The National Women's Health Information Center reports that spider veins are similar to varicose veins, but smaller. These veins sit close to the surface of the skin and are characterized by having short and jagged blue or red lines. The Rocky Mountain Vein Clinic in Billings, Montana reports that spider veins can cause substantial leg discomfort that treatment can alleviate.
About Spider Veins
Spider veins are believed to be an offshoot of varicose veins--large bulging veins below the surface of the skin that appear twisted and knobbed. The Women's Health Information Center reports that up to 55 percent of women and up to 45 percent of men suffer from vein problems. Spider veins form, in part, by leaking varicose veins. If you treat your spider veins without treating your larger varicose veins, your spider veins could reappear.
Causes
A variety of factors affect the formation of spider veins. The National Women's Health Information Center explains that the body pumps blood-filled oxygen and nutrients through arteries. Veins pump the blood back to the heart. Veins contain valves that prevent the blood from flowing in the wrong direction. When valves weaken, which occurs naturally with age, blood can leak back into the veins and pool, causing spider veins. Other causes of spider veins include heredity, hormonal changes and sun exposure.
Increased Risk
A sedentary lifestyle and obesity are among the most common ways to increase your risk for developing vein problems, according to the Cleveland Clinic. When you sit or stand for long periods of time, your veins have to work harder to pump blood to the heart. Obesity, which is often caused by having a sedentary lifestyle, puts a lot of pressure on your veins as well.
How Exercise Helps
According to the Cleveland Clinic, regular exercise can increase circulation and prevent vein damage. The National Women's Health Information Center reports that certain kinds of exercise, like walking and running, can improve strength and circulation in your legs as well as vein strength. Exercise will also prevent your spider veins from worsening, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Eliminating Spider Veins
While exercise will improve the strength in your legs and can prevent vein damage, once you've developed spider veins, the only way to eliminate them is by having them removed. KidsHealth, a health information website by the Nemours Foundation, reports that sclerotherapy is a procedure in which your doctor will inject a fluid into the affected veins causing them to dry up and get absorbed in your body. An endovenous laser treatment zaps the veins with a small laser causing each vein to collapse. An ambulatory phlebectomy involves removing the vein surgically.
