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Breathing & recovery

Calf pump exercises for varicose veins and heavy legs

Your calf muscles act as a pump for the veins in your legs: when they squeeze, blood is pushed back up towards your heart. This routine works that pump with ankle moves and calf raises, adds a brisk walk, and finishes with your legs up. It's built from the calf training used in small vein trials and from NHS leg advice, and hasn't been tested as a whole. In the trials, calf exercise improved how well the pump works; whether it eases aching is less certain, and it won't make varicose veins disappear. It also suits leg aching after a blood clot (post-thrombotic syndrome). Wear your compression stockings if you've been given them.

15 minBeginner10 movesA bench or box · A wall · Cardio machineCalves · Hip flexors · Shins · Quads · Glutes · Hamstrings
Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Sitting: wake up the pump

  1. Ankle circles10 pumps, then 5 circles each way
    Beginner · Calves, Shins · 3D demoPoint your toes up and down, then circle. Each footHarder: Ankle CARs (controlled articular rotations)
  2. Seated bent-knee calf raise (soleus raise)15
    Beginner · Calves · 3D demoLift both heels as high as you can, then lower slowlyHarder: Slow calf raise
  3. Seated march1 min
    Beginner · Hip flexors, Quads, Abs · 3D demoSit tall and march your kneesHarder: Standing march

Standing: calf raises

  1. Slow calf raise2 sets of 10 to 15
    Beginner · Calves · 3D demoHold a worktop or a wall. Rise right up onto your toes, pause, then lower slowlyEasier: Seated bent-knee calf raise (soleus raise)Harder: Standing dumbbell calf raise
  2. Tibialis raise10 to 15
    Beginner · Shins · 3D demoLean your back against a wall and lift your toes towards your shinsHarder: Single-leg tibialis raise
  3. Sit to stand from a chair10
    Beginner · Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings · 3D demoStand up and sit down slowly, pushing through your heelsEasier: Sit to stand, pushing on the thighsHarder: Bodyweight squat

Walk

  1. Treadmill walking5 min, or longer if you have time
    Beginner · Quads, Calves, Glutes · 3D demoBrisk, at a pace where you can talk. A slope or a hill works your calves harderHarder: Treadmill jogging

Stretch and raise your legs

  1. Wall calf stretch (gastrocnemius)30 s each leg
    Beginner · Calves · 3D demoBack knee straight, heel downEasier: Seated calf stretch with a towelHarder: Heel-on-step calf and hamstring stretch
  2. Soleus wall stretch30 s each leg
    Beginner · Calves · 3D demoBack knee bent, heel downEasier: Seated calf stretch with a towelHarder: Toes-tucked kneeling (toe squat)
  3. Legs up the wall (Viparita Karani)2 to 5 min
    Beginner · Hamstrings, Calves · 3D demoOr lie with your legs on cushions. Prop up your upper body, or skip it, if lying flat makes you dizzy or you're in later pregnancy. Come up slowlyHarder: Plow pose (Halasana)

Tips

  • Do the calf raises 3 or 4 days a week and the ankle pumps every day, and walk on most days. These are our suggestions, within the ranges the trials used.
  • When you sit or stand for a long time, do 10 ankle pumps or calf raises every 30 to 60 minutes.
  • When two-leg calf raises feel easy, try one leg at a time, or raise your heels from a step.
  • Vein aches are usually worse after standing and ease when you rest with your legs up.
  • In small trials, calf exercise improved how well the calf pump works; whether it eases aching and heaviness is uncertain. It won't remove varicose veins: see a GP about treatment if they bother you.
  • Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 for a vein that bleeds, a hard, red, painful vein, or one swollen, throbbing calf. Call 999 for leg pain or swelling with breathlessness or chest pain.
  • Keep foam rollers and massage guns off varicose veins.

The doses are suggested starting points, not a prescription. Choose a range you can control and stop for sharp or increasing pain, numbness or tingling. Get individual advice after an injury or surgery, or if you are pregnant or managing a health condition.

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Questions people ask

How long does the calf pump exercises for varicose veins and heavy legs take?

About 15 minutes, including any warm-up and cool-down listed. Shorten it by doing fewer rounds; lengthen it by adding one.

What equipment do I need?

You need: A bench or box, A wall, Cardio machine. Each move links to its guide, where you can find an alternative if you are missing something.

Is it suitable for beginners?

It is written for beginners. 4 of its 10 moves have an easier option listed beside them if you need one.

How do I make it easier or harder?

Use the easier or harder option listed under each move, change the number of rounds, or adjust the rest. Progress one change at a time.