is characterized by compaction through the affected vessel and even a local increase in temperature. A combination of signs such as vein pain and its deformity, persistent, persistent edema, and trophic changes indicate grade II varicose veins. This stage is considered an advanced form of the disease. To prevent this, it is important to know the causes of this vascular disease and its exact symptoms.
The presence of even one of the following symptoms should alert you and encourage you to seek medical advice:
- feeling of heaviness in the legs and feeling of muscle weakness;
- tingling and burning along the veins;
- feeling of internal pressure or "bloating";
- occurrence of telangiectasia and enlargement of the venous sample;
- bulging deformed veins;
- trophic changes in the skin;
- long non-healing wounds on the legs;
- edematous phenomena;
- numbness of the lower extremities;
- leg muscle cramps;
- pain syndrome.
No disease occurs by itself. There are definitely factors that can be called provocative. Varicose veins are no exception, so its appearance can be caused by:
- hereditary predisposition;
- 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);
- inadequate diet and overweight;
- the presence of bad habits;
- pregnancy and childbirth;
- hormonal imbalance;
- soft tissue injuries;
- surgical intervention;
- 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 to reduce the risk of developing the disease? What can you do if you start to feel pain in your legs? How and how to alleviate or reduce leg pain with varicose veins? How to help 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 dealing with the prevention and treatment of vascular diseases, it is worth a little understanding why there are pains 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 a venous path is reached. Therefore, preventive measures and treatment will be aimed at strengthening the walls of the veins, and not exclusively at removing the pain. With varicose veins, the legs require special care and attention. What should be done when the first signs of pathology begin to appear?
The first thing you need to do when something hurts is to see a doctor.
If, after a series of manipulations, the specialist finds that the pain is causing varicose veins, the appropriate treatment will be selected. It will help you get rid of the manifestations of varicose veins and improve the quality of life, because varicose veins are not a sentence.
In the treatment of absolutely any disease, in the first place is the recommendation to change your lifestyle. It is simply impossible to be a healthy person with a passive lifestyle, bad habits, an imbalance in your daily routine and an improper diet. Therefore, the first step that will help 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 work and rest. Childbirth should not be associated with excessive physical and mental stress. Rest should include a full, healthy night’s sleep. Free time should be spent actively - staying in the fresh air and playing sports. The latter includes swimming, running, aerobics. Any unobtrusive and not overloaded with powerful hours of physical activity.
Expert opinion
In order for the venous walls to be strong and elastic, it is important to eat properly. Here, depending on the stage of the disease and its dynamics, the specialist may 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, nuts and legumes, cereals, as well as natural non-carbonated beverages. It is necessary to exclude fried, salty, smoked and spicy.
If for any reason an additional source of nutrients is needed, then it will be prescribed by an expert - a complex of venotonic vitamins and plant extracts, which act simultaneously in several directions, due to the content of active natural components in its composition. By taking this medicine you can strengthen and clean the walls of venous vessels, improve blood circulation, reduce capillary permeability and fragility.
Furthermore, depending on which specialist will determine the stage of the disease, it will also depend on how the disease will be treated - conservatively or radically.
Conservative treatments include:
- taking medication;
- use of external products;
- physiotherapy;
- wear medical compression stockings.
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 antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory effect. Taking medication in combination with the application of topical medications will increase the positive effect on the veins. You can use ointment or cream for pain with varicose veins not only for treatment, but also for prevention. The action will depend on the composition of the product. The components included in it can be synthetic and natural. Products with a synthetic composition are used not only to remove swelling, fatigue and pain, but also to recover from vein surgery. With varicose veins in the initial stages, during pregnancy or in danger, you can resist 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 will help relieve pain in the legs with varicose veins. Thanks to the use of this cream, you can alleviate inflammation and pain, as well as improve the appearance of the skin.
Medical gymnastics will have an important contribution to the improvement of the venous system.
Daily exercise, no heavier than morning exercises, will help eliminate uncomfortable numbness in the limbs, cramps and a feeling of heaviness. The set of exercises is selected individually, taking into account the possibilities and the situation. At home, the most popular are "Bicycle", "Scissors" and a paddle stand. In an office environment, sitting at a desk, you can also stretch your legs by simply turning your feet, bending and bending your toes.
To improve blood circulation, alleviate unpleasant symptoms such as swelling and pain, it is recommended to wear compression stockings every day. The type of product and the degree of its compression are selected taking into account the dynamics of the disease.
Radical therapy includes invasive and minimally invasive methods. Specialists try to resort to them last, in cases when conservative treatment does not help or the situation is assessed as difficult.
Take care of your health!