OFFICE HEALTH HAZARDS

This week: Varicose veins

OFFICE workers are at greater risk of developing these dark blue swollen veins from hours of sitting at a desk.

‘Both sitting or standing for long periods of time causes pooling of blood in the veins of the leg,’ says Jeremy Crane, a consultant vascular surgeon at The Wellington Hospital in London.

‘This increases the pressure in the veins, which can weaken walls and valves leading to the development of varicose veins. The best way to counteract this is to walk around once or twice an hour and push up and down on your tiptoes.

‘This encourages the calf muscles to push against the veins, in turn pushing the blood upwards towards the heart.’

If that’s totally impossible, though, Mr Crane suggests wearing compression stockings to work.

‘They can be really helpful, as they also compress the veins and push the blood up the leg towards the heart,’ he explains.