How to Avoid Vein Disease if You Stand for a Long Period of Time
There are many jobs that will keep you in one place for a long period. In some cases, your work may demand that you stand for the whole day. While you enjoy your job, you probably know that it is putting your health at risk. Staying in one place for a whole day certainly increases your risk of vein disease.
Veins are the blood vessels that transport blood from the body back to the heart. It is essential that the blood in the vein flows only towards the heart and not backward. Therefore, they have valves that ensure the blood flows in only one direction. Flow in parts of the body located below the heart takes place against gravity, hence requires pumping action. Unfortunately, there are many reasons the veins or the valves can be faulty.
If a vein fails to drain blood towards the heart, the blood will pool at the vein and makes the vein dilate. Dilated veins are referred to as varicose veins. They are usually visible and discolored. In mild cases, varicose veins disfigure the body. But in more severe cases, it can cause swollen legs, itching, pains, and cramping of the leg.
Unfortunately, standing for a long time will relax the muscles of the legs and invariably relax the veins in the leg. This may put excessive stress on the veins and increases the risk of blood pooling in the veins. Just like sitting for a long time, standing for a long period can significantly increase the risk of varicose veins.
Other Vein Disease Risk
If you stand for too long every day, varicose veins are not the only vein disease to worry about. Deep Vein thrombosis occurs when blood clots in one of the deep veins in the body. The blood clot will prevent the upward flow of the blood towards the heart. Veins in the legs are among these deep veins and more prone to blood clots if you stand for too long. If blood remains static in the veins, it may lead to ulcers. Leg ulcers will make wounds and open sores in the leg which can be hard to treat and may require a visit to a vein specialist.
Both varicose veins and Deep Vein Thrombosis can cause chronic venous insufficiency, a condition characterized by leg swelling, itching, pains, leg cramp, heaviness of the leg, calf tightness, leg ulcer, among others.
However, if your job requires you to stand all day, you don’t have to quit the job; there are actions you can take to reduce the risk or even avoid vein disease entirely. What are these actions?
How To Avoid Vein Disease Even When You Stand All Day
You can keep your job and still maintain good health. The following action will help you avoid vein disease if you stand all day while you work:
Take a Break to Walk:
It is very rare to have a job that will not permit you a few minutes break to walk. Even if you don’t have a break, you can walk within the work area. If you cannot walk away from your duty post, walk a few steps to the right, back to your standing point, then a few steps to the left. You can repeat this as many times as possible. No rule says you must not change your position, and changing position is the primary aim here. Just ensure your legs are moving. As long as you move your leg, blood circulation will be improved.
Use Gravity to Drain Blood:
As soon as you get home, you can use gravity to let the blood drain from your legs to the heart. This will prevent the pooling of blood in the veins. All you have to do is raise your legs above your chest while lying flat with your back on the floor, mat, or bed. You can raise the two legs at a time or lift one, hold it for a while, lower it and repeat with the other.
Exercise:
Knowing full well that the nature of your job does not encourage proper blood circulation, you must complement it with regular exercise. As soon as you are done with the job for the day, ensure you have some minutes for work out. This will strengthen your muscles and your heart. With your heart in a good position, circulation will be improved. The following exercises can help you avoid vein disease and improve blood circulation: walking, swimming, yoga, bicycling, rocking your feet, side lounge, mountain climbing, leg lift, and raising your calf.
Reduce Your Weight
This depends on how much you weigh now, but reducing weight usually reduces pressure on the veins. The more your weight, the more pressure on your vena cava- the big vein that takes blood from the lower body parts towards the heart.
Wear Compression Stockings
Blood pools in the veins when they relax. This may happen when your legs stay idle the whole day. You can put pressure on your legs by wearing compression stockings. This will apply pressure on your legs and prevents your veins from relaxing excessively.
Change of lifestyle
Some lifestyle habits can increase the risk of vein disease. By avoiding such lifestyles, you can actually decrease your risk of vein disease. These include excessive drinking of alcohol, smoking, and taking products with caffeine. These substances affect the ability of the heart to function properly.
Sleep on Your Left Side
Another way you can help the circulation of blood is to sleep on your left side. It has been proved that this will make blood drain fast from your leg veins to the heart.
If You Need Help, Shout!
Despite taking all the steps explained above, many people are still suffering from vein disease. If you are among them or need more help to avoid, prevent or treat vein disease, you can schedule an appointment with one of our vein specialists, and we will be glad to help you.
Summary
Many people stand all day while at work. This may affect the circulation of blood in their legs. When the blood in the vein fails to drain properly to the heart, it may lead to vein disease. Among the most common vein-related issues suffered by people who stand for too long while at work are varicose veins, leg ulcers, deep vein thrombosis, and venous insufficiency. However, there are activities you can do to avoid vein disease even if you stand for a long time.
Taking a break to walk or just changing the position where you stand at work may help to relieve pressure on the veins in the leg. As soon as you get home from work, you can raise your legs above your heart to allow gravity to drain blood from your legs. It would be best if you also exercised regularly. Other actions you can take to avoid vein disease include reducing your alcohol and caffeine intake, quitting smoking, reducing your weight, wearing compression stockings, and sleeping on your left side.
