DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Both my legs have varicose veins. I’m in my 40s, and I am a female. I have been a jogger for many years and run nearly five miles a day. People tell me that jogging caused my varicose veins. Is that the case? Does it make them worse? I feel quite physically fit and don’t want to stop my exercise. — C.N.

ANSWER: Don’t stop your exercise. It didn’t cause you to have varicose veins.

Genes and perhaps female hormones influence the development of these veins. So does obesity, which I imagine doesn’t apply to you. Jobs that require prolonged standing might be a factor. Aging definitely is — another contributing factor that’s not applicable to you.

Leg veins face a real challenge. They’re part of the system that gets blood back to the heart from the body’s lowest areas — the feet and legs. Gravity is working against blood return. What keep blood moving onward and upward are vein valves. As blood passes through a section of vein, its valves close so blood doesn’t fall back down.

For some of the reasons I have listed, quite a few people develop faulty valves. In their leg veins, blood does tend to stagnate in the feet and legs. That stagnation stretches the veins out of shape. That’s the genesis of varicose veins.

Exercising the leg muscles prevents the appearance of varicose veins. Contracting leg muscles squeeze the leg and foot veins and force blood to move upward in the vein

You ought not to jog exclusively on hard surfaces, like cement. The shock of feet striking such a nongiving surface could cause turbulence in the blood within a vein, and that might stretch it.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have twin sons, 14 years old. In the past nine months, they have grown almost 4 inches. Both boys are avid athletes. Does this growth spurt affect their athletic skills? It seems to me that it would affect coordination. I realize this is a silly question, but I am curious about this. — G.O.

ANSWER: During the athletic growth spurt, children are not exactly poetry in motion. However, athletic skills remain during the spurt. Your boys shouldn’t notice any reduction in their skills.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I converted my garage into a gym. I have weightlifting equipment, a treadmill and a stationary bike.

I don’t have any experience with weightlifting, and I don’t have any intention of entering bodybuilding contests. I lift weights that don’t cause me to strain excessively. I need some guidance on the correct breathing technique. Is there a right or wrong way to breathe? — P.L.

ANSWER: There is. Exhale when you are lifting the weight. Inhale when you return the weight to the starting position.

I suppose you could reverse the sequence if it’s more comfortable for you. Most important, however, don’t hold your breath while lifting. Breath-holding decreases the flow of blood to the brain and heart. It has caused people to faint.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What’s the meaning of “feeling the burn”? Some very dedicated bodybuilders work out in the same gym I do, and they’re always saying they feel the burn. What am I missing out on? — J.K.

ANSWER: Muscle sugar, glycogen, supplies energy for weightlifting. Oxygen helps metabolize that sugar to provide energy. If the intensity of muscle work exceeds the oxygen supply, lactic acid is generated. Lactic acid produces a sensation similar to burning. The feeling leaves quickly upon resting. Feeling the burn indicates that one is exercising to the maximum.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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