A growing problem that we are seeing more and more is venous insufficiency. Many people are letting their symptoms go untreated and un-diagnosed. As a result, many patients experience their condition worsening and leg swelling, skin discoloration and venous ulcers can occur. This happens when the leg veins do not return the blood to the heart the way they should be. This means the valves that are inside the veins are damaged. This creates a build up of blood in the lower leg which can leak out and breakdown tissue. This is most commonly seen around the ankle area with darkening of the skin. This dark skin is due to the tissue breakdown and can feel very rough and hard like a callus.