One in two women are affected by heavy legs syndrome.
Normal, since hormonal variations – from puberty to menopause through poorly adapted oral contraception – are largely responsible. However, it is during pregnancy that this sometimes painful feeling of weariness and heaviness is most common.
It's mechanical...
Your veins are responsible for pumping blood back to the heart. In the legs, this famous venous return depends on blood pressure (activated by muscle contraction) and the tone of the walls along which valves – a sort of small valve – are placed, responsible for preventing the blood from going back down. When, for various reasons, these valves are weakened, the blood, instead of rising, stagnates and gravity sets in... This is closely linked to your pregnancy.
From the first trimester , the influx of progesterone reduces the tone of the venous walls while estrogens create a favorable environment for edema. Over the months, the increase in the volume of your uterus increasingly compresses the main vein which allows blood to return to the heart. At the end of pregnancy, blood pressure increases by two or three, the veins become distended, the valves move apart and no longer play their anti-return role. Don't worry, there's nothing inevitable about this.
IN WHICH CASES SHOULD WE BE REDUCED?
In the third trimester, few future mothers are spared from heavy legs!
However, the syndrome varies greatly from one woman to another.
If there is a family history...
When both parents are affected by venous insufficiency, there is a 70% risk of being affected as well; 43% if the disorder only concerns one of the parents. But even in the absence of a family history, remain vigilant: with age, the quality and quantity of collagen and elastin contained in your vein walls decrease, as does the number of muscle cells participating in the upward pulsation of blood. .
If this is not the first pregnancy...
The risk of venous insufficiency increases with the number of pregnancies. From 23% during the third pregnancy, it increases to 31% during the fourth.
If there is excess weight and a sedentary lifestyle...
The greater the weight, the more the veins dilate and the valves become ineffective. And the more the pounds settle on, the more physical activity becomes strenuous and diminishes. However, a sedentary lifestyle promotes heavy legs syndrome. It is therefore recommended that you limit weight gain before and during pregnancy.
When we are still working...
Maternity leave sometimes comes late. However, if your activity requires a prolonged standing position (saleswoman, nurse, etc.) or a significant sedentary lifestyle (office life as a whole), you are more likely to be confronted with this gravity.
WHAT ARE THE NEW REFLEXES TO ADOPT?
It's never too late to make good resolutions to relieve heavy legs. Because, even if after delivery the disorders resolve spontaneously, doing nothing to counter them would weaken the venous walls.
Walk...
Your legs are made for this and 30 minutes of walking a day will allow you to tone the vein wall and activate the return via a small pump which, located under the foot, pulses the blood upwards with each step.
Loosen your clothes...
Forget the strappy shoes that cut into the instep: this bulge is a key point in venous return. Also avoid flat shoes which pull too much on the calf and prevent active contraction of the muscle. No boots or tight clothing or stiletto heels. Focus on comfort above all!
Eat differently...
Because you need to both avoid gaining weight and fight against constipation and water retention. Prioritize fiber and vitamins from fruits and vegetables and hydration to flush out toxins. And, of course, avoid alcohol which has a dilating effect.
Flee the heat...
No prolonged sunbathing, no heating directed towards the feet, no... hair removal with hot wax because the heat dilates the veins.
Uncross your legs...
At work or at home, get up regularly to take a few steps. It is just as important to take a few minutes to roll a ball under your bare feet: this harmless activity will stimulate the muscles (and therefore, venous return) and force you to uncross your legs, a very harmful habit.
Raise your bed...
Contrary to popular belief, it is the bottom legs of the bed that must be raised by around ten centimeters and not the mattress, which can cause back pain when waking up. Another effective tip to help venous return: put your feet up against the wall for 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL DAILY CARE?
Simple, pleasant and effective: this is the common denominator of these care rituals which it would be a real shame to deprive yourself of!
The cool shower...
It is now better to forget the bath or at least limit it to 34°C (and at the end of the day) so as not to start straight away with already dilated veins. Always finish your wash with a jet of cool water from the ankles to the top of the thigh.
Heavy anti-leg creams...
They are essential. Formulated with draining and toning plants such as ruscus, ginko or red vine, added with refreshing extracts such as menthol and capable of transporting these active ingredients across the skin barrier, they provide immediate relief from heaviness. Some even act on the tone of the legs by activating circulation and the production of support fibers.
To optimize their effectiveness, they should always be applied with a light massage, moving up from the ankles towards the groin. Never in the opposite direction.
Restraint...
Stockings, socks or tights, the effectiveness of compression on venous return no longer needs to be proven. So-called comfort ones are only suitable for mild disorders and are not reimbursed. When gravity is significant, it is on medical prescription that class 1 or 2 restraints are delivered in pharmacies.
The active vascular gym...
This involves stimulating the postural muscles, close to the bones and therefore most involved in venous tone.
Example ?
In a seated position, squeeze your knees while countering their movement together with your hands; hold the pose for 20 seconds and repeat 10 times.
WHAT ARE THE BEST MEDICAL TECHNIQUES?
If, despite good habits and appropriate care, your legs remain heavy and become painful, do not hesitate to seek medical advice. Prescription venotonics can be of great help to you. Just like the following two techniques for stimulating venous return...
Pressotherapy.
It consists of placing the leg in a sheath which induces greater pressure at the ankles than at the thigh to stimulate venous return. Sometimes reimbursed on prescription, this technique has nothing in common with inflatable boots from beauty salons.
Lymphatic drainage.
This manual massage alternating different pressures and which must always be carried out by a physiotherapist, aims to decongest edema and restart lymphatic return. Good news: it can be reimbursed under certain conditions.