Doing the leg work; In associa

Byline: HELEN RAE

WITH Christmas almost here and the party season on the horizon, it'll soon be time to start making sure your legs are fit to flash.

We all know the allure of revealing great pins, but leg health expert Kimby Osborne said they deserve more than just a bit of occasional seasonal tender loving care.

She warns that we are neglecting our legs all year round.

"Most women are now aware and familiar with how important it is to pick up on any changes in our breasts to avoid cancer," explains Kimby, a former chiropodist who is now director of training for compression hosiery company Activa Healthcare.

She added: "Yet 90% of us ignore any changes in what is one of the most important parts of the body - our legs.

"By not heeding those warning signs, we are putting our health at risk from, at worst, lifethreatening deep vein thrombosis (DVT) through to varicose veins to leg ulcers."

It's estimated 50% of us are likely to experience leg problems during our lifetime.

"Many people are unaware that aching legs, swollen ankles or enlarged veins mean all is not well with the circulatory system," Kimby said.

"These symptoms shouldn't be regarded as normal and can be alleviated and treated before they trigger worse problems.

"Yet, in general, the reaction of many is to simply lose weight and Fake Chopard Watches put their feet up regularly.

This is totally inadequate."

Around 6.3 million people - 70% of who are women - suffer from varicose veins.

This occurs where valves within the veins do not work correctly, or the vein walls are weak, allowing the vein to become permanently enlarged.

More worryingly, around one in 2,000 people in the UK develop DVT. In the over-80s, this figure rises to one in every 500.

Jeanette Baker, from South Shields, South Tyneside, never dreamed that she was at risk of a DVT, right up until she was diagnosed with a blood clot in her right leg five years ago.

She said: "I was 48 and, as far as I was concerned, in good health.

"Many years before I had varicose veins and I had those injected, but that was my other leg."

Jeanette, then an office worker in advertising sales, said she first knew something was wrong when her right calf began to feel hard.

"I thought I'd done something to my leg," she explained.

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"I'd started to limp, but I was ignoring it. I have a touch of arthritis in my knees and I thought I might have dislocated it.

"I made an appointment at the doctors and went to get it checked."

Jeanette's GP measured her calves.

The leg can swell if a clot is present, but Jeanette's wasn't particularly enlarged.

Medical tests indicated something was wrong and Jeanette was immediately referred to South Tyneside Hospital, where she had a scan which showed a clot behind the knee.

She added: "They asked me if I had been on a plane and I hadn't recently. I told them the discomfort had started on the Sunday after I had been sitting at my computer doing some work at
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