Varicose veins or varicose veins are a pathological process that many people face. In most cases, the disease affects the vessels of the legs, causing their lengthening, deformation and thinning of the vascular walls. In addition, the valves located inside the veins cease to perform their functions fully, which interrupts the systemic circulation and the blood stagnates in the veins.
Under the influence of the described factors, the vessels increase in size, appear on the surface and show through the skin. As a result, a complete vascular network is visible on the surface of the skin, often with nodules and trophic ulcers. However, in addition to aesthetic alterations, the problem runs much deeper and is very often accompanied by painful sensations.
The nature of pain with varicose veins
First of all, it is important to understand that the concept of "very often" does not mean that pain is accompanied by 100% of varicose veins. Much depends on a number of factors, the individual characteristics of the patient's body, and even in the later stages of the progression of the pathological process, there may be no pain.
If we classify painful sensations, we will first consider their location:
- In most cases, the pain syndrome is localized directly to the site of vascular lesions, their deformation.
- Second, in terms of frequency of localization, the area of the gastrocnemius muscle is located, while the pains themselves are located closer to the popliteal region of the leg.
- The lowest probability of localization of the pain syndrome goes to the ankle area.
Of course, the likelihood of developing leg pain increases as the disease process progresses. This is due to the aggravating state of blood vessels, their increase, the progression of stagnant processes, and, consequently, an increase in vascular pressure. Ultimately, the pressure can increase so much that the vessel walls will not resist, threatening internal bleeding, bruising, and trophic ulcers.
Accordingly, the nature of the pain depends on the degree of development of the disease:
- In the initial stages, swelling of the legs causes painful or rather unpleasant sensations of a tight or tight nature. It is important to understand that along with disturbances in blood flow, fluid is retained in the legs, causing swelling. In the initial stages, the edema is periodic, it appears more often at night, and the discomfort is caused by fatigue, walking in shoes during the day, in extreme cases by the tension of the skin.
- The fact of fatigue deserves special attention. With varicose veins, the legs tire faster. Initially, this is expressed during prolonged physical exertion during the day (if the patient stands for a long time, walks a lot, etc. ). However, as the disease progresses, fatigue is felt more frequently and more intensely, so characteristic painful sensations are felt. In this case, the pains are dull in nature, also pulling or aching.
- At approximately the second stage of the disease, with a worsening of the condition of the veins, their more severe deformation and dysfunction of the valves of moderate severity, patients complain of the effect of gravity. In this case, the pains are characterized by bursting, in some cases they are even called acute. This is due to increased pressure in the vessels, and if at first it is enough to lie down and put your feet on a hill so that the pain subsides, then in the future you will have to deal with them by using drugs.
- Most likely, the development of the pain syndrome, as well as its increased intensity in the case of the progression of varicose veins to the final fourth stage. It is at this stage that vascular deformation and vascular pressure reach their peak.
It is difficult to more accurately describe the characteristics of painful sensations with varicose veins on the legs. This is due to the individual characteristics of the organism of each patient, as well as the characteristics of the course of the disease. However, the pain can feel like:
- Stupid.
- Traction.
- Pain.
- Very full.
- Compressive.
- Sharp.
- Similar to rezi.
Also in the second, and even more often in the third stage of the development of pathology, pains are accompanied by muscle cramps, which disturb patients mainly during night sleep.
Causes of painful sensations.
Understanding where varicose vein pain comes from can help you deal with this problem more effectively or prevent pain from occurring. So, the pains arise under the influence of the following reasons:
- Pathological changes in the vascular bed slow down blood circulation in certain areas of the veins. This leads to a decrease in blood flow, whereby oxygen deprivation begins and pain occurs.
- The circulation of the blood promotes the elimination of waste products, which the body constantly produces in small quantities. Due to the decrease in blood flow and its stagnation, decomposition products are slowly removed, which leads to the appearance of toxins that poison living cells, this process also causes painful sensations.
- Trophic disorders that appear in the later stages of the development of varicose veins and with the progression of the disease only intensify, causing increasingly acute pain.
The pain increases with physical exertion, the fatigue of the legs, in most cases they become especially intense in the afternoon or at night.
Methods for treating pathology.
For the complete elimination of pain, it is necessary to direct all forces to the treatment of the pathological process. To do this, you need to consult a doctor who will make a diagnosis, on the basis of which he will prescribe the most suitable treatment for a particular patient.
The treatment will take a certain amount of time, during which the pain will plague the patient. Therefore, it is important to understand not only how to treat varicose veins, but also to know the methods of pain relief.
First aid in the fight against pain
Elimination of pain is only a symptomatic part of the treatment, in most cases it does not affect the solution of the main problem - varicose veins.
However, it is very important to eliminate pain, consider the main methods of dealing with unpleasant and painful sensations:
- In the initial stages of the development of the disease, the pains are unstable, their intensity is quite low, and they occur mainly at night. In such cases, it is sufficient to adopt a lying position and support the feet on a pillow or simply support them against the wall so that the feet are above the level of the body. This position facilitates blood flow, reducing pain and swelling.
- It is also very useful to perform a light massage, kneading the lower limbs with massage and rubbing movements. Remember, you can stretch your legs during the day, which is very useful in the later stages of the development of the disease.
Traditional pain relief methods.
In case of severe pain that constantly bothers you, as well as in cases where there is no way to massage or relax, you should resort to the help of medications. Of course, only a doctor should prescribe a drug, but in most cases the following drugs are used:
- Special means in the form of gels - we are mainly talking about non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that effectively relieve pain and have a pronounced anti-inflammatory and moderate antipyretic effect.
- In some cases, you can resort to painkillers, but with varicose veins, their effect is insignificant and short-lived. These are mainly pain relievers and antispasmodics.
- If painful sensations are accompanied or aggravated by seizures, it is worth talking to your doctor about using muscle relaxants, which help reduce muscle spasms.
- Also, traditional methods of dealing with the painful sensations of varicose veins in the legs include wearing special compression socks, stockings or stockings. This method is considered the most effective in terms of pain relief and its effect is the longest. The mentioned underwear should be bought only in pharmacies, and since it has different degrees of compression, consult your doctor first.
Home remedies
In folk medicine, there are also many ways to eliminate or prevent pain caused by the development of varicose veins. Consider some of the most effective methods and recipes:
- Horse chestnut: an alcoholic tincture must be prepared from the fruit of this tree. To do this, grind 100 grams of peeled chestnuts, place them on a glass plate and pour 500 milliliters of vodka. Put the container in a dark place and leave it for 7-8 days at room temperature, stirring once a day. After that, the tincture is filtered and the legs are rubbed with it before bedtime or even during the day if the pains bother during the day.
- Products based on beeswax or propolis show high efficacy in fighting the pain of varicose veins. To prepare the drug, take 80-90 grams of propolis, crush it and pour 300 milliliters of medical alcohol into a glass container. The agent is infused for 30 days or until the propolis dissolves completely, all this time it is also kept in a dark place, periodically shaking it. Once the medicine is ready, you can rub your feet or apply lotions.
Pain prevention
It is also important to understand that in the initial stages of the disease, when the pain is not severe or rarely bothersome, but treatment has been started, it will be enough to follow the recommendations that reduce the likelihood of painful sensations:
- Avoid wearing high heels.
- Make sure your shoes are comfortable.
- In the cold season, when working indoors, it is important to change your boots for lighter and more comfortable shoes.
- Try to minimize stress on your legs.
- It is impossible to maintain a static position for a long time. If you are on your feet a lot, try to sit more, but if you sit for a long time, it is important that you take regular walks or at least warm up.
- During the day, try to massage the lower extremities, 5 minutes of light massage will protect you from pain during the day.
- It is also important to lead a healthy lifestyle, start light sports, eat well, give up bad habits, etc.