Peripheral Vascular Disease

• Are your toes and or feet cold or numb? Do they burn?
• When walking do you get pains in your calf or thigh?
• Do you have sores on your toes, feet, or legs that won’t heal?
• Do you notice a loss of hair on your feet or toes, or legs?
• Do you have some black or blue marks on your feet or toes?
• Do muscle cramps bother you especially at night or resting?

You may have Peripheral Vascular Disease if the answer to any of the above was yes.

WHAT IS P.V.D?

Peripheral vascular disease is the medical name of the group of medical problems that causes poor circulation to the toes, feet and legs. One of the major diseases in this group is called arteriosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis, more commonly known as “hardening of the arteries” is a condition in which there is a gradual thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity in the walls of the arteries. The arteries are the blood vessels that brings the blood from the heart, down to the feet and legs. Arterial insufficiency may also be caused by an obstruction in the artery wall, by the narrowing of arteries or by a spasm of the vessel. This disease is most common in men past fifty years of age.
Diabetes is a major cause of peripheral vascular disease. The diabetic lacks the ability to make proper use of the sugar they ingests. As a result, of this sugar builds up, they have many changes in their blood vessels, causing them to have circulation problems, more often than the average person.
Besides diabetes other risk factors for circulatory disorders are heart disease, high blood pressure, smoking, family history of vascular disease, obesity, and elevatedcholesterol levels.
Exercise can help circulatory problems. The muscles of the legs have a massaging effect on the blood vessels and help maintain normal passage of the blood. Adequate exercise which is appropriate to a person’s general health and age will do much to benefit the entire circulatory system.
There are many highly successful non-surgical treatments for peripheral vascular disease that gives relief by increasing the circulation, to the feet and leg. This is done as always in the comfort and privacy of our clinic.