Varicose vein treatment reduces edema not only in the treated legs but also in the entire body

BACKGROUND: Patients with varicose veins are prevented from prolonged standing.
Considering that exercise can be implemented in different positions, the aim of
the current study was to compare the effects of training at standing and lying
positions on quality of life, and clinical symptoms in women with mild varicose
veins.
METHODS: Twenty-five women with mild varicose veins aged 35-50 years were
randomly assigned to three groups; exercise at standing position (n=10),
exercise at lying position (n=8) and control (no treatment) group (n=7). Each
exercise program involved 6 weeks of training. Quality of life, pain severity,
ankle swelling, and lower leg and ankle circumferences were measured using the
Aberdeen Varicose Vein Questionnaire, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), four-point
pitting edema grading scale, and tape measure, respectively at baseline and at
the end of the study. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and the least significant difference (LSD) as post hoc test.
RESULTS: Following a 6-week exercise program, there was a significant
improvement in the quality of life of the participants in both exercise groups,
and a significant reduction in pain, ankle swelling, and lower leg and ankle
circumferences compared to pre-training and control group (P <0.05). However, there was no significant difference between two exercise groups in terms of study variables (P >0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The current study showed that exercise program comprising standing
position exercises can significantly reduce the symptoms of mild varicose veins.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jvn.2024.05.003
PMID: 39244329 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors
declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this
paper.