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The normal function of leg veins is to carry blood back to the heart. During walking activity, the calf muscle acts as a pump, compressing the leg veins and forcing blood back towards the heart.To prevent blood from going in the wrong direction, veins have one-way valves valves that prevent blood from flowing backwards down the leg. If the valves are faulty (a condition known as valvular incompetence), blood flows back into superficial veins and down the leg. This process is known as reflux. Reflux results in veins enlarging and becoming varicose. Once veins become varicose, they lose their ability to snap back into their correct shape, and become more plastic rather than elastic. Varicose veins unfortunately cannot heal themselves, and this condition is either stabilized with compression hose, or managed with one of the vein treatment plans. The greater saphenous vein is one of the most frequently damaged veins that leads to varicose veins in the leg.
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