Sitting Pretty with Varicose Veins
Do you recall the great myths of our youth? How we were told that if you cracked your knuckles you’d end up with enormously enlarged knuckles and the only place you’d ever work would be in a circus? Or how about the rule that stated that you shouldn’t venture into the sea or lake or pool or whatever until it had been one full hour since you ate. Okay, here is the one we’re going to discuss now; can you get varicose veins by sitting with your legs crossed?
On the face of it this is a good question since it would certainly appear as though we could be contributing to poor blood circulation by crossing our legs, thereby crimping the blood flow. As we already know, efficient circulation really depends on our leg muscles fighting gravity by pushing spent blood upwards, towards the lungs and heart for replenishment.
How is this working so well? When a vein is working the way it was made to operate it will regulate the flow of blood through it by use of tiny valves. These valves allow blood flow to move through it in only a single direction. However, inside of varicose veins the valves and the vein walls themselves can begin to weaken, congestion results and the vein walls are discolored. Inflammation sets in and turns the area with the varicose veins sore and painful.
Understanding what we do about the causes and side-effects of varicose veins we have to conclude that it is quite safe to cross and recross our legs. There’s no evidence to show that varicose veins can be caused by crossing your legs. Furthermore, nothing indicates that we aggravate an existing condition by crossing our legs, so if you already have varicose veins you’re not going to make them any worse simply by crossing your legs.
But while we’re considering how we sit, we should also be pondering how much time we spend sitting.
It is understandable spending that entire time sitting, after all, you’ve worked hard all day, or you’ve been at school all day long and you really just want to relax. Who can blame you for not having the energy to pop right up and go for a stroll around the block?
You might feel more likely to get up and move if you tried some compression clothing, some support hose or stockings. This apparel helps the legs to push spent blood upwards, where it can be replenished by the heart and lungs.
Wearing the support hose really goes quite a ways towards fending off fatigue in your ankle or leg, and that feeling of rejuvenation can be especially profound when you’re starting to flag somewhat. While we are on the subject of sitting, we may want to consider whether or not we’re sitting in the most effective posture. It’s important to put your feet up, especially if you can elevate your feet above your heart. When you sit try your best to do this leg-elevation, it can be very refreshing. And cross your legs if you want to, you’re not hurting anything.
