Upper body weight lifting likely aggravates your legs the most because you valsalva (breath in and bare down) while lifting. The valsalva maneuver decreases the venous return especially from the legs and can increase leg vein distention. In addition, many people demonstrate venous insufficiency (reflux) with valsalva. We recommend an ultrasound examination from a qualified sonographer in order to determine if you have reflux. An ultrasound examination can direct which treatment (sclerotherapy, vein ablation, microphlebectomy) may be helpful for you. You may want to check with an athletic trainer to see if you are breathing correctly during lifting.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

The reason your legs suffer when you do upper body work and not lower is because of how your veins work. The veins in your legs are designed to push blood in one direction (up the leg and from the skin back into the leg). Essentially a return system. What allows the veins to do this are the uni-directional valves built into all of your veins. These valves essentially allow you to fight gravity. Otherwise all of your blood would pool at your feet every time you stand up. What actually pushes the blood up your legs is the contraction of your leg muscles. This is why when you are doing lower body work, your legs do not bother you. You are contracting your leg muscles which in turn are enabling your veins to circulate. This is in contrast to when you are doing upper body work where there is usually not a lot of leg muscle utilization. The result is blood pooling in your legs and thus irritation. The presence of vein disease only exacerbates this. Sclerotherapy could be a potential help in that case but in order for you to know for certain, your legs really need to have a formal evaluation to determine what is actually going on in your legs.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Usually, smaller veins amenable to sclerotherapy treatment do not cause much discomfort. Any exertion, upper or lower body, increases the strain on your legs and the leg veins. So, if your veins are the cause of your discomfort, treatment should help alleviate your discomfort.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Lifting weights increases your abdominal pressure, which increases blood flow to the legs. If you have venous reflux in your legs, lifting weights will cause even more reflux in the veins, and that is why lifting is so aggravating to your lower body. Finding a physician who is accredited by the American College of Phlebology and having an ultrasound done would be the first step in treatment.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

First of all, yes, any kind of increased abdominal or thoracic pressure will worsen symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency. This is a common problem among long term weight lifters. If procedures are indicated per ultrasound, then yes, theoretically weight lifting should be more comfortable following procedures.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

You didn't mention if you have prominent varicose veins or spider veins. Upper body weight lifting puts pressure on the abdomen which is where the vena cava is. This can cause pressure into the veins of the legs. You could try a sport compression sock during this also. They can be 20-30 mmHg pressure but make sure they are correctly measured and fitted. If you have prominent veins, you might benefit from an evaluation by a board certified vascular trained surgeon who can assess using ultrasound, it there is an underlying vein problem - refluxing valves.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Sclerotherapy will not help your weight lifting in any way. Upper body weight lifting will puts significant pressure on your legs and this is why they bother you.

Published on Jul 11, 2012