Exercising when you have varicose veins

Varicose veins happen when the valves inside your leg veins don’t close properly. These valves help deoxygenated blood travel against gravity back to your heart and lungs. The valves are one way, so they open when blood is pushed up and close behind it to prevent it from falling back down – a bit like a lock gate in a canal. But sometimes there is a problem with the valve and it allows blood to leak back down the vein where it pools, putting pressure on the wall of the vein. Eventually the vein will stretch and bulge up through the skin.