Managing Your Active Varicose Veins at Your Desk Job

Our modern world has come a long way from our hunter/gatherer ancestors who were always on the move. These days, nearly 58% of the workforce in the United States (about 93 million people) falls under professional, which means a good portion of these people are chained to desks.

This sedentary lifestyle isn’t doing our health any favors, and this includes vascular issues like varicose veins, which count prolonged sitting as one of the risk factors.

So, if you have a history of varicose veins and you work at a desk job, vascular expert Dr. Satjit Bhusri and the rest of the team here at The Upper East Side Vein Institute want to share some best practices with you.

The link between prolonged sitting and varicose veins

Good circulation in your legs relies on several things, including:

• Functioning valves in your veins that keep blood from pooling
• Strong calf muscles that help push blood out of your legs
• A strong cardiovascular system that can pump blood efficiently

Now let’s look at what happens when you sit for long periods. First, you aren’t engaging your calf muscles to help push blood out of your legs.

Second, your legs are crooked at the knees when you’re seated, forming a roadblock to the circulation in your lower legs.

As a result, sitting for long periods, day after day, can lead to fluid retention, as well as compromised blood flow, in your legs. Not to mention, you might develop weak calf muscles and faulty valves if you aren’t counteracting this prolonged sitting through exercise.

The side effects that sitting has on the circulation in your legs are considerable and set the stage for issues like varicose veins, which affect about 30% of the general population.

Strategies to manage varicose veins when you sit a lot

We keep referring to prolonged sitting relative to working at a desk, but if you spend hours at home in front of the TV, the results are the same.

No matter where you do the bulk of your sitting, you’d do well to follow some best practices to manage active varicose veins and prevent new ones from developing. These strategies include:

• Wearing compression stockings that help move blood out of your legs
• Getting up to move at least once each hour
• Ensuring that your calf muscles are strong through targeted exercises
• Keeping your legs elevated

The bad effects that prolonged sitting can have on your body extend far beyond varicose veins, so these strategies can support your overall health. 

This is why so many desk workers are setting alarms to remind themselves to move every hour. As well, many desk workers are now taking meetings and phone calls on the go — walking and talking is a great practice. 

Dealing with existing varicose veins

We want to point out that the strategies we outline above are great for preventing existing varicose veins from getting worse and preventing new ones from developing. 

If you’re thinking these best practices will make active varicose veins disappear, think again — once a varicose vein forms, it doesn’t go away unless you have us remove them through our vein treatments.

If you want to start fresh in your battle against varicose veins, we suggest you follow our tips above and come see us to have your existing veins removed. 

To explore your options for quick-and-easy varicose vein removal, simply call our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at 212-752-3464 to schedule a consultation. You can request your appointment online by clicking here.