Mr Sudip Ray, consultant vascular surgeon, tells us how to look after our legs and feel like a million.
Leg vein problems vary from unsightly thread lines to painful varicose veins, and these are increasing as our population becomes more sedentary, heavier and live longer. Some simple dietary and lifestyle changes can help symptoms, whilst state of the art vein treatments improve both the look and feel of affected legs.
Diet hard
Restless legs are often caused by metabolic imbalance, with sufferers noticing a crawling, cramping or electric sensation towards the end of the day and which sometimes interferes with sleep. Symptoms can be improved by simple dietary changes to increase levels of iron (lean meat, leafy greens and spinach), folate (lentils, edamame and broccoli) and magnesium (tuna, dark chocolate, tree nuts, bananas).
Move your feet, lose your seat
Sitting is called the new smoking as prolonged immobility over years can create health problems such as heart disease, stroke, back and leg pain. Take regular walk breaks when working, even if it’s to chat to a colleague downstairs or get some water, multitaskers can even perform a few calf stretches against a wall when talking on the headset! Finally walking or cycling to work reduces excess vein pressure and contributes to the 150 minutes exercise recommended each week.
Heel thyself
For those with foot problems or varicose veins we advise only wearing high heels for short periods such as an evening out or important presentation, as they shorten the length of the calf muscle and reduce blood flow. Using a pair of low-drop shoes (less than 1 cm heel to toe height) for the rest of the time will improve foot health.
No vein and no pain.
Keyhole vein treatments minimise discomfort and recovery time, allowing rapid return to normal activities and sport. Thread lines often respond well to a session of microsclerotherapy using a tiny needle, whilst larger or bumpy veins can be successfully treated using radiofrequency or medical superglue. Improvement is usually seen within a few weeks and usually lasts many years if the health tips above are followed.
Mr Sudip Ray is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon in the Lido Medical Centre, and has a particular interest in minimally invasive vein treatment. For further information contact Carly on 07797 817964 or www.endovein.co.uk
