Many people turn to massage for relief from a variety of symptoms, and it can also be a great way to relieve stress and find a moment of peaceful calm in an anxiety-ridden world. While massage therapy has incredible benefits for your body, it is not a recommended nor particularly effective method of relieving leg pain due to a vein condition.
The underlying reason for leg pain is chronic venous insufficiency, or a vein condition resulting from blood pooling in the lower legs. The only 100% effective treatment for leg pain, then, is to treat the underlying cause - the faulty leg veins. This is done with vein treatment. Massage does not address the root cause, though it may relieve pain. If it does, the relief is temporary. This is because the actual problem is the buildup of inflammation in your legs. Once the massage stops, the inflammation is still there and leg symptoms return.
People with a vein condition can certainly enjoy massage therapy and find benefits from it for the rest of their body, but understand that the underlying condition still remains. For some people, having a massage is actually too painful because of the underlying inflammation. For them, sometimes the pain after a massage lasts for days. It just doesn't work for them.
Blood that has pooled in the lower extremities is under pressure. You can see this if you have spider veins or ropey varicose veins winding around your leg. Massage therapy, particularly deep tissue massage, may apply too much additional pressure to delicate leg veins causing them to rupture resulting in bruising, pain and tenderness. When this happens, it's not dangerous. It's just uncomfortable and unsightly. If you do enjoy a massage and you have varicose veins, be sure to request light pressure to test the waters. Or you can request that the massage therapist avoid massaging your lower legs below the knees and focus just on the thighs. That is because most symptoms of a vein condition are below the knees.
Ultimately, having a massage is not a dangerous activity when you have a vein condition, but it can lead to temporary discomfort and bruising. Leg massage does not cause blood clots or other serious complications.
It’s okay to look for something to ease the pain of a vein condition, if even temporarily. Ultimately, only you can determine for yourself if something brings temporary relief from pain. Massage, hot or cold packs, ibuprofen, or other remedies may bring a brief reprieve from discomfort, but they won't provide a permanent solution There are some that say that a hot bath, for example, brought relief. However, 90% of people found that hot baths made the discomfort in their legs worse. Pay attention to your body and notice what works and what doesn’t.
For massage, though, you are free to enjoy the experience if you have a vein condition. Just make sure an experienced massage therapist is aware of your vein condition and understands that a light touch in the affected legs may be the best way to start.
We understand that massage can be part of a successful self-management plan for their vein condition. Ultimately, however, a vein condition will progress and most people eventually want to get relief with vein treatments, which are easy to go through and really help.