Leg veins face a unique challenge as they must push blood upward, working against gravity, for the entire time you are standing or sitting. Your body has some clever ways to manage this.

The most important helper is your calf muscle. Every time you walk or move your foot, the calf muscle squeezes the deep veins inside it, pumping blood upward like a bellows. This is often called the “calf muscle pump” and it is one of the main reasons doctors encourage you to keep moving.
Your leg veins are divided into two systems. The deep veins sit inside the muscle and carry most of the blood, about 90%, up to your groin. The superficial veins run just under the skin and carry the remaining 10%. Small connecting vessels called perforator veins link the two systems together. Behind your knee and at your groin the two main superficial vein dive down to meet deeper veins.

One-way valves inside the veins act like trapdoors. When the calf muscle squeezes, the valves open to let blood through. When the muscle relaxes, the valves close to prevent backflow. In the superficial veins, just under the skin, when these valves stop working properly, blood can pool in the lower leg, and this is where vein problems, including varicose veins, begin. At our Woolloomooloo Vein Clinic in Sydney’s inner Eastern Suburbs we have specialist sonographers who use ultrasound to map your veins and varicose veins so we can recommend appropriate treatment for your vein conditions.