It is not only sportspeople who suffer from a leg cramp. It can hit at any time and you will not always understand what has happened to cause it. There are a couple of things that you can do to relieve it before you visit a doctor requesting treatments for leg cramps. Stretching and massaging can bring relief if the cramp is in the muscle, as causing it to elongate should make the pain go away. When the leg is straight, the muscle pain should ease off. Heat and cold will also work to relieve the pressure. In some cases, it will be heat on the muscle via a shower that will help. But, if that does not work, you should press ice directly on the affected area.
Causes
There are a number of causes as well as some that you can do nothing about. The varicose veins seem to start as you get older and if you are a female, you are going to have a higher chance of getting them. Weight is another issue, and the more excess weight you carry the more of a risk there will be that the veins are going to get damaged. Pregnancy can lead to veins and valves becoming damaged, but this is not normally an ongoing issue. After the baby has been born, the veins should start to fade and after around 6 months they will not be visible at all. After about three pregnancies however, the recovery will not be the same and the damaged veins may stay, and you will need the best varicose vein removal procedure.
The damage manifests itself by valves that regulate the movement of blood in and out of the veins becoming damaged. They will let blood in but rather than hold it; they will not close properly and it will all fall out again and head down the legs rather than back up the body. If the previous treatments have not worked, there will be the need to find the best vein doctor in NYC and ask their advice as it could be varicose veins that are causing the pain. When this happens, there will be a number of stages they will go through before they consider a varicose vein removal procedure. It will be longer again before surgery is introduced. You should have a list of questions ready to ask when you go to your appointment. They can include:
- What could be causing the leg cramp?
- If they give a suggestion, ask if there are any possible alternatives.
- Is it something that you think can be treated?
- What do you want to do to cure it?
- Is that the only option or are there other things that may work?
- Which will be the best varicose vein removal procedure?
Many times, it is going to be varicose veins that cause the pain and the best vein doctor in NYC will have a choice of treatments that they can recommend for you. Before they can give you this information, they will have to carry out an extensive examination and ask you a lot of questions. As you can imagine it is important that you answer these correctly as it is this information that will be used to work out what they are going to suggest. You want to be sure that the best vein doctor in NYC has all the information they need before they suggest the varicose vein removal procedure that they think will be most appropriate.
Examination
When this happens, the best vein doctor in NYC will need to both look at and feel your legs. When standing they will be able to tell if there is any swelling and when seated, they can see if the veins are making the skin stretch. If this happens you will already know that varicose veins are a likely cause of the cramps and that they may have to suggest a varicose vein removal procedure of one sort or another. Whatever the doctor asks you should be answered honestly even if you know that they will not be happy with the answers. This is the only way they can be sure to set up a program that is going to be beneficial for you. It can be hard to accurately describe pain, but it will be helpful if you can be as clear as possible.
It may be necessary to carry out an ultrasound as well and this is going to be a very important procedure; so, do not prevaricate if this is suggested. The best vein doctor in NYC will be able to tell if the valves are damaged and if so, how damaged they are. It will also show up the presence of any blood clots; if this happens, it should be dealt with before any other treatment is started. This is a totally non-invasive procedure and all that happens will be the use of a small device known as a transducer. This is only about 6 inches long and will be passed across the legs and picking up an image of the veins. When seen on the screen, the doctor will get a better idea of what they are dealing with and which varicose vein removal procedure they will want to carry out.
Treatment
When the best vein doctor in NYC has all the information they need, they can start to plan ahead and decide what to do. You can take solace in the fact that there is very rarely the need to stay in hospital as a result of the varicose vein removal procedure. The only time when this will happen will be when none of the non-invasive and minimally invasive treatment has worked and the only way to get rid of the veins is through surgery. Home care can be a good place to start when treatment is being discussed. Many times, varicose veins respond well to compression stockings, and while they cannot reverse what has happened so far, they can help with pain and further damage. You can find that simple changes in your lifestyle can also lead to improvements such as:
- Losing weight – Extra weight will put added pressure on the legs and will further damage the veins and start to damage additional ones. Reversing this could prevent the need for a varicose vein removal procedure.
- Raising the legs – This will stop the blood flowing the wrong way and release the pressure that has been placed on the valves.
- Loose clothes – Wearing clothes that are too tight can affect the blood flow and lead to varicose veins starting.
- Alternating position – If you have to sit for a long time, make sure you manage to stand up and move for a while. In the same way, if you stand for long periods arrange for a little time when you can be seated.
Medical treatment
If any of the above treatments are not helpful it will be time to accept that there has to be medical intervention in the form of a varicose vein removal procedure. Looking for a doctor to help should be easy and you should find the best vein doctor in NYC. They will advise you of a variety of treatments that can be carried out and while they will listen to what you want, it will be best if you go along with the treatment they suggest.
Sclerotherapy
This is likely to be the first procedure that is suggested by the best vein doctor in NYC as it is one of the least invasive and does not take long to carry out. A local anesthesia shot is not likely to be given as the procedure is not that painful. The doctor will simply inject the larger and more noticeable varicose veins with a foam or liquid sclerosing agent. This will lead to the vein scarring and then closing. A couple of weeks later, you should notice that the veins have faded and eventually disappeared thanks to the varicose vein removal procedure you have undergone.
It is possible that the first session is not going to be enough and the procedure has to be carried out again. This does not mean the treatment is not suitable, and you should be happy with the end results. There is no need to go to hospital to have this done and the doctor can carry it out in their office. Larger veins can be treated with a form of sclerotherapy known as foam sclerotherapy and it is very much like the main type, except it is foam that is injected into the vein. The foam will have the same effect as the liquid sclerosant and the vein will close and become sealed. Then the blood will not get back into the vein. Instead, it will find another way to get back to the heart and carry on with its circuits around the body.
Laser treatment
This is one of the newer types of varicose vein removal procedure. It tends to be used on the smaller veins that have become affected and are often referred too as spider veins. Here it is light that is sent in to damage the vein and once this has happened, it begins to fade an over a short period of time it will disappear. There is no need for the best vein doctor in NYC to use either a needle or make an incision when doing this.
Varicose vein removal procedure with a catheter
There are a number of these procedures that use laser energy or radiofrequency and they are slightly more invasive than some of the others. The vein has a small catheter placed in to it and the tip is heated using laser energy – sometimes it will be radiofrequency used. The catheter will be withdrawn and as this happens, the heat damages the vein to an extent that they cannot accept blood anymore. Once sealed shut, the vein will not open anymore and the best vein doctor in NYC will have got the results they wanted. It is more often than not this process that is followed if the vein is large and it is feared that others may not be strong enough.
Vein stripping and ligation
Here the doctor will target the vein at a point where it has not yet reached a major vein and make two small cuts through which the vein will be removed. It will be carried out while you are an outpatient and the leg will not miss the vein as others will take the blood that would have normally flown through it.
Ambulatory phlebectomy
Punctures are made in the leg by the best vein doctor in NYC and the veins are taken out through them. There only has to be localized numbing of the leg and again you will be an outpatient. For a while there may be a small amount of scarring, but this should fade fairly quickly.
Vein surgery
This will only be carried out when the best vein doctor in NYC has determined that none of the other procedures would be suitable or if there are signs of ulcers developing. It is not a major operation, but it will require a hospital stay. A camera will be put into the leg so that the best vein doctor in NYC can see exactly what they are dealing with. It will help them greatly to know where the worst veins are and if there is anything they need to take extra care with. The veins will be closed off and once this has happened, they will take them out. This is one of the most invasive varicose vein removal procedures.
Conclusion
Whichever form of treatments for leg cramps the doctors choose for you, you can be sure that they will be the best ones. Often varicose veins look worse than they are, and there is many times that there will only need to be a small amount of short term treatment to deal with them. As long as you are honest with your doctor and make any changes that they tell you to, you should recover well.