In what cases can the calves cramp? There can be many reasons for the occurrence of such problems, but some of them deserve special mention. Most often, certain diseases of the nervous system or nutritional disorders can cause cramps in the calves at night. In the first case, you cannot do without consulting a doctor, and possibly treatment from specialists in diseases related to the nervous system. As for nutrition, anyone can normalize it at home.
Lack of microelements leads to spasms
A lack of trace elements calcium and magnesium in the body can cause you to constantly feel cramps in your calves at night. In addition to poor nutrition, another cause of noticeable calcium and magnesium deficiency can be increased sweating. It is known that with sweat, both a considerable amount of water and a colossal amount of microelements, which were mentioned above, are removed from the body. If they are deficient, the body will report this: you will feel your calves cramping, chronic fatigue and interruptions in the functioning of the cardiovascular system will appear. The third reason for unpleasant and painful symptoms may be a natural slowdown in blood flow in blood vessels and muscle tissue at night. Since the muscles do not receive the microelements they need, they can react to this with convulsive contractions, which makes you wonder once again why your calves cramp at night.
How to prevent cramps
What needs to be done first is to seek help from a doctor who can help determine the true cause of the seizures. If after the examination no serious illness is revealed, then you will need to learn various simple exercises that will, if necessary, help stretch the cramped muscle and allow you to get rid of the problem of cramping your calves at night. In addition, it will not hurt to master the skills of relaxing muscle massage for cramps.
Here is one very simple exercise that anyone, even a child, can do. Doing this will help you get rid of cramps quickly.
To begin, you will need to take a comfortable place near the wall so that you can rest your hands on it. One leg needs to be put forward so that it stands on a full foot, and the other should be taken back so that it is located on the toe. Now make circular movements with your back foot so that it lands on your heel. This must be done four or five times until you feel that the calf muscles are stretched. Then you can do the same, changing legs.
This kind of exercise will help stretch the muscles after cramps and ensure they are free throughout the day. And if performed regularly, they will also be a good preventative for the muscles. If you also pay enough attention to proper nutrition, the question of why your calves cramp at night will no longer arise.
There is a large percentage of people among the population who constantly or occasionally complain that their legs cramp at night. Such cramps are often accompanied by unbearable pain and therefore prevent a person from getting a good night's sleep. This disease occurs in people of all ages. Despite the fact that it is mainly older people who consult doctors about it, the possibility of leg cramps in young people and even children cannot be ruled out.
A certain percentage of cases of this disease lies in the fact that a person has problems with the thyroid gland, diabetes mellitus, and cirrhosis of the liver. Everything in our body is interconnected. And if your legs hurt, the reason does not always lie in the legs themselves. That is why, in case of pronounced and persistent seizures, it is imperative to seek help from a doctor.
Complaints of leg cramps from pregnant women are common. In this situation, a woman may be influenced by several reasons at once. First of all, a developing baby requires a large amount of vitamins and minerals to build his body. Naturally, if these substances are insufficiently supplied to the mother’s body with food, they begin to gradually be “pumped out” from the woman herself. Plus, there is a lot of stress on the legs. Let’s add to all of the above a possible predisposition or the initial stage of development of varicose veins (again from severe fatigue of the legs) and we get the answer to why a pregnant woman’s calves cramp at night.
And yet, leg cramps are often observed in people who are generally healthy and do not suffer from any obvious diseases. Their legs cramp due to muscle fatigue or when they receive a large load on their legs. People may be overweight, have frequent stress, or simply lead a sedentary lifestyle. In addition, there are a number of other reasons that lead to the fact that the muscle is in a state of constant contraction.
It is also important to know the reasons why heels hurt and how to get rid of this symptom!
The pain during such convulsions is very strong and sharp. There are several possible reasons why your calves cramp at night:
At rest, every muscle cell is relaxed and charged. Such a charge is achieved through chemical elements that are necessary for the optimal functioning of the cell as such and the organism as a whole. The inside of the cell contains potassium, and the outside contains mostly sodium. Thanks to the cellular pump, which is called sodium-potassium, the difference between the ions of these elements is maintained. That is, excess sodium is pumped out of the cell, and the required amount of potassium is absorbed inside.
With the help of electrical charges, the muscle cell begins to contract. Nerve impulses can quickly discharge the cell. And in this state, the cell membrane begins to let calcium in. This element causes the cell to do its job. In other words, it causes the cell to contract. As soon as calcium begins to enter the cell, this leads to the simultaneous entry of sodium and the exit of potassium. When the calcium content in the cell is high, it begins to contract spasmodically.
The cell again enters a relaxed state for two reasons. First, calcium begins to be removed from the cell using calcium pumps. Secondly, sodium and potassium reserves are depleted. Note also that cellular pumps absorb up to 40% of the energy that was generated by the cell.
At night, when a person sleeps, blood circulation processes in the human body slow down. If there is a shortage of certain types of microelements, then at night this is felt very strongly. Their supply to the leg muscles is reduced, which leads to night leg cramps.
Having understood what muscle contraction and cramp are, you should learn to prevent the occurrence of cramps in the legs. Our main assistant in this matter is magnesium. It plays the role of a kind of barrier that prevents calcium from penetrating into the cell. Magnesium promotes stable operation of cellular pumps. Any expenditure of cellular energy and all its formations are impossible without the ions of this chemical element.
Magnesium deficiency is diagnosed in the vast majority of people who suffer from leg cramps. The daily requirement of magnesium required for the body is not replenished with the usual set of foods from the human diet. And, in addition, there are a certain number of factors that contribute to the loss of magnesium. It is quite difficult to determine that the cause of seizures was a magnesium deficiency. In case of acute deficiency, it begins to mask its deficiency by entering the blood from the muscles and bones. For this reason, it is advised to monitor symptoms of magnesium deficiency.
You can replenish the loss of this element by taking medications containing magnesium. These can be both medications and dietary supplements.
Magnesium's ally in the fight against muscle contraction is calcium. If there is a lack of it, the frequency of seizures immediately increases. This is a signal that the body lacks not only magnesium, but also calcium. The ratio required for normal functioning of muscle cells, calcium and magnesium is 2:1. That is, when consuming magnesium in certain proportions, it is necessary to simultaneously take double the amount of calcium. For leg cramps, dairy products are not an ideal source of calcium. This is due to the fact that they contain phosphorus, which can upset the balance of minerals in the body. As a result, convulsions may reappear.
If your legs cramp at night, this may be a sign of a lack of calcium and potassium.
If you observe regular leg cramps at night (cramps in calves, feet, toes) and this is accompanied by such unpleasant symptoms as constant heaviness, fatigue, swelling of the legs, then this phenomenon may be a symptom of incipient varicose veins. In this case, it is necessary to consult an experienced phlebologist before starting treatment.
Also, leg cramps can be a sign of a lack of nutrients such as calcium and potassium, and can also be caused by flat feet. In order to get rid of cramps with flat feet, special shoes and insoles are needed, as well as regular massage of the entire surface of the legs and, in particular, the foot.
If there is a lack of vitamins and microelements in the body, it is necessary to reconsider your diet and include in it foods such as cottage cheese, hard cheeses, bananas, legumes, apples, dried apricots and others. Taking vitamin courses in addition to a proper diet may also help.
If your legs cramp at night due to incorrect posture, and your muscles become numb, then you need to immediately take a comfortable position and perform a kneading massage on the site of the spasm.
If your legs cramp at night quite often, this may be due to an excess of caffeine and nicotine in the body. Therefore, it is worth thinking about reducing your consumption of coffee and cigarettes. An excess of sugar in the body can also have a negative effect.
The most serious causes of leg cramps are diseases such as epilepsy, brain tumors, eclampsia, spasmophilia, as well as hidden injuries, inflammatory and infectious diseases, as well as hidden neurological diseases. In any case, if you often have cramps in your legs at night, you should seek advice from doctors such as an endocrinologist, phlebologist and neurologist.
You can also do a number of exercises right in bed:
If your legs cramp at night quite often, then it is best to consult a doctor, since the cause of this development of events can be really serious diseases, and even if it is a fairly common varicose veins, then you need to start fighting it as early as possible, at the first stage of the disease. Sleep well!
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The discomfort and pain caused by transient cramps of the calf muscles are familiar to many firsthand...
Almost 80% of people suffer from involuntary muscle spasms from time to time, which last from 30 seconds to two minutes. Although these spasms are extremely painful, they are not dangerous in themselves. However, in some cases they can be a symptom of more serious pathologies. In women, the appearance of seizures is often associated with pregnancy, as well as taking hormonal contraceptives. In approximately 75% of cases, cramps are caused by dehydration of the body.
Why does the calves cramp?
1. Ca deficiency (hypocalcemia), potassium deficiency (hypokalemia) or a combination of both is the main reason leading to spasm of the calf muscles. The fact is that these biologically significant substances interfere with the effective absorption of each other: excess calcium causes a lack of potassium and vice versa. The diet should be adjusted so that the body has equal amounts of Ca and K. There is a lot of calcium in sesame, celery, eggs, fermented milk products, and honey. Bananas, dried apricots, prunes, parsley, oatmeal, and baked potatoes are rich in potassium. Magnesium helps potassium to be absorbed well, so its (Mg) deficiency may also be to blame for the appearance of calf muscle cramps.
2. Often, when swimming in cold (cool) water, under the influence of low temperatures, a spasm of blood vessels occurs. People suffering from spinal diseases and low calcium levels in the blood are more prone to this than others.
3. If you don’t understand why your calves are cramping, you should probably look for the cause in excess stress on the limbs, which leads to the calf muscles being overworked, as well as in excessive physical training: excessive sweating leads to “washing out” of calcium and potassium from the body . Muscles can become overstrained due to excess weight of their owner and flat feet.
Chronic stress is a common cause of seizures: under its influence, metabolism is disrupted, nutrients are poorly absorbed from food. In this case, it will not be superfluous to take a collection that has a slight sedative effect: valerian, lemon balm, mint, motherwort. The best result can be achieved by using complex treatment: physical exercise, massage, contrast baths. A course of vitamin-mineral complexes, as well as Magne B6, will be very effective in such a situation.
One of the time-tested simple remedies to get rid of debilitating pain is rubbing the calf muscles with freshly squeezed lemon juice or mustard oil every night. Before bed, a contrast shower or relaxing foot baths are useful: with pine extract, with sea salt. An effective way to relieve spasm: pull your toes towards you: the spasmed muscle will straighten and the sharp pain will go away.
But if you are unable to solve the problem on your own and frequent spasms in the calves are accompanied by hyperemia, heaviness, and pain, this may be one of the symptoms of thrombophlebitis. Leading to the formation of clots in the lumen of blood vessels and inflammation of the venous wall, thrombophlebitis develops against the background of obesity, due to physical inactivity, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, chronic intoxication, and allergies. If there is any suspicion, it is wise to undergo an ultrasound.
In addition, spasms can be a symptom of diseases of the peripheral or central nervous system, internal organs, diabetes mellitus, endocrine disorders, and chronic inflammatory processes. Therefore, if spasms occur regularly, you should not ignore the problem; you should consult a doctor and start treating the underlying disease.
The intensity of pain during leg cramps varies, but still, no matter what area of the legs the cramp occurs, the pain is very difficult to endure. As you know, many people face this problem; almost everyone has experienced the sensation of leg cramps. So should you see a doctor with such an illness or continue to live with it?
Judging by the experience of people with this problem, cramps are always unexpected and short-lived. Possible reasons why the muscles of the legs and in particular the fingers cramp:
The pain during cramps in the calves is very sharp and stronger in intensity than in the previous case. Possible reasons why leg muscles cramp in the calf area:
Indeed, pregnant women experience cramps in their legs much more often, the reason is the same lack of vitamins and microelements, but pregnant women are allowed to take vitamin complexes only after a doctor’s recommendation. Besides, walking with a big belly in late pregnancy is hard on your legs, no matter what we do. Therefore, such a load on the legs can result in cramps at night or in the morning.
If a pregnant woman often experiences cramped legs, doctors recommend eating more calcium, namely cottage cheese, cheese, and dairy products. You can take medications only as prescribed by a doctor, so as not to harm the baby.
Usually, when bringing your calves together, if you are lying down, it is recommended to sit down, put your feet on the cool floor and carefully stand up. But the pain can be so unbearable that you can’t get up. In this case, you should try to relax as much as possible, breathe deeply, and massage your legs. It is also advised to tightly apply an elastic bandage to the leg in the area from the knee to the foot. When your toes cramp, try stretching them by lifting your foot up.
Today, more and more people who have never complained of health problems are complaining of periodic spasms of the calf muscles, accompanied by severe pain. Such phenomena can be observed not only among the elderly, but also among representatives of the younger generation. Your calves can cramp not only during the day, but also at night. There are many reasons for the problem; a qualified specialist can understand their nature, as well as eliminate the onset of pathologies dangerous to health.
Cramps in the calves occur against the background of increased excitability of the nervous tissue. The reasons for the development of this condition, in turn, are quite diverse. Some of them are a consequence or clinical symptom of various pathological processes.
In addition to the objective reasons for the development of seizures, medicine also identifies those that are the result of errors in human behavior. Some of them:
Separately, we should consider why some people experience cramps in their calf muscles at night:
Often night cramps can be observed in people who walk, stand or sit a lot during the working day. Overfatigue makes itself known in the form of convulsions precisely at night, when a person takes a horizontal position and the brain sends impulses to the limbs. However, the degree of circulatory impairment and the volume of accumulated lactic acid are so great that the muscular system loses the ability to relax.
Such conditions negatively affect the quality characteristics of the blood and lead to its thickening. The result is impaired blood flow and seizures.
This factor poses a threat not only during the day. At night, the danger from tight pajamas and underwear is even higher. During sleep, a person moves less, which is why all processes in the body proceed somewhat more slowly. Clothing that compresses the superficial veins further reduces the speed of blood flow.
Long-term use of diuretic drugs leads to the fact that useful substances leave the body along with physiological fluid, which disrupts the mineral balance.
A calf muscle cramp is often caused by gross violations of safety rules when playing sports. First of all, this is ignoring the requirement to warm up the muscular system before starting classes. Some novice athletes, when running, transfer their entire body weight to one part of the foot rather than the entire body. As a result, the muscles of one limb become excessively tense.
Cramps are often observed in those who engage in strength sports. The following errors can provoke a spasm:
Other sports also pose a risk in terms of the likelihood of developing seizures.
It is generally accepted that cramps of the lower extremities occur exclusively in adults. However, in medical practice, many cases of seizures developing in children aged two to five years have been recorded. Most often the condition can be observed at night.
Important: if cramps are rare, there is no cause for concern. Consultation should be sought when involuntary contractions occur frequently.
Experts include the following reasons why children experience cramping in their calves at night:
Most of the reasons are easily removable. It is important that parents do not panic during involuntary muscle contractions in their child.
What should parents do if their child develops seizures? First of all, warm the lower limbs by rubbing using a warming ointment. If you don’t have such a remedy at hand, you can carefully pull the sock toward your foot and let go. The manipulation is repeated several times. You can also ask the child to stand on his toes and stand there for a few minutes.
It is quite easy to prevent the occurrence of involuntary muscle contractions. For example, if the baby has been very active throughout the day, it is recommended to give a light massage of the feet and legs before bed. The same effect is achieved with a contrast shower. The child should be seated on a stool, the legs placed in a basin are alternately doused with warm and cold water.
The children's room should have a comfortable air temperature - no higher than 20°C; the child should sleep in pajamas made from natural fabrics. Only under these conditions will sleep be complete and the musculoskeletal system will have the opportunity to fully relax.
A child’s diet should be rich in foods that are beneficial for growth and development. Particular attention should be paid to foods high in potassium (tomatoes, cabbage, cranberries), calcium (legumes, rose hips, nuts, milk-based products), magnesium (bran, cereals).
If you experience cramps regularly, you should definitely consult a doctor. Diagnosis of the condition begins with examination of the lower extremities and collection of all patient complaints.
The medical history is carefully studied for the presence of provoking diseases. To obtain additional information, tests and hardware studies may be prescribed.
MRI and ultrasound are recommended for suspected disorders of venous and arterial blood flow and the development of autoimmune processes.
Blood sugar tests are the first test prescribed for patients at high risk of developing diabetes.
A cramp can develop at any time of the day. And it is not always possible to immediately consult a doctor for help. Therefore, it is very important that every person knows first aid techniques. It is as follows:
It is not recommended to rub the limb with any ointments before visiting a doctor. Drug therapy should always be preceded by diagnosis and consultation with a specialist. Otherwise, there is a risk of developing serious health consequences.
After the specialist determines the reasons why calf muscle cramps develop, treatment and preventive measures are prescribed. Basic treatment recommendations:
A course of taking a multivitamin or medications containing potassium, magnesium, and iron will help restore the balance of microelements and vitamins.
In the absence of contraindications, special gels and ointments are used that effectively cope with seizures. The greatest effectiveness can be achieved if you rub the products several times a day.
In addition to eliminating the convulsive syndrome itself, treatment tactics should be aimed at eliminating the acute phase of the underlying disease.
In addition to drug therapy, traditional medicine is used to eliminate involuntary muscle contractions. It should be remembered that both methods must complement each other.
Examples of the most effective recipes:
Important: before using any traditional medicine recipe, you should consult with your doctor to determine its compatibility with the main treatment and health condition.
To eliminate the manifestations of involuntary muscle contraction, you must first determine the causes of the condition. This will help you prescribe treatment correctly. However, pathology is much easier to prevent.
Preventive measures can be formulated as follows:
It is not difficult to follow preventive recommendations. Treatment of pathology will take a lot of time and effort, including financial.
Probably every person in his life, one way or another, has experienced a sensation in which his leg cramps. The cramp is so severe that you cannot move your leg. Of course, this is an unpleasant feeling that can take over a person at any moment, and, as a rule, at the most inopportune moment. There are a lot of myths that seem to help when your leg cramps. For example, you need to pinch a limb, eat bananas, etc. These are, first of all, harmless jokes, but in a situation where seizures interfere with a person’s normal life, it’s no laughing matter.
If we talk about the reasons that cause seizures, there are quite a lot of them. A cramp in the leg can be caused by diseases of the thyroid gland, lack of minerals in the body, or calcium deficiency. These are just a few reasons. These include heart disease, problems with muscle metabolism, and flat feet. There is no need to panic if your leg cramps, as it is often caused by more harmless abnormalities. For example, increased sweating, in which the body loses potassium, calcium and sodium in large quantities. When there is a lack of fluid in the body, an imbalance of electrolytes occurs - mineral substances, with the help of which electrical charges are supplied to the muscles and, under their influence, contract. You need to drink more liquid, but not carbonated sweet water, but regular or mineral water.
Well, now let's talk about more serious reasons why cramps torment a person. The so-called peripheral convulsions are increased excitability of nerve cells. The process is quite simple. The neurons begin to move into an excited state, while the muscles contract with virtually no impact. The reason why there is increased excitability of nerve cells is a lack of calcium in the human body, a lack of oxygen and glucose for brain function, and a lack of sodium chloride. Based on these three factors, most cases of cramping of the leg can be explained.
With frequent physical activity (running, sex, walking), the muscles do not have enough oxygen and glucose, and with sweat the body loses sodium chloride. Two disadvantages work at once. Surely every person who has visited the pool has experienced cramps while swimming. This is a simple lack of oxygen and glucose. Moreover, when you swim, your muscles tremble, thus doing double work. If a leg cramps on land, this is one thing, but when a cramp attacks in the water, it is much more dangerous for a person’s life. It’s good if you are in a pool, but what if you are swimming in a river? It happens that at night or in the morning the legs “go numb”, as a result of which a cramp occurs. Insufficient blood circulation causes this reaction. If a person suffers from diabetes, seizures are quite possible. The fact is that diabetics do not have a supply of glucose, and blood with a large amount of sugar carries oxygen at the wrong time. There are also convulsions of central origin. The most developed form is an epileptic seizure. The person instantly falls due to the contraction of all muscles and within one minute the whole body convulses. After this, the patient suffering from epilepsy wakes up and remembers absolutely nothing.
As you can see, if your leg cramps, the reason may be different. However, in any case, you need to know how to help yourself. You can ease contractions by standing with your bare feet on the cold floor. Stretch your leg while lying down, but pull your toe towards you. If pain during a cramp plagues you, then you can take any painkiller, including aspirin. This remedy improves circulation in the vessels of the extremities. Forget about smoking and don't drink a lot of coffee and black tea. Don't take diuretics. Do not forget about proper nutrition, because our body needs minerals and vitamins. Eat bananas, raisins, dried apricots and potatoes. These foods are rich in potassium. Consume more dairy products, which will provide your body with calcium, because its deficiency causes leg cramps. Traditional medicine offers several proven ways to get rid of seizures. Lubricate your feet with lemon juice, put mustard in your socks, do physical exercise, jogging especially helps.