A German professional association for physicians has said that regularly participating in sports and basically remaining active could help people prevent the development of varicose veins.
For instance, people who walk instead of driving and who take the stairs instead of the elevator tend to strengthen their calf muscles. This acts like a pump in helping the veins return blood to the heart.
Professor Malte Ludwig of the Wiesbaden-based physicians association said, “People with jobs that require them to sit or stand for long period of time should occasionally move their legs and should do regular physical activity in their free time to offset the effect on their legs.”
Ludwig also added that when the calf and thigh muscles are active they push the blood back to the heart where it is re-oxygenated.
Too little movement on the other hand pushes the blood back up in the leg veins and this leads to chronic extension of the blood vessels. This can also damage the valves within the veins which normally are supposed to regulate the return flow of blood to the heart.
Some of the examples of sports that can offset the development of varicose veins include swimming and cycling. On the other hand, tennis and badminton tend to expose the vein system to excessive pressure.