What are veins?
A vein is a type of blood vessel that returns deoxygenated blood from your organs to your heart. These differ from your arteries, which deliver oxygenated blood from your heart to the rest of your body.
Veins are part of your circulatory system. They work together with other blood vessels and your heart to keep your blood moving.
Veins hold most of the blood in your body. Nearly 75% of your blood is in your veins.
Types of veins
There are two main types of veins, pulmonary and systemic.
People can further classify systemic veins into either:
- Deep veins: These veins usually have a corresponding artery nearby and are in muscle tissue. These veins may have a one-way valve to prevent blood from flowing backward.
- Superficial veins: These veins do not have an artery with the same name nearby and are close to the skin’s surface. They may also have a one-way valve.
- Connecting veins: These small veins allow blood to flow from the superficial to deep veins.
Photo By filins
What causes varicose veins?
Varicose veins are twisted, enlarged veins. Any vein close to the skin’s surface (superficial) can become varicose. Varicose veins most commonly affect the veins in the legs. That’s because standing and walking increase the pressure in the veins of the lower body.
For many people, varicose and spider veins — a common, mild variation of varicose veins — are a cosmetic concern. However, varicose veins can cause aching pain and discomfort for other people. Sometimes varicose veins lead to more-serious problems.
Varicose veins might not cause pain. Signs of varicose veins include:
· Veins that are dark purple or blue
· Veins that appear twisted and bulging, often appearing like cords on the legs
When painful signs and symptoms of varicose veins occur, they might include:
· An achy or heavy feeling in the legs
· Burning, throbbing, muscle cramping, and swelling in the lower legs
· Worsened pain after sitting or standing for a long time
· Itching around one or more of the veins
· Changes in skin color around a varicose vein
Spider veins are similar to varicose veins, but they’re smaller. Spider veins are found closer to the skin’s surface and are often red or blue.
Spider veins occur on the legs but can also be found on the face. They vary in size and often look like a spider’s web.
Veins only pump blood when there is muscle movement. So, a sedentary person may have more problems with their veins.
Any obstruction in your liver, like fat or scar tissue, can also cause a problem with your veins. This obstruction can lead to varicose veins and affect the veins in your esophagus and the lining of your stomach.
High estrogen can also affect the vascular system and lead to varicose veins in women and men.
Photo by Bianca Petrisor on Unsplash
What is chronic venous insufficiency?
Chronic venous insufficiency occurs when your leg veins don’t allow blood to flow back to your heart. Typically, the valves in your veins ensure that blood flows toward your heart. But when these valves don’t work well, blood can also flow backward. This can cause blood to collect (pool) in your legs.
If this condition is not treated, you may have:
· Pain
· Swelling
· Cramps
· Skin changes
· Varicose veins
· Leg ulcers
Common symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency include:
· Heavy legs
· Swelling in the legs and ankles
· Tight calves and cramps
· Pain in the legs
· Restlessness in the legs
· Your skin might have a shiny or leathery appearance
· You may lose the hair on your legs
· Legs might be itchy
· You might also have a color change in the lower legs
Many women start to develop varicose veins after pregnancy. This is related to estrogen, so estrogen is another cause of venous problems. There are not a lot of studies on this, but we do know that there are receptors for estrogen in your veins, and so if you have an excess of estrogen, that can affect the vascular system, which also happens in men.
When women approach menopause, their estrogen goes down. Still, their progesterone goes down, giving an appearance of high estrogen to low progesterone ratio, so even though they have low estrogen, they have deficient progesterone, which could be considered an estrogen-dominant situation.
As men age, their testosterone goes down, which will also give them higher amounts of relative estrogen if their liver is damaged because the liver is a crucial organ to regulate or buffer this estrogen.
The best remedy for varicose veins
Red vine leaf extract is the number one remedy for vein problems in your lower legs.
This data is available in a patent where they had a lot of research. The patent was probably based on an extensive study they did. It was a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial on quite a few people with mild to moderate venous insufficiency.
The amount of red vine leaf extract they used was between 360 to 720 milligrams per day for 12 weeks, and the results were significant.
Red vine leaf is also suitable for:
· Enlarged liver/spleen
· Swelling in your legs
· Hemorrhoids
· Bruising
· Bleeding
· Nasal congestion
· Capillary thickness
· It is also a great anti-inflammatory
· It helps to balance the permeability within your capillaries.
Photo By neurobite
The best exercise for varicose veins
Rebound exercise is highly recommended for varicose veins because it will increase lymph flow and help push some of this fluid to your veins.
Walking regularly is also very important. You want to keep active. Doing a lot of sitting is detrimental. You also don’t want to do a lot of standing.
If there is an underlying liver problem (which is very common in these cases), I would recommend TUDCA. It is a type of bile salt that is good for fatty liver and cirrhosis. In addition, TUDCA will increase the flow of bile through the bile ducts.
If there is an estrogen problem, you could go for something called DIM. It is a super-concentrated, antiestrogenic cruciferous blend.
Takeaway
Varicose veins typically worsen over time. This is true even if you make the necessary lifestyle changes to control them and manage your pain.
However, while they may be unsightly, they usually don’t cause long-term medical problems.
In some cases, varicose veins can lead to ulcers or sores on your legs, blood clots, or chronic inflammation. If you have a severe case, your veins could rupture.
You should see your doctor if you develop any of these symptoms.
Disclaimer: Dr. Berner does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical diseases or conditions; instead, he analyzes and corrects the structure of his patients with Foundational Correction to improve their overall quality of life. He works with their physicians, who regulate their medications. This blog post is not designed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment, or services to you or any other individual. The information provided in this post or through linkages to other sites is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use the information in place of a visit, consultation, or the advice of your physician or another healthcare provider. Foundation Chiropractic and Dr. Brett Berner are not liable or responsible for any advice, the course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other information, services, or product you obtain through this article or others.
References
Kiesewetter H, Koscielny J, Kalus U, et al. Efficacy of an orally administered extract of red vine leaf AS 195 (folia vitis vinifera) in chronic venous insufficiency (stages I-II). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Arzneimittelforschung. 2000;50(2):109–117. doi:10.1055/s-0031–1300174
García-Honduvilla N, Asúnsolo Á, Ortega MA, et al. Increase and Redistribution of Sex Hormone Receptors in Premenopausal Women Are Associated with Varicose Vein Remodelling. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2018;2018:3974026. Published 2018 Sep 3. doi:10.1155/2018/3974026
Serra R, Gallelli L, Perri P, et al. Estrogen Receptors and Chronic Venous Disease. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2016;52(1):114–118. doi:10.1016/j.ejvs.2016.04.020
