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Vascular and circulation issues in your body tend to be more common, and not to mention obvious, in your lower legs. Varicose veins, leg cramps, and achy legs are all signs that your lower legs might need a little extra support and attention.
As our name suggests — Upper East Side Vein Institute — Dr. Satjit Bhusri and our team specialize in vascular care, and we provide a wide range of treatments for varicose and spider veins. In the following, we want to review a few ways in which you can do your part to keep your legs healthy and happy.
1. Make exercise a priority
The veins in your legs have a tougher job circulating your blood as they have to surmount both distance and gravity to keep the blood flowing. To help, the veins in your lower legs rely on a little outside support — namely your calf muscles. Every time you take to your feet and move around, muscle contractions help push blood back up to your heart.
A leading cause of varicose veins and other lower leg issues is chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which affects up to 35% of adults in the United States. With CVI, valves in the leg veins don’t shut all the way and blood can pool, engorging the vein and pushing it to the surface of your skin.
So, whether you have CVI or not, a great way to avoid or improve this problem is through exercise. So get moving to keep those calf muscles working.
2. Keep your legs elevated
When you’re not on the go, a way to keep your legs healthy and ease their workload is to elevate your legs when you’re at rest.
3. Lose weight
Carrying extra weight is another road to poor vein health. If you’re overweight or have obesity, there’s extra resistance in your leg veins, which can make pushing blood back up to your heart more challenging.
So, for the health of your legs and your overall wellness, it’s a good idea to lose weight if applicable. And we’re here to help with that through our Wellness Center, which offers GLP-1 weight loss medications.
4. Wear compression socks
In keeping with the goal of helping your blood move efficiently in your legs, we recommend wearing compression socks whenever you can. These socks apply more pressure to your calves and reinforce the work your calf muscles do — moving blood up and out of your lower legs.
Compression socks are especially useful for when you’re sitting for long periods, such as at your desk or when you travel.
5. Don’t ignore vascular issues in your legs
If you see or feel an issue in your lower legs — perhaps you have visible varicose veins or your legs feel crampy — don’t wait to come see us. We offer vein evaluationsto discuss how to get rid of varicose veins through vein treatments and how to improve the health of your lower legs moving forward.
To team up for happy and healthy legs, we invite you to call our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at 212-752-3464. Or you can request an appointment online by clicking here.