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Compression stockings for varicose veins are used to push fluid and blood where they have pooled in the tissues and exterior veins to the interior veins where the calf and thigh muscles can move the fluid more efficiently back to the heart.
Varicose veins are unsightly blood vessels that have become swollen with blood, twisted, and can sometimes be painful. They have a variety of causes, but are most commonly seen in women who work on their feet or have been pregnant. This is because individuals who stand on their feet have higher pressures on the veins of their legs and feet for a longer span of time each day, and also increased abdominal pressure (and pressure on the leg vein as it enters the pelvis) of having a baby in the womb, or simply standing upright with the weight of the organs pressing down with gravity has at some point made it difficult for the veins in the legs, especially those on the surface of the leg that have no help from the leg muscles, to return blood to the heart. Compression stockings for varicose veins helps to prevent this process from continuing further, and it helps to reduce the existing varicosities.
Healthy blood vessels are made of smooth muscle that is arranged in long smooth tubes. Periodically a flap of tissue which forms a one way valve stretches across the tubes, making it so the tension of the smooth muscle and the large muscles of the leg work together to push blood up from one valve to the next as a person walks. Often, the veins become stretched inside, and the valves in the veins that help move blood upwards become leaky. Leaky valves means that the blood pools in these superficial veins even further.
Compression stockings for varicose veins are a great option because they help those superficial veins push the blood back up towards the heart. Compression stockings for varicose veins help the vessels along with the pressure the leg muscles exert to make this happen. Because the muscle that lines the varicose veins is so thin, the force of the stockings can work in tandem with the leg muscles to help blood return to the heart. This cooperative action between the leg muscles and the veins works on the inside of the leg (deep) and on the surface (superficial). This works because some of the venous blood flow that would normally choose the superficial veins is shunted deep into the leg to use veins that are directly assisted on all sides, naturally, to work to get blood back to the core against gravity.
These types of stockings can help individuals who have healthy blood flow and circulation and are on their feet many hours a day prevent varicose veins, and can keep individuals who already have them from getting worse. Compression stockings for varicose veins can also help reduce symptoms if someone happens to have them.
Always consult your physician before wearing graduated compression socks. Dr. Scholl’s socks are not intended to cure or treat any ailment or disease but are constructed to provide comfort to everyday life.
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