Varicose veins are a common pathology in women over thirty years old. It also occurs in men, but much less frequently. Most often deployed in the lower extremities. Even if outwardly the manifestations of varicose veins are invisible, it can complicate the life of a sick person. Exercises specially selected by the doctor and taking drugs that thin the blood help relieve the painful condition with varicose veins of the lower extremities.
Why do varicose veins occur?
In each case, the causes of the development of the disease are different. Here is a list of the most common ones:
- hereditary predisposition, weakness of the venous walls;
- thick blood due to malnutrition or chronic disease;
- bad habits (alcohol abuse and smoking) have an extremely negative effect on the condition of the venous wall;
- obesity: frequent standing with excessweight creates extreme stress on the veins;
- deficiency of vitamins and microelements (for the he alth of the veins, a lack of iodine, selenium, magnesium, calcium, pyridoxine, nicotinic acid should not be allowed);
- constantly being on your feet or a sedentary lifestyle (there is stagnation of blood in the veins);
- pregnancy is often a decisive factor in the development of varicose veins due to a sharp increase in a woman's weight.
Symptoms and characteristic signs of the disease
You can recognize the disease by the following symptoms:
- appearance of nodules on the back and inner surface of the leg;
- translucent vessels and capillaries in the area of the knee joint;
- leg pain, burning and discomfort;
- increased leg fatigue;
- swelling of feet and ankles;
- acute knee attacks: pain and burning;
- leg stamina drops sharply.
The symptoms of varicose veins in the legs can vary from person to person. Most often, the intensity of symptoms in women is higher than in men. In some cases, the manifestation of the disease begins after pregnancy, since during this period the blood thickens and, in addition, excess weight increases sharply. How to treat varicose veins if pills are prohibited during pregnancy? Simple and effective exercise therapy exercises will come to the rescue.
After childbirth, varicose veins may not make themselves known for a long time or manifest rare symptoms of burning and fatigue of the limbs. The peak incidence occurs at ageforty-fifty years.
Why women get sick more often
Men suffer from varicose veins in only one case: in the presence of a hereditary predisposition to thick blood and thin, fragile and sensitive to external stimuli, the walls of the veins. Even with a natural predisposition, the disease usually does not bring them as many inconveniences as women.
The hormonal background of a he althy woman is quite aggressive to the venous walls. Plus, pregnancy always negatively affects the veins due to an increase in hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) and rapidly growing weight (a serious load on the legs). As a result, by the age of forty, 65% of the fair sex are diagnosed with varicose veins of the lower extremities.
Basic rules for doing exercises
Exercise therapy for varicose veins is an effective and safe method to alleviate the condition. Blood-thinning drugs cannot be taken on an ongoing basis, and alcohol-based drops (Aescusan, Varicocele) contribute to unnecessary stress on the liver and organs of the gastrointestinal tract. Gymnastics with varicose veins becomes a real salvation. Of course, exercises will not be able to completely get rid of tuberous veins under the skin (only a surgical operation can do this). But they will perfectly relieve pain.
- Gymnastics for varicose veins should be done two to three hours after eating. It is difficult to do exercises on a full stomach. But in a hungry state, gymnastics will also be of little use - a tired body will require food, not exercise.
- You should stock up on a bottle of water. All exercises are performed at a fairly intense pace, and a normal amount of water is very important. Should be drunk as soon as the need arises.
- Excessive overwork is useless. Physical performance should be used to the maximum, but you should not bring your he alth to the state of a “squeezed lemon”.
- Gymnastics for varicose veins excludes track and field exercises. Jumping rope, running, squats - such activities will not only not bring relief, but will provoke increased pain. It is necessary to choose those exercises that do not cause stagnation of blood in the lower extremities.
- You should breathe as deeply and freely as possible when doing exercises. Ideally, alternate chest and diaphragmatic breathing.
The importance of a proper warm-up
Before each set of exercises, you should do a mini-warm-up. It is necessary in order to accelerate blood circulation and exclude joint injuries.
- Feet shoulder-width apart. Raise your arms, stretch, take a deep breath. As you exhale, lower your shoulders and arms, try to reach your feet with your fingers.
- Side bends: Perform smoothly and slowly. No sudden movements. Stretch as deeply as possible to the left, then to the right.
- Forward bends: try to reach your feet with your fingertips. Over time, flexibility will improve and it will be possible to reach the elbows to the floor. This is possible if you carefully and honestly perform a warm-up before each session of exercise therapy.
- Head rotation: reach the left ear to the left shoulder and vice versa, then the chin to the chest, then make slow and smooth rotational movements from one shoulder to the other.
- Lunges with legs: alternately put the left, then the right knee forward. This will help stretch the back of the thigh. When performing lunges, it is important to ensure that the knee does not protrude beyond the toe. Otherwise, knee pain may increase.
Exercise "Bicycle"
This simple body movement is familiar to everyone from school physical education lessons. Performed in the supine position. Exercise "Bicycle" should be done like this:
- raise straight legs up, while the back and lower back are firmly pressed to the floor;
- lower one leg 30-45 degrees and describe a semicircle with it, lifting it up again;
- start moving with the other leg in parallel, also describing a semicircle with it;
- repeat steps alternately, simulating cycling in the air.
Despite the seeming simplicity, the exercise is quite difficult to perform. It gives an excellent load on the calves and quadriceps, while not loading the veins. Promotes the acceleration of blood circulation.
Exercise "Scissors"
Gymnastics for varicose veins of the lower extremities will not be complete without this simple but effective exercise. "Scissors" give an excellent load to the rectus abdominis muscle. They accelerate blood circulation in the limbs, do not allow blood to stagnate in the veins.
Starting position - lying on your back. Raise the straight left leg alternately, thenright. This will tighten the quadriceps and abdominal muscles. Perform at least ten times with each leg.
Exercise "Birch"
The benefits of this yoga asana are great. Although in our country this exercise is affectionately called "Birch", in fact it comes from India.
Starting position - lying on your back. Raise straight legs straight up. Stretch your toes as high as possible, depending on your physical capabilities. If it works out, stand on your shoulder blades.
The benefits of the exercise "Birch" - the acceleration of blood circulation. Varicose veins develop because with a constant stay on the legs or with a sedentary lifestyle, blood stagnation occurs in the veins. "Birch" is an ideal way to provoke the outflow of blood from the lower extremities.
Mahi legs for varicose veins
Starting position - standing on all fours. Alternately swing the left and right legs, trying to get the heel of the working limb as far as possible.
Exercise "Swinging legs" helps to accelerate blood circulation. The tone of the veins improves. If you combine regular exercise with taking venotonics, the result will not be long in coming.
How long is the exercise? Optimally - at least twenty to thirty times with each foot, at a fast pace. This takes about one minute. It is necessary to perform three or four approaches in order for the therapeutic effect to occur.
Hamstring stretch
With varicose veins of the lower extremities, exercises must be completed with stretching. Special attention whenthis should be given to the hamstrings.
Sitting on the floor on your buttocks, stretch your arms as far as possible and try to reach your feet with your toes. At this point, almost all women with varicose veins on their legs feel a slight pain in the knee area. Do not be afraid of this: slight discomfort, on the contrary, indicates the correct stretching.
Twine for varicose veins
This question interests many women with varicose veins on their legs. Is it possible to sit on the twine, will this aggravate the condition of the veins?
No, splits, both longitudinal and transverse, are an excellent exercise to improve the tone of the veins. The main condition is to sit on it smoothly and carefully. There should be no sharp pain or discomfort. Only in this case, the twine will be beneficial. In no case should you sit on the twine if it is accompanied by a sharp pain in the feet or knees.
Breathing exercises for varicose veins
When exercising, do not forget about breathing. There is even a special system for yogis - pranayama. This teaching is about the importance of the pace and depth of the breaths. You should breathe as deeply and freely as possible when performing exercises. Ideally, alternate chest and diaphragmatic breathing.
- Thoracic breathing is practiced during intense exercise. In this case, the breath is taken deep, the chest rises. Exhalation is sharp, during its implementation the chest falls sharply.
- Diaphragmatic breathing isinhalation and exhalation with the connection of the abdomen. On inhalation, it increases in size, on exhalation, it falls.
Yoga, Pilates, callanetics - these are the types of physical activity that are shown to women and men with varicose veins of the lower extremities.
Yogi tips: how to reduce the manifestations of varicose veins
How to treat varicose veins if the methods of official medicine are not suitable for one reason or another? Blood-thinning drugs are toxic to the liver and internal organs. Therefore, reception without a break is not possible. Simple yoga tips on how to get rid of the manifestations of varicose veins will be especially effective at its first stage.
- Drink enough water - at least one and a half liters a day.
- Fresh berries and fruits should be present in the diet daily. It is necessary to saturate the tissues of the body with ascorbic acid to the maximum. To do this, you need to lean on eating citrus fruits.
- Daily do exercises and asanas for at least twenty minutes. Before starting gymnastics, you should perform a light warm-up, at the end - a hitch.
- Stretching should be done very carefully so that it does not cause pain.
- In parallel with the exercise, you should monitor your breathing. Saturation of blood cells with oxygen is an important point that will help to avoid density and the formation of blood clots, knots, kinks.
