Treating Venous Insufficiency at Alliance Orthopedics
You may be experiencing Venous Insufficiency if you have the following symptoms:
- Leg pain
- Back, hip, knee and foot pain
- Varicose veins and spider veins
- Swelling, cramping and pressure
- Lower leg hair loss
- Skin and color changes
What causes blood flow circulation issues?
Healthy veins in your legs keep blood flowing back to the heart. When the valves stop working properly, blood can flow backwards towards your feet, a condition called reflux. This causes blood to pool in the veins of your lower leg. Although reflux can lead to varicose veins and spider veins, other symptoms such as leg pain, heaviness, cramps, and restless legs can also occur. When left untreated, these and other symptoms can progress into a more serious condition called chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).
Symptoms of Venous Insufficiency
- Cramping in the legs
- Restless legs
- Feeling of heaviness in the legs
- Swelling in the feet and ankles
- Burning, throbbing, or tingling sensations
- Discoloration near the affected veins
Risk Factors for Developing Venous Insufficiency
Venous insufficiency may affect anyone. However, certain risk factors can make a person more likely to develop pain and discomfort. Some key risk factors include:
- Obesity
- A history of blood clots
- Hormonal changes (during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause)
- The use of birth control pills
- Standing for long periods of time
If you have a family member with a history of CVI, you may be more susceptible to developing them as well. Additionally, certain medical conditions, such as tumors or other growths that put pressure on the abdominal area, may also increase your risk of developing varicose veins. It’s important to note that having a family history or being at risk for these conditions does not guarantee a person will develop them. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to be aware of the risk factors in order to take preventative measures.
Vein Ablation at Alliance Orthopedics
With the proper treatment, the progressive symptoms associated with CVI can be addressed in a few ways. Patients often experience some symptom relief with Normatec Recovery Therapy, and/or compression stockings, but a Vein Ablation procedure addresses your blood flow issues from inside your body.
The Vein Ablation procedure uses heat to close the damaged or weakened vein, which redirects blood flow to healthy veins, consequently relieving symptoms. This procedure does not need to be performed at a hospital, and can be performed under local or general anesthesia.
Benefits of These Procedures
- Minimally invasive outpatient procedures
- Long term treatment options
- Covered by insurance
- Procedures takes less than 1 hour
- General anesthesia is optional
- Walk out of procedure
- Back to full activity the following day
Common Myths:
Myth: I am too young for blood flow circulation issues.
Fact: Chronic venous insufficiency often starts in our 20s and 30s and progresses over time.
Myth: If I don’t see varicose veins there isn’t a problem.
Fact: Diseased veins do not have to be seen on the skin surface and are oftentimes visualized on ultrasound.
Myth: Vein conditions only affect females.
Fact: Venous insufficiency is found in both female and male patients.
Myth: I need to go to a radiology center or hospital to find out if I have chronic venous insufficiency.
Fact: Most imaging centers only look for blood clots. At Alliance Ortho, our ultrasound technique looks for blood clots AND evidence of CVI.
Myth: Vein conditions are only a cosmetic issue
Fact: CVI can lead to cosmetic issues, but may also present as leg pain, fatigue and cramping without any cosmetic signs.