VeinInnovations

The visible varicose veins in the legs, both large and small, are most often a result of problems elsewhere in the leg.

Veins carry blood from the tissues back eventually to the heart. They are thin walled tubes that get squeezed by the surrounding muscles as they contract. This squeezing forces blood along the veins and a series of non-return valves ensure the flow is only in one direction.

If these valves become faulty and fail to close, the blood can run backwards (or reflux) and will father or pool in the legs.

Where this extra blood is sitting in veins close to the surface of the skin, the veins will swell up and become visible and ‘varicosed’.

There is one major vein (the greater saphenous vein), which connects to many of the surface superficial veins. Failure of the valves in this vein is quite common and is therefore a major cause of surface varicose veins. This vein runs down from the groin to the lower leg and the faulty valves are often up near the top. Hence varicose veins in the lower thigh, around the knee and in the calf are often caused by a problem much higher up.

Varicose veins are a very common problem - Up to 25% of all women and 18% of all men will suffer from varicose veins to some degree. There are a number of factors which lead to varicose veins:

Heredity - This is the most important factor, so if your parents and grandparents have the problem you are at increased risk.

Gender - Women have a higher incidence of varicose veins due in part to the female hormones affecting the vein walls.

Pregnancy - This causes a risk in blood pressure and volume and also adds to the hormonal effect mentioned above.

Age - As we ago so our tissues loose elasticity, and this is true of vein walls causing the valve system to work less well.

There are additional factors which do not cause varicose veins, but will speed up their development and make them worse:

Obesity - Increases in weight often go hand in hand with increased blood pressure, which will add to vein problems.

Prolonged Standing - The volume and pressure of blood in the lower limbs are affected by gravity, so the longer you stand the greater the effect.

Physical Trauma - Sometimes trauma to the lower limbs can damage the underlying blood vessels and add to the problem of varicose veins.

Changes in lifestyle - These may slow down the development of varicose veins, but in most cases if you are going to develop the problem, there is little which can be done to avoid it.