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 what pain the patient is experiencing, the specialist will be able to identify their source and cause. If varicose veins are suspected, then general clinical examinations (blood, urine) and possibly instrumental examinations will be needed to accurately differentiate the problem.
But in order to independently determine the presence of a problem and come to a specialist with it, it is important to emphasize it against the background of the usual fatigue or malaise. What 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.
Leg pain with varicose veins: symptoms and causes
Varicose vein pain is not the only manifestation of this disease, but it causes serious discomfort. How severe is the pain 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 due to the peculiarities of the actual pathological process.
Expert opinion
Leg pain with varicose veins includes a wide range of unpleasant sensations: pain, cramps, spasms, burning, bloating and pressure on the venous bed. They are sudden, painful and throbbing.
As a rule, the pain syndrome is felt less or more acutely, depending on the position of the body, regardless of whether it is currently loaded 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. So, severe pain with varicose veins occurs starting in the second half of the day. Varicose veins of the uterus and varicose veins of the pelvis, which often experience severe pain in the lower 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 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, swelling of the legs may additionally occur. This is another sign that the varicose veins are progressing and there is already a violation of lymphatic outflow. Does the swelling make the pain in your legs worse? Yes, of course. Swelling, formed as a result of disorders in the venous system of the lower extremities, is characterized by thickening over the affected vessel and even a local increase in temperature. The combination of such signs as vein pain and deformity, persistent, persistent edema, and trophic changes indicates stage II varicose veins. This stage is considered an advanced form of the disease. To prevent this, it is important to know the provoking factors of this vascular disease and its exact symptoms.
The presence of even one of the following symptoms should alert and prompt you to seek medical attention:
- feeling of heaviness in the legs and muscle weakness;
- tingling and burning in the veins;
- feeling of internal pressure or "bloating";
- the appearance of telangiectasias and an increase in the venous pattern;
- bulge of deformed veins;
- trophic changes of the skin;
- long non-healing wounds on the legs;
- edematous phenomena;
- tingling in the lower extremities;
- muscle cramps in the legs;
- pain syndrome.
No disease manifests itself. There are definitely factors that can be called provocative. Varicose veins are no exception, so their 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 (eg at work);
- malnutrition and overweight;
- the presence of bad habits;
- pregnancy and birth;
- hormonal imbalance;
- soft tissue injuries;
- surgical intervention;
- liver disease.
Based on the presence of these factors in humans, he is included in the risk group for the development of vascular pathology. How to minimize the risk of developing the disease? What can you do if you start to feel pain in your legs? How and how to relieve 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 disease, it is worth to understand a little why there is pain in the legs with varicose veins? Pain in the legs with varicose veins occurs due to the fact that in the veins there is an irreversible pathological process, 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 exclusively at eliminating 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 to do when something hurts is to see a doctor.
If after a series of manipulations a specialist finds that the pain is caused by varicose veins, then the appropriate treatment will be selected. This will help 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, imbalance in daily life and improper diet. Therefore, the first step that will help eliminate the 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 regime of work and rest. Work 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 - to stay in the fresh air and play sports. The latter include swimming, competitive walking, aerobics. Any blows and not overloaded with powerful classes of physical activity.
Expert opinion
In order for the venous walls to be healthy and elastic, it is important to eat properly. Here, depending on the stage of the disease and its dynamics, a specialist may suggest a therapeutic diet. The basic principle on which it is built is balance. The diet should include foods enriched with vitamins, fiber, fiber, flavonoids, etc. It is useful to eat lean chicken or beef, as well as lean white fish, fruits and berries with vitamin C, dried fruits (raisins, dates), almost all vegetables, nuts and legumes, cereals, and natural non-carbonated beverages. It is necessary to exclude fried, salty, smoked and spicy.
If for some reason an additional source of nutrients is needed, then a specialist will prescribe it - a complex of venotonic vitamins and plant extracts, acting simultaneously in several directions, due to the content of active natural components in its composition. By taking this drug, you can strengthen and clean the walls of venous vessels, improve blood circulation, reduce capillary permeability and fragility.
In addition, 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 treatment includes:
- taking medication;
- the use of external products;
- physiotherapy;
- wearing medical knitwear.
The use of drugs will stop the damage to the venous bed, will control the level of blood viscosity and blood clots, and will also have antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory effects. Taking medication in combination with the use of topical agents 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 will depend on the composition of the product. The components included in it can be both synthetic and natural. Synthetic products are used not only to eliminate swelling, fatigue and pain, but also to recover after vein surgery. Varicose veins in the early stages, during pregnancy or at risk, can be resisted with the help of 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 venotonizing effect that will help 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 more difficult than morning exercises, will help eliminate the unpleasant sensations of tingling in the extremities, cramps and a feeling 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 shovel stand. In an office environment, sitting at a desk, you can also stretch your legs by simply twisting your legs, bending and unfolding your toes.
To improve blood circulation, relieve unpleasant symptoms such as swelling and pain, it is recommended to wear compression stockings daily. The type of product and the degree of its compression are chosen 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 where conservative treatment does not help or the situation is assessed as difficult.
Take care of your health!