It is often said that sitting down and crossing your legs causes varicose and spider veins. That’s not true, but did you know that standing may cause them? These veins often appear on people who either have a genetic predisposition to them or have jobs that require a great deal of stranding.

That’s because standing makes the vascular network work harder than usual in order to pump blood from the legs up towards the heart. The veins are caused when a valve isn’t working properly and a pooling of blood occurs. As pregnancy puts a similar strain on the vascular system, varicose veins are also common in pregnant women.