Tips for Vein Health: Why Walking Helps

Tips for vein health are one of the “popular questions” I get at the practice. Patients ask me what they can do to prevent varicose veins, or to minimise the progress of vein problems. Unfortunately there is not a lot you can do to reverse or prevent varicose veins. One of the few things that are worth adding to your daily routine though, is a simple habit like walking.

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How come walking is good for my veins?

When you walk, you are actively using your calf and foot muscles. The calf muscle pump and foot muscle pumps are activated, squeezing blood back from your lower limbs towards your heart. Functioning valves in healthy veins are essential to allow the flow of blood in the correct direction towards the heart.

Walking helps push blood out of abnormal veins and into healthy veins so blood can return to the heart. Walking also encourages the growth of new health veins to take over the role of the unhealthy diseased veins.

How often should I be walking?

When I give patients tips for vein health, I suggest to build in a 20 to 30 minute walk on a daily basis. It’s known as a good habit for general health reasons anyway, and if you suffer from varicose veins or venous reflux, it becomes even more important.

As you walk, your calf muscle pump circulates the blood back out of the varicose veins, into normal healthy veins which take it back to the heart.

What if walking doesn’t help?

If a daily routine of walking whilst a good thing to do, won’t get rid of established varicose veins, We offer the most advanced means of treating varicose veins available. In order to make appropriate treatment recommendations we need to perform a thorough venous ultrasound and clinical assessment. At the Vein Clinic, we will look at any underlying conditions of venous insufficiency, so you can make a well informed decision about vein treatment options.

Current, advanced vein treatment options include non-surgical treatments and minimally invasive options, with minimal downtime on a walk-in walk-out basis. If you need help with your veins, please book an appointment at The Vein Clinic in Subiaco.