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Can Varicose Veins Cause Cramps?

Have you noticed an increase in the number of leg cramps you are experiencing? Does it seem like nothing you do relieves your leg cramps and they keep coming back? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to consider varicose veins may be causing your leg cramps.

What is the Connection Between Varicose Veins and Leg Cramps?

Muscles throughout your body will naturally contract throughout the day. Typically, you don’t notice these muscle contractions because your muscles naturally relax and you experience no noticeable symptoms. Unfortunately, for some people the muscle contracts and cannot relax. When this happens it results in a tight, painful cramping sensation.

People who have vein disease experience cramps because the blood flows up and down the legs is compromised. Blood cannot naturally flow through the veins because they are blocked, narrowed, or damaged. If the blood cannot flow naturally throughout the legs, the muscles are unable to relax and cramping will occur.

Symptoms Associated with Varicose Veins

Leg cramps aren’t the only symptom people with varicose and spider veins experience. Other symptoms of varicose and spider veins include:

  • General uncomfortable feeling in the legs
  • Ache in the legs that never seems to go away
  • Swelling of the ankles and feet
  • Throbbing or burning sensation in the feet, ankle, or legs
  • Intense itching over the veins
  • Discoloration of the skin especially near the veins
  • Legs that feel extremely heavy

People with varicose or spider veins may not experience symptoms all the time. Symptoms may come and go or only occur at certain times of the day, such as later in the day or after standing for prolonged periods of time.

Other Potential Causes of Leg Cramps

Varicose and spider veins aren’t the only causes of leg cramps. A number of other problems can also cause the muscles in your legs to cramp up.

Some other problems that may cause leg cramps include:

  • Dehydration
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Injury
  • Imbalance of electrolytes such as potassium
  • Medications
  • Damage to the veins of the leg  

Getting a proper diagnosis of spider or varicose veins from a vein specialist is important in order to relieve your leg cramps. If another health problem, such as dehydration or an electrolyte imbalance, is causing your cramps, getting treatment for varicose or spider veins won’t help. In situations where other problems are causing the leg cramps, the only way to find relief is to treat the actual cause of the cramps.

A vein specialist, like Dr. Richard Kimmel of The Kimmel Institute, can determine if your cramps are caused by varicose or spider veins and provide you with treatment options that will help you find relief. Call the staff at The Kimmel Institute to schedule an appointment to discuss possible options for varicose vein treatment that could possibly help your leg cramps.