You always keep your ear to the ground when it comes to healthy tips for problem-free veins and Dr. Jimenez has a few for you. Impeccable vein health starts with the rest of your body including how supported your feet are, how much activity you get on a daily basis and how well you maintain an appropriate weight. Everything is a factor since your veins respond to pressures created by excess weight, inactivity and improperly supported feet. Instead of simply thinking in terms of your cholesterol levels and whether or not you’re alternating positions enough at work, let’s go a little deeper. Here are your tips for supporting vein health:
Be Active
In addition to changing your position if you’re someone who sits or stands for hours, being active and moving in between position changes is essential. Try setting a timer to get up and stretch your legs or take a walk around your home or office building. When your blood sits at the base of your legs, that pooling of fluid causes your veins to expand over time from pressure. To assist your blood in flowing upward to the heart, moving your calf muscles will propel the blood upward. Strong calves and surrounding muscle tissues mean supported veins. We also recommend trying out exercises that cause you to change your body’s orientation, so workouts such as pilates or yoga forces you to bend or lay on your back with elevated legs. Have some fun with it while you cultivate healthy circulation.
Elevate Your Legs at the End of the Day
Maybe you’re not into yoga, or you’re a teacher or doctor that sits or stands for a majority of your day. When your schedule doesn’t allow for a high amount of exercise or modified body positions, Dr. Jimenez recommends elevating your legs for a few minutes each night. This elevated position passively allows your blood to flow back to the upper portion of your body and your heart. By doing this, you can relieve stress on your veins in the lower extremities that have struggled all day. To see and feel the difference, you should do this every day and extend the position up to twenty minutes if you feel pain when walking or restlessness.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Pressure on the lower body comes from added weight, and that means too much weight for your body style. During your next appointment with your GP or in consultation with Dr. Jimenez at Vein Center of Florida, ask them to check your weight and offer recommendations to reach an ideal weight. Often weight accumulates at the abdomen and adds pressure on your internal organs that also make it difficult for your legs veins to push your blood upward. When the pressure becomes too much, and veins are constricted, they’ll expand, valves will have trouble closing, and varicose veins start to appear. Losing a few pounds can maintain smooth blood flow and a healthy appearance in veins.
Wear the Right Footwear
If you’re having problems with your feet, such as arch support, or put unnecessary pressure on your calves, everything above your feet will suffer. Don’t think of your shoes as just protection from the ground, but as a starting point for a strong body. Wearing high heels stresses the calves and weakens them so that their ability to assist veins in pumping blood upward is reduced. Improper support and pain in the feet reduces circulation and can keep you from being active. Get yourself a pair of inserts that offer arch support and make you feel comfortable while you walk. You should pay attention to the fit of your shoes as well because this can negatively impact your vein health even if they’re slightly too big or too small.
Prepare for healthier veins as soon as you can and have a vein screening if you feel discomfort, or your parents had vein problems. Call Vein Center of Florida to get started today at 800-910-VEIN.