Crossing your legs does not cause varicose veins, despite the common myth. Varicose veins are caused by factors such as heredity, gender, weight, poor circulation, standing for long periods, pregnancy, and hormone treatments. Compression stockings are a standard treatment for varicose veins. Various methods are available to treat varicose veins, but some may not be covered by health insurance.
Women were often told that sitting politely involved crossing your legs, or more often your ankles. Whether or not this truly constitutes polite sitting, there’s no need to worry about varicose veins if you plan to cross your legs. This is an urban legend, an old wives tale that has been regularly circulated and retold on the internet, which medical professionals dismiss as nonsense. Crossing your legs will not and will not lead to varicose veins or varicose veins.
The theory that crossing your legs leads to these prominent and damaged veins comes from the idea that crossing your legs can cause compression in the legs, which can create a backup blood flow to the heart. Veins carry blood back to the heart, and if you were to create enough pressure to slow this blood flow, veins could pool with blood, widening and becoming damaged. However, any compression caused by crossing the legs is not enough to apply the kind of pressure needed to truly disrupt the regular flow of venous blood; you’re not applying a tourniquet to your legs when you cross them.
Similarly, people may be told that wearing compression stockings will cause varicose veins, but this is actually a standard treatment to reduce the pain and swelling associated with swollen and damaged veins. If your knee socks are a little too tight, you may want a slightly looser pair for comfort. However, you don’t have to worry about varicose veins resulting from tight stockings, any more than you need to worry about how crossing your legs will affect your veins.
This then begs the question of what causes varicose veins and what steps you can take to try and prevent them. First, it’s not always possible to prevent varicose veins, but again, crossing your legs won’t cause or prevent them. The most common factors for developing varicose veins include heredity – you may be genetically predisposed to developing them.
Other factors that can increase the risk of varicose veins include gender. Varicose veins occur more often in women. Being overweight, having poor circulation in your legs, which can be present in people with diabetes or heart problems, and actually having to stand a lot can create more varicose veins. Pregnancy can often cause varicose veins to develop, and hormone treatments such as when women are trying to get pregnant or are using HRT can put people at greater risk. Birth control pills are typically not associated with an increased risk of developing these painful, swollen veins.
There is also good news in the fact that varicose veins can now be treated with a variety of methods. Ask your doctor which method might be right for you. Some methods fall under the classification of optional procedures and may not be covered by health insurance. When varicose veins are extremely painful and inhibit activity, people may be able to successfully argue that a procedure to remove veins is warranted and should be covered by insurance.
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