hey everybody it's doctor Jo, and today I'm going to show you seven ways to
prevent varicose veins and spider veins. so let's get started.
so with varicose veins and spider veins, they
happen because we're not getting enough circulation to our legs. the varicose
veins are those very thick cord like veins that pop out of the skin. they
they're really sometimes tender to the touch and they're at risk of actually
bursting and causing severe bleeding. so those are really scar.y spider veins are
the ones that you can see that are the kind of purply veins that come to the
surface. sometimes it's caused by injury sometimes it's caused by poor
circulation. I do have some at my ankles, so I work on those a lot. so that's kind
of the difference. the spider ones aren't quite as scary but the varicose veins
are the ones that kind of pop out and are very cord like. so the best way to
help prevent those is to get the circulation in your legs. and so
especially if you have a desk job or you're sitting a lot all day, you really
want to keep them moving. and one of the easiest things to do is a simple ankle
pump. so with an ankle pump, all you're doing is just like it sounds, you're
pumping it down and pulling it back up. and so that's working that calf muscle
to just almost act like a natural pump to get that blood flowing through your
legs back into your system. getting the oxygen back in your blood and
circulating it through your body. so with ankle pumps, you really can't do
too many you can do them all throughout the day, you can do them sitting like I'm
doing. you can do them lying down in bed you can you know even stand up and
pump if you want to. so they're super easy to do, and I really like them. you
know so 10 to 15 several times throughout the day. so then the next
thing is a seated heel toe raise. so this time it's almost like an ankle pump, but
now you're using the floor to give you a little bit of resistance. so you're
working those muscles a little bit more, and all it is is you're coming up with
the heels and then you're coming back down, and then you're coming up with your
toes. so you're just alternating back and forth.
just kind of raising those heels, raising those toes. that's why they're called
heel toe raises. but you're getting a little bit of push off from the floor,
a little bit of feedback. so it's working those muscles a little bit more. so
another great way to prevent varicose veins and spider veins is using
compression stockings, hose, or socks. and so the folks at jomi compression sent me
their JOMI compression thigh-high socks. and as you can see an array of
other things. so what's really great about compression hose is it helps get
that circulation moving a little bit better with that compression. so if my
blood likes to pool down at my legs and I'm not getting a lot of movement, this
helps work it back into my system. and so the thigh highs are really nice because
they cross over the knees. so sometimes people have swelling and their knees all
the way down into their legs, and that's when you can use the thigh highs.
sometimes you just have you know it down in the lower part of your legs and then
you can use the knee highs, or they even have things like men's leotard, or the
women's for maternity as well. so they've got a lot of different varieties and you
can see a lot of different colors. they also have some products that help you
get them on because sometimes with compression stockings and hose, they're a
little bit difficult for some people. I don't find it too hard, but I help people
put them on all the time. so I'm going to put these on and just kind of show you
what they look like real quick. boink! and they're on. so you can see these thigh
highs have an open toe and a lot of times that just helps for a little bit
more breathability. so if you have feet that get a little more sweaty, sometimes
the open toes work really well for you. there's also some silicone on the top
here and that helps prevent it from sliding back down which is really nice
because some brands don't have that and they do slide down pretty easily, and so
I'll show you here on these as well that it has that silicone on there that is
really nice. and so what's really again great as you can see it comes all the
way up to the thigh, so it's crossing over the knees. if you don't have any
problems with your knees those knee-high ones work fine as well,
but again you can go a full body and give that great compression. so not only
are these great for varicose veins, spider veins, but it also helps with just
general fatigue and then it can also help prevent DVT S which are those deep
vein thrombosis, scary things. and then also even just muscle soreness in general.
so it's a great product to use for a variety of different things, but it
really helps increase that circulation and protect those veins for the varicose
veins and those spider veins. so if you're interested in purchasing any of
the JOMI compression products, make sure and click on the link up there. so now
we're gonna do some standing stretches and exercises. it's always good to do
some stuff standing so you're getting that body weight resistance. so the next
one's going to be a runner stretch. and that stretches out your calf muscle and
your Achilles and so it's really good to give that flexibility in there to help
prevent those spider veins and those varicose veins. so if I'm stretching my
left side, the pink side, I'm gonna put that foot back. I want to keep my heel
down and I want to keep my toes pointed forward. sometimes people want to turn
their foot out like that, but then you're not going to get the right stretch. so
keep those toes pointed forward. bring the other one forward and you can bend
this knee, but keep this nice locked out straight. so then you're just gonna hold
on to something. you can do it against the wall, you can hold on to a counter
top, or to a chair, and you're just gonna lean in until you feel that stretch in
your calf muscle. but keeping that heel down the whole time. if I bring my heel
up then I'm not stretching that calf anymore. if you need to put the foot
further back, you can, and then really get a stretch forward. so since this is a
full stretch, you want to hold it for 30 seconds. I like to alternate back and
forth just to give each side a rest. so you do 30 seconds on each side. so
then the next one is going to be just a single leg heel raise. so you might want
to start off with two, but if you're getting standing up and you're getting a
little bit stronger you can do a single leg heel raise. so two would just be
going up this way and slowly coming back down, but one you're just gonna do one
side at a time. make sure you have something to hold on to sturdy the first
couple times. you can do it, once you get advanced, you can do it without holding
on to anything, but just make sure you have your balance so you can focus on
the movement. so you want to go slow and controlled. you don't want to just do
this. that's not really beneficial and that's just using momentum, so really
come up bring that heel as high as you can and then just
nice and slow come back down. so again if this is too much for you, make sure
you're doing two but one is really going to work that calf muscle and help
prevent those spider veins and varicose veins, and then so the last one is just a
simple squat. but make sure again you're doing the squat correctly. if you need
the chair behind you so you can sit down if you feel like you can't come all the
way up that's fine, but with a squat you really just want to keep your feet about
shoulder width apart. you can go a little further out that makes it a little bit
easier. toes pointing forward. and when you squat down, you really want to bring
your bottom back. so your toes you should always be able to see them. if if I'm
bringing my knees in front of my toes and I can't see my toes, I'm not
squatting right. you really want to stick your bottom back behind you so you can
see your toes the whole time. and keep the weight shifted equally on your heels
and your toes. so I'm not coming up on my toes like this, and I'm not leaning back
where I'm almost falling back. so really shift your weight back into
that booty, bring your chest forward just a little bit, and that helps even
everything out. so depending on how easy these are for you is how far you can go
down. so you might just want to do a little mini squat and that's fine. or you
can go just a little bit deeper. but make sure you're using correct form. so again
just starting off with 10 to 15, maybe 2 sets a couple times a day. so those were
seven ways to prevent varicose veins and spider veins. if you're interested in
purchasing the jomi compression thigh-highs or any of their other
products, make sure and click on the link up there. and don't forget to subscribe
by clicking down there. and remember be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel better
soon.