The Trouble With Veins
Ever watch Olympic weightlifters, see their bulging veins and look down at your legs while you’re sitting on the couch and see the same bulging veins? Obviously, there has to be a difference, right? They’re lifting ten times their weight and while you may work out, you’re definitely not benching your co-worker after work. There is a difference and if you’re experiencing bulging veins, you may be in trouble. If you suffer from chest pains, shortness of breath, heaviness of legs, discoloration in legs, swelling, cramping or throbbing, or ulcers near the bulging veins you should seek medical care.
Many Causes to Consider
The main causes for bulging veins outside of bodybuilding are as follows:
- Pregnancy – due to the pressure on the veins, circulation becomes more difficult and it can cause varicose veins to appear.
- Old Age – they say growing old doesn’t come easy, and unfortunately, along with everything else that seems to be giving up on you, bulging veins can also join that stack of aging issues. This is due to the muscle within the vein becoming weak and allows the blood to pool.
- Venous Insufficiency – this is where the valves in your veins that make it where the blood can not flow backward are not working so the blood just ends up pooling instead of pumping as it should.
- Obesity – while sometimes it seems like everyone is blaming everything on inactivity, it is true that the more stagnant your legs are the more likely you are to get bulging veins. Diabetes also falls under the same category. The more unhealthy you live, the more likely you are to have bulging veins.
- Thrombophlebitis – honestly this is just a big mouthful of a word to say that you have a blood clot in your vein.
There are ways to combat some of these without seeking medical attention. I will state though that if you have the following situations it is more life-threatening and medical attention should be sought out immediately: Blood clot, infection, tumor.
Changing For The Better
You can make lifestyle changes such as exercise, watching your weight, and compression socks to ease the issues you may be experiencing. You can also go the route of laser surgery or vein stripping to name a few. However, for the general case of bulging veins, remaining active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle of watching your weight can seriously reduce your risk of varicose veins. So why wait? It’s 2017; a year to make some good choices and changes.
Contributing Blogger, Amanda Smith
The author is not a doctor and does not claim to offer medical advice. Any and all information in the is article should not be treated as such. Please consult your physician for further information.
