Hey there. Welcome to our best boots for workers with varicose veins review round for 2022 (updated for 2023).
What's Inside?
- Great Work Boots If You Have Varicose Veins
- Here are a few work boots I’ve used whilst having varicose veins
- Can work boots cause varicose veins?
- What work boots to avoid?
- What work boots can you wear if you have varicose veins?
- How work boots can help you with your varicose veins?
- Here are some of the most important features of a work boot for people with bad veins
- Tips to help improve your varicose veins problem
- Work boots for varicose veins: The Takeaway
Let me break it down for you really quickly. If you got here by searching online what are the best work boots for varicose veins, let me tell you there’s no such thing!
I also have varicose veins on my left leg and I wear regular safety work boots.
Nothing special about my work boots other than the fact that they are very comfortable, fit my purpose which is extremely important, they’re waterproof, provide good support, etc.
People with plantar fasciitis or heel pain for example can buy boots that have rigid or semi-rigid arch support and also cushioned heel pads. That will help them relieve pain or recover from this condition.
But for varicose veins sufferers like you and me … there’s no SPECIFC feature in work boots that can help us with our varicose veins issue.
Don’t worry though! In this post, I’ll share with you everything you must know about wearing work boots if you have varicose veins (including some of the work boots I wear myself).
This is based on a decade of personal experience dealing with varicose veins and working in construction.
Plus we’ll be joined by a few doctors to give us some tips related to what features we should look for when buying work boots and much more…
So keep reading to find out the truth about work boots for varicose veins!
Here are a few work boots I’ve used whilst having varicose veins
1. Wolverine Overpass
- Composite Toe
- Leather + Synthetic
- Rubber + PU Sole
- Read Full Review
Roomy & Insulated
Work Boots
2. Timberland Pit Boss
- Steel/Soft Toe
- 100 % leather
- Rubber outsole
- Read Full Review
Great Supportive
Footbed & Outsole
3. Caterpillar Outline
- Steel/Soft Toe
- Nubuck/Suede
- Rubber outsole
- Read Full Review
Stylish Casual Looking Safety Work Boots
4. Thorogood Heritage
- Steel toe cap
- Made In The US
- Wedge sole
- Read Full Review
Great Quality Work Boots Made In The USA
5. KEEN Lansing
- Asymetrical Steel Toe Cap
- Rubber Outsole
- Breathable upper
- Read Full Review
Hiking Style Steel
Toe Work Boots
6. Irish Setter Ashby
- Aluminum toe
- Leather upper
- Wedged sole
- Read Full Review
Wedge Sole Safety Work Boots
Can work boots cause varicose veins?
Podiatrist Note
Work boots directly do not cause varicose veins and may play a very minor role in making them better or worse.
Dr. Timothy Holmes – D.P.M.
So according to Dr. Timothy, there’s no direct correlation between wearing work boots and developing varicose veins.
Improper work boots COULD contribute to worsening of vein conditions though; including swelling in the legs, painful legs and ankles, and disturbing color changes, and even open sores.
And you’ll find more info about this below…
Work boots can’t protect you against developing varicose veins and they can’t solve the problem either.
What work boots to avoid?
Personally, I’d avoid work boots that are too wide or too loose on your feet. One of the things we need when having varicose veins is pressure around our legs.
We need something to hold our feet and legs compressed. That’s why it’s recommended to use compression tights or socks.
So work boots like the Wellington type or the slip-on type usually fit a bit looser on our feet. I won’t use these.
I prefer lace-up work boots with eyelets all the way to the top or with lace hooks.
That’s because we’re going to achieve some good pressure by properly tying up the boots. Here are the differences between lace-up and pull-on work boots if you want to learn more.
Something relatively new in work boots is the BOA fit system.
This is a system that doesn’t require laces instead, a mechanism is using a wheel and a heavy-duty wire to tie or untie your boots. Fast and easy and very comfortable.
If you REALLY have to wear the pull-on or slip-on work boots, maybe you’re working with wet concrete or you’re doing a lot of work around the farm and you have to use these types of pull-on work boots …
…then at least make sure you use compression thighs.
What work boots can you wear if you have varicose veins?
I personally have some bad veins and I’ve been in the construction industry for a decade. In all these years I’ve been wearing all sorts of work boots. VERY rarely pull-on or slip-on work boots though.
So even if you have varicose veins, you can use whatever work boots you prefer for your work as long as they’re fit the purpose and they’re comfy and protective.
Other than that, it will make no difference what boots brands or models you wear (at least that’s my case).
How work boots can help you with your varicose veins?
Ill-fitting work boots may worsen problematic veins. Supportive, well-fitting and proper work boots for the proper working conditions could lessen the mechanical impact of poorly structured insoles and work boots.
This would lessen the swelling contributed from standing and working on hard surfaces, contributed by your feet having to work harder, and therefore the veins having to work harder.
Here are some of the most important features of a work boot for people with bad veins
As I’ve said, there aren’t too many features in a work boot that can help you specifically with your varicose veins condition.
But there are features that will provide better support for your feet and encourage proper circulation of the blood for example.
1. Comfort
When it comes to comfort, a boot for a person with venous disease is no different from any other worker.
You need support in the boot to help you with keeping a good posture for the whole shift.
Also, you’ll want a work boot with good arch support to avoid foot pain or conditions such as plantar fasciitis. Depending on your type of foot you might want to go for a soft/semi-rigid/rigid type of arch support.
2. Cushioned insoles
If the boots you’re looking to buy are not coming with decent support don’t worry. You can buy a good pair of insoles.
There are a lot of options out there depending on what type of foot you have, what type of footwear you wear, what activities you’re doing or what feet conditions you might have, etc.
Here are a few I’ve used and still use:
3. No heel or very low heel if possible
The best type of work boots for you if you have varicose veins are those work boots that have a very low profile heel or none at all.
Luckily for you and me, most work boots out there has a heel lower than 3 inches. Typical work boot heel is between 1 and 1.5 inches high.
The work boots with the highest heel I know of are the loggers work boots and the lineman work boots with heels going around 2 inches.
4. Space inside the boot
Even though we want a boot that’s somehow tight we want to avoid a boot that squashes our feet and toes since want to promote healthy blood flow in the lower parts of our body.
You need to have some room inside the boot, and more specifically in the toe box.
Especially if you go for safety toe work boots. The pain is unbearable when the toe box is just too small. Trust me, I know this first hand.
5. Lacing system
I rarely wear pull-on work boots or slip-on work boots.
Yes, they’re comfy because you can take them off and put them on fast and easily, but they’re not your best option if you have varicose veins.
In my experience, lace-up work boots are much better if suffer from bad and weak veins.
I think I’ve mentioned this above somewhere but my new favorite lacing system is the one that doesn’t use laces…yes you’ve heard that right!
The BOA fit system [1] uses just a special heavy-duty wire and a mechanism with a wheel that allows you to tighten or loosen up the boots as you please extremely easily.
Do you need more pressure? Just spin the wheel.
Are the boots too tight? Just press the wheel to lose it up.
Awesome technology!
Tips to help improve your varicose veins problem
This article is not intended to give you advice on how to solve your varicose veins but we want to share with you a few tips that might be helpful.
The first tip and the most obvious one is to go and talk to a vascular doctor if you have varicose veins.
Veins Expert Note
For patients with venous disease, work boots that feel good at the start of the day can feel tight or uncomfortable by the end of a long day. Compression stockings can control some of the swellings, but the underlying problem needs to be addressed.
Dr. Paula Muto – Vascular Surgeon
As Dr. Paula points out you can try and do a few things to help you with your varicose veins issues but the sooner you address the underlying problems, the sooner you treat those veins, the sooner you’ll be able to enjoy a better life.
Nowadays, getting rid of varicose veins it’s much easier and less complicated (depending on the severity of each case of course) with many safe and affordable technologies and covered by insurance.
Second, as you’re deciding to see a professional, try some of these tips in the meantime…
1. Use compression stockings
I use these especially when I’m at work. Occasionally I use them at home as well.
You don’t really have to have varicose veins in order to use these types of socks.
It’s actually recommended by professionals to use them in order to prevent the condition to appear in the first place, especially if your work involves heavy-duty activities like moving heavy things around.
These help increase the flow of blood in the lower parts of the body by putting pressure on our veins.
I don’t know you but what I’ve also realized by wearing stockings is that at the end of the day when I take them off, my feet and lower parts of my legs feel less fatigued than when I don’t use them.
2. Use boot inserts for varicose veins
In all honesty, I haven’t used any insoles specifically for this purpose but they come recommended by some people with blood circulation problems.
All I know is these are some insoles that provide a gentle massage to your feet as you walk. This is helpful for us with varicose veins because the massage can help have better blood circulation.
Here are some examples:
3. Try some yoga
Just to be clear here, yoga won’t cure your varicose veins. Some people might claim it does, but if that’s true I don’t know their personal situation and condition. So take what you read online with a grain of salt.
Yoga can be helpful for you if your veins are causing you pain. The simple exercises I’m sharing with you below are meant to alleviate the pain.
So here are a few yoga poses I do. Personally, I don’t do much yoga but some of these you’ve been doing for years not even knowing this is called yoga. (my case :D)
Take for example the first pose:
– Viparita Karani or putting your legs up on the wall
How many times you’ve done this after a hard day at work or whilst you were pregnant?
This is a simple exercise and it only requires putting your legs up on the wall. Nothing special about it. Just lay down on the floor close to a wall and keep your palm facing upward whilst keeping your back and legs straight.
Sometimes I do this whilst lying in bed as well.
This should help the blood to come back from the legs and flow in the direction of the heart relieving this way pressure and increasing blood circulation.
– Sarvangasana or the supported shoulder stand
This is another good pose for varicose veins and blood circulation in general since it requires putting our legs up again.
Use your palms to support your hips as you’re raising your legs up in the air and then shift your bodyweight towards your shoulders.
I remember doing this a lot in school during PE class. Now, a few years later and with a few extra kilos around my waist, I feel like it’s not THAT easy to achieve this pose anymore.
However, you can cheat a little bit here and use the wall to help you push your weight up until you achieve this pose.
– Navasana or the boat pose
This pose is one of the hardest ones for me and for those of you that are out of shape since this one requires a bit of muscle in the abdomen to keep the position for a longer period.
Basically, you have to raise your legs and find your balance while you move your hands in front of you, kinda like reaching out for the toes. But what you want to achieve here it’s a position in which your body looks like a V shape.
Not everybody achieves a perfect V and that’s fine. You can still leave your knees bent a little bit, with practice, this pose will become a perfect V if your body allows it.
4. Exercises for varicose veins
Depending on how bad your varicose veins look, you might be able to do some of these exercises or not. Always speak to a varicose veins specialist first to avoid bigger problems.
The best exercises you can do when having varicose veins are those that are putting very little pressure on your veins.
– Weightlifting
This exercise is probably the one that you should try and avoid. Lifting heavy stuff puts a lot of pressure on the veins of every person but it has an even worse effect on people with varicose veins.
If you still want to lift, make sure you lift less than what you’re used to and you mix it with other activities.
– Cycling
This is a very low-impact exercise that will help improve the blood flow in your calves without putting pressure on your veins, joints, or bones.
– Swimming
This is a great activity for the whole body. It has the lowest impact on your body since the water takes all the weight and you just have to move your legs and arms in order to pump the blood.
The good part of swimming is that the majority of the time you’ll spend in the water your legs will be at the same level or above the heart. And that’s very helpful since the blood now can flow from the lower parts of your legs back to the heart.
Here are some other simple exercises you can do at home…
5. Try compression boots
Compression boots are a bit expensive and these don’t have to be used only by people with varicose veins. You can actually use these compression boots to prevent venous disease, to improve blood flow in general, and to relax your legs as well.
They act as a massager and who doesn’t love a massage at the end of the day?! (I know my wife does)
Some of these products are very expensive. A few years back this type of technology was used only by the local clinics.
Now it’s available to you as well. Here are a few examples if you’re curious about what’s on the market. The boots are listed from the most expensive to the most affordable.
| Brand | Model | Price |
| Therabody | RecoveryAir PRO | Check in-store |
| NormaTec | Pulse 2.0 | Check in-store |
| Air Relax | Air Relax | Check in-store |
| DSMAREF | Air Compression System | Check in-store |
| CINCOM | Leg Air Compressor | Check in-store |
| Fit King | Leg Air Massager | Check in-store |
Which one should you buy?
These types of compression boots are primarily recommended for lymphedema, sports injuries and recovery, and venous insufficiency.
But if you have conditions such as deep vein thrombosis, inflammation of the skin, blood clot or edema, have a pacemaker, or anything similar, you must talk to your doctor first.
Your doc can give you a better recommendation based on your particular situation.
Work boots for varicose veins: The Takeaway
Veins Expert Note
Varicose veins or venous disease is inherited, affects one out of three people, and gets worse with age and weight gain.
Dr. Paula Muto – Vascular Surgeon
If you happen to work on your feet, standing or sitting in one position like a machinist or hairstylist, you may become more symptomatic than if your job required a lot of walking.
Why?
Because your calf muscle helps pump blood back to your heart.
A person with varicose veins has faulty pipes, leaky valves, which means blood spills back down toward the feet so, at the end of the day, your legs will feel tired and can swell. They may even feel restless when you go to bed at night.
So the least you can do is to get yourself a pair of good and comfortable work boots and seek a vascular doctor like Dr. Paula to help you get rid of those bad veins.
External Resources
- https://www.boafit.com/en-us/company/our-story
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/varicose-veins/symptoms-causes/syc-20350643
- https://www.healthline.com/health/varicose-veins
- https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/understanding-varicose-veins-basics
Team Members Working On This Page
Jessica Flynn – Writer And Researcher
Love technology, going to the beach, taking care of my body, and writing (amongst other things). You’ll see my face around here a little bit since I’m responsible for part of the research and writing of some of the articles you’re reading on BestForMyFeet.com. I hope you’ll find our content helpful and enjoyable! See you around, thanks for reading!
Victor Adrian – Editor And Webmaster
Construction Professional, driver, crane operator, cleaner, head chef … these are just some of the jobs I did in the past. Working in all these different environments taught me that having good footwear to protect your feet from different dangers at work IS PARAMOUNT for any worker! On this website, I aim to share all my knowledge and personal experience in dealing with different footwear and foot care issues, and hopefully, you can get something out of it. Enjoy!
Our Board Certified Varicose Veins Expert
Dr. Paula Muto – Vascular Surgeon
I’m a Board Certified vascular surgeon and I’ve had my solo private practice in Merrimack Valley for over 20 years. When I’m not taking care of my patients I love spending time with my family and competing on the squash courts.
Also, I like to land a hand when needed answering foot-related questions here on BestForMyFeet.com. By the way, if you have any questions let’s book an appointment at https://mutoveincenter.com/ and take a look at your veins.
Our Board Certified Podiatrist
Dr. Timothy Holmes – Foot & Ankle Surgeon
Improving the quality of people’s lives was always the motivating factor in my decision to go into the healthcare field. Since I like helping people not only do I help my patients but I also answer your questions here at BestForMyFeet.com. If you ever need to talk more in-depth about something, don’t hesitate to book an appointment. Here’s where you can find me https://www.ohiofootandankle.com/
