What Kind of Doctor Treats Poor Circulation in Legs? And Other FAQs About Vein Doctors

Poor circulation in the legs usually happens because of underlying vein disease, a medical condition wherein the collapse of vein valves causes blood to flow in the opposite direction. Since poor circulation caused by collapsed vein valves is a vascular condition, it must be treated by physicians specializing in phlebology, i.e., the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of vascular conditions, such as spider veins, varicose veins, leg ulcers, restless leg syndrome, and deep vein thrombosis.

The kind of doctor specializing in phlebology is a phlebologist — colloquially known as vein doctors, vein specialists, vein physicians, vascular doctors, or vein expects. Phlebologists can come from all fields of medicine, including cardiology, dermatology, hospitalists, anesthesiology, or internal medicine, but they must have specialized training in vein care. You should ideally look for board-certified vein doctors with advanced training in vascular imaging diagnostic tests and minimally invasive spider vein and varicose vein treatments.

New York City Vein Treatment is a group of state-of-the-art medical centers for vein treatment specializing in minimally invasive vein treatments. Our vein treatment centers are led by highly-skilled, board-certified vein doctors who use the latest diagnostic tests to identify and treat the root cause of your vein problems, not just the symptoms. We individually select vein doctors who have undergone advanced residency and fellowship training, ensuring you have access to the highest standards of vein care.

You can find our medical centers for vein treatment in Midtown Manhattan and the Financial District. Our vein treatment center in Midtown Manhattan is located at 290 Madison Ave Suite 202, and the FiDi office is located at 156 William St, 3rd floor, New York. Please schedule an appointment with our board-certified vein doctors in New York for more information.

Poor circulation in the legs often occurs because of a circulatory disorder known as chronic venous insufficiency. This is a medical condition caused by the collapse of vein valves. In healthy veins, the valves act as one-way doors that allow blood to flow smoothly towards the heart, often against the force of gravity (legs to the heart). When your vein valves collapse or malfunction, blood flows backward and accumulates in the leg veins, leading to vascular dilation, spider veins, varicose veins, and other vein problems.

Chronic venous insufficiency happens when your vein valves collapse. And your vein valves may collapse for a wide range of reasons, such as natural wear-and-tear due to aging, pregnancy, hormonal changes, being overweight, maintaining a sedentary lifestyle that involves long periods of sitting or standing still, and genetic predisposition. If you have a high risk of vein disease because of the aforementioned factors, you should wear compression stockings regularly and engage in aerobic exercises to improve blood circulation.

Walking is an excellent form of low-level exercise to improve blood circulation. When you walk, you engage your calf muscles and push some of the accumulated blood in your leg veins towards the heart. Walking also improves blood circulation in general. However, if you already have chronic venous insufficiency, walking won’t treat the diseased saphenous vein.

Compression stockings are skin-tight garments that apply pressure on your leg veins. If you don’t have vein disease, compression stockings can minimize the risk of venous insufficiency and improve blood circulation. But if you already have poor circulation because of vein disease, compression stockings can simply prevent the condition from worsening.