Why Do My Legs Ache, Cramp, or Swell? Do I Have Vein Disease?

Do your legs ache, cramp, or swell? Do you have spider veins below the knee, bulging varicose veins, or skin discoloration near your ankles? These are common signs of vein disease. Vein disease affects over 50% of Americans and is as common as the need for vision correction with glasses or contact lenses.

Your legs may look perfectly normal, however, varicose veins take years to develop so life-style limiting symptoms are often present long before you see veins on your skin! Only 50% of all vein disease sufferers develop visible varicose veins. So, the other 50% of patients often suffer serious and severe vein-related problems they and their physicians may be unaware of.

What is Vein Disease?
Healthy veins have valves that prevent the backward flow of blood down into your legs. Vein disease is caused by faulty vein valves that allow backward leakage of blood. Backward blood flow causes your veins to enlarge, bulge, and twist resulting in leg discomfort of many types. Many signs and symptoms of vein disease start below the knee; however, vein valve leaks usually start at the top of your leg. This is similar to, “a leak in the attic causing a flood in the basement.”

Signs and Symptoms Vein Disease:
. Itching
. Heaviness/tiredness
. Aches/pain/tenderness
. Burning
. Cramping
. Night cramping
. Restless legs
. Spider veins — especially below your knees or near your ankles
. Bulging, varicose veins
. Ankle swelling
. Skin discoloration — slight or obvious darkening of your skin near your ankles
. Bleeding veins
. Ulceration

Stages of Vein Disease
Stage 1: Spider Veins. Spider veins may cause symptoms such as itching and pain.
Stage 2: Varicose Veins. Varicose veins often cause lifestyle-limiting symptoms.
Stage 3: Ankle Swelling. Vein Disease is the most common cause of ankle swelling.
Stage 4: Skin Changes. Skin discoloration is often the only sign of serious, hidden vein disease.
Stage 5 & 6: Leg Ulcers. Vein disease is the most common cause of non-healing wounds in the legs.

What Causes Vein Disease?
Heredity is the most common cause of vein disease. So, you can eat right and exercise regularly and still suffer from serious vein problems. Pregnancy, age, prolonged standing or sitting, obesity, surgery, and injuries also contribute to vein disease.

Can I Prevent Vein Disease?
Unfortunately, vein disease is primarily genetic and you cannot pick your parents. You can slow the progression of vein disease, but you cannot stop or reverse vein disease without treatment. There is no evidence that any drug, vitamin or nutraceutical will slow the progression of your vein disease. However, you can take some conservative measures to slow its progression.

Two conservative measures are achieving and maintaining an ideal body weight and exercising regularly. Ideal body weight and exercise improve mind, body, spirit, and helps your vein disease! We have “3” hearts. The heart we all know about in our chest and the two we forget about in each of our calf muscles called the “calf muscle pump.” Contracting your calf muscle keeps your blood and lymph fluid from pooling in your legs which can lead to damage to your veins and unwanted symptoms. Be a ballerina (point your toes repeatedly) or a NASCAR driver (pump the brakes with your feet). You can do this even while sitting. Anyone in any condition can do this.

It is also very important to sit the proper height. We often sit too high and put pressure on the back of our thighs. We should sit on our “butt bones,” not our thighs. Prolonged pressure on the back of your thighs compresses venous blood outflow and lymph fluid outflow. Your knees should be about a ½ inch higher than your hips when sitting down. Most chairs are not adjustable so put something underneath your feet.

Wearing graduated compression hose is another conservative measure to slow the progression of vein disease. Ask your Vein Care Specialist at Vein911 Vein Treatment Centers for details.

How Can I Be Evaluated for Vein Disease?
Contact Vein911 Vein Treatment Centers to schedule an evaluation. A careful history and physician exam are usually all that is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis. A 30-minute ultrasound exam of your legs is also performed which confirms evidence of vein disease.

Why Should I Choose Vein911?
Patients travel from around the USA and the world to seek the care of Vein911 Vein Treatment Centers Vein Care Specialists. Vein911 is led by Chris Pittman M.D., FAVLS, FACR, a world-renowned vein care physician leader, providing the highest standard in diagnosis and treatment of vein disease. Vein911 offices are award-winning for both patient and employee satisfaction.

Dr. Pittman is triple board-certified in Venous & Lymphatic Medicine, Interventional Radiology, and Diagnostic Radiology. While many doctors dabble in vein care, we treat only vein patients all day and every day. We have treated thousands of patients just like you. Vein911 succeeds where others fail.

How Does Vein11 Treat Vein Disease?
Ultrasound shows leaking vein valves and guides your non-surgical treatment. There is no role for surgery in vein care. Friends don’t let friends get vein surgery! Ultrasound-guided, minimally-invasive treatments have revolutionized vein care over the last 15 years. Your vein procedure is virtually painless, takes less than an hour, and there is NO recovery time! Vein-related problems resolve after your leaking veins are treated.

The two procedures performed at Vein911 for vein disease include thermal ablation and our “secret sauce” for world-class medical and cosmetic outcomes: Ultrasound-Guided Foam Sclerotherapy!

Thermal ablation is the elimination of abnormal, straight veins inside the leg using a straight laser fiber or radiofrequency electrode, elegantly closing the abnormal vein and improving venous circulation in the leg. Almost every patient who is treated for lifestyle-limiting vein symptoms receives thermal ablation; however, thermal ablation can only eliminate an abnormal straight vein. Virtually every patient also needs Ultrasound-Guided Foam Sclerotherapy to properly treat invisible branch veins coming off the treated straight vein. These branch veins, hidden under the skin, ultimately feed into varicose veins that hide under the skin, as well as visible varicose veins that bulge the skin.

Ultrasound-Guided Foam Sclerotherapy (UGFS) is performed after thermal ablation at Vein911 and is our “secret sauce.” UGFS can eliminate all abnormal veins and was refined about 30 years ago. UGFS uses ultrasound to identify hidden, abnormal veins and a tiny needle is directed into the abnormal veins and special foam is injected instantly destroying the abnormal vein. Foam is absorbed by your blood in a few seconds and nothing is left behind. Your body absorbs the treated vein over several months. No surgical incision is made with UGFS and all abnormal veins can be treated. One in 4 of our new Vein911 patients have ongoing or recurrent vein problems after prior treatment performed at other vein practices. This is because they never received UGFS as part of their vein treatment plan, and hidden abnormal veins were left behind. See Vein911 and get treated right the first time!

Choosing the Right Vein Care Specialist is Imperative
Not all vein doctors are equal. Modern vein treatment is not a surgical disease, and seeing a surgeon or “vascular” surgeon is no guarantee you will receive state-of-the-art vein care. What distinguishes Dr. Pittman from other “vein specialists” is the breadth of image-guided procedure experience and skill he has in working with veins. Also, there are few physicians in the country who approach our UGFS experience. Dr. Pittman manages a world-wide physician resource on LinkedIn entitled: Foam Sclerotherapy Experts. Vein911 customer satisfaction scores far exceed industry averages.

C. Christopher Pittman, M.D., DABR, FAVLS, FACR
Vein911 has three locations: Tampa Near St. Joseph’s Hospital, Clearwater near Mease Countryside Hospital, and Wesley Chapel near AdventHealth Wesley Chapel Hospital.

Vein911
www.Vein911.com
Don’t Ignore Your Leg Symptoms!
Call Vein911 Today at (855) 201-2558.