Calf cramps are one of the most common and painful types of cramps. Cramps in the calves are experienced not only by athletes for whom heavy load on the calf muscles is a constant occurrence, but also by those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. Sudden, involuntary contraction of the calf muscle causes severe pain and in some cases can lead to serious muscle damage (tearing of muscle tissue as a result of strong contraction of the calf muscles).
Although the exact cause of calf cramps is unknown, the occurrence of cramps may be due to a number of factors:
The main symptom of a calf cramp is sudden pain, tension in the calf muscle, and in some cases, the inability to straighten the leg due to the cramped muscle, which becomes hard and ball-like to the touch. A separate type of cramps is leg cramps. Leg cramps - how to deal with them? at night, affecting not only the calf muscles, but also the feet. Such cramps are often observed in late pregnancy. Especially often, not only pregnant women, but also older people and people suffering from obesity experience calf cramps. Obesity: a disease of well-being? , athletes.
How to relieve calf cramps
Stretching the calf muscle helps relieve the pain caused by a cramp - the leg must be straightened by pulling the toe. Socks: in the footsteps of the Greek beauties, legs towards you, so that the calf muscles stretch.
Gently massaging the calf muscle helps relieve cramp symptoms by stimulating blood flow to the muscle tissue.
If calf cramps are observed constantly, disturb sleep and affect the quality of life, you should consult a doctor - in some especially severe cases, special medications (in particular, quinine) are prescribed to treat and prevent calf cramps.
Massage for calf cramps
Muscle cramps are sudden and involuntary contractions of one or more muscles. As you know, muscle spasms can cause excruciating pain. Although they are usually harmless, in some cases muscle cramps can lead to a temporary inability to use the affected muscle.
Muscle spasms can be triggered by prolonged training or physical labor, especially in the heat. In addition, muscle spasms can be caused by certain medications or medical conditions.
The main causes of muscle spasms
Most often, muscle cramps develop in the leg muscles, especially the lower leg muscles. In addition to the sudden, sharp pain, you may also notice tension in the muscles under the skin.
Although most muscle cramps are harmless, some may be associated with medical conditions . For example, like this:
Factors that may increase your risk of muscle cramps include:
When to see a doctor
Muscle cramps usually go away on their own and are rarely severe enough to require medical attention. However, you should consult a doctor if your cramps:
See what exercises are suitable for strengthening and developing leg muscles:
Leg cramps most often affect the elderly, young children, pregnant women, and people of all ages who play sports or do heavy physical work. Most often, the calf muscles of the legs and feet cramp at night.
The phenomenon has its own name - crumpy, from the English. cramp - spasm, cramp. Night cramps painfully compress the muscle, bend the foot, and cramp the toes. Cramps occur suddenly when a person stretches or changes position while sleeping.
You should not leave the muscle in a spasmodic state for a long time, even if the pain is not too intense. Crumpy causes microtrauma to muscle fibers. To prevent this process from having serious consequences, it is advisable to try to quickly relieve the spasm. To do this, it is recommended to massage the muscle along its entire length and rub it with ice cubes. If the pain does not subside after the spasm is relieved, take a painkiller.
The mechanism of nighttime leg cramps has been fully studied. It is believed that the causes include an imbalance of electrolytes in the blood plasma, a violation of nervous regulation, and hormonal changes in the body. Spasms most often occur at night, since during sleep blood pressure and muscle tone are reduced and blood flow is slow. The metabolic rate is significantly reduced, the delivery of oxygen, nutrients and important macronutrients is reduced at this time. With calcium deficiency, these processes can cause abnormal neuromuscular excitability, manifested in muscle spasms.
Another cause of night cramps is considered to be the usual position during sleep - a pose with bent knees. In this position, the calf muscle is not completely relaxed, it is partially tense and shortened. If it is stimulated, a spasm occurs. A cramp can also occur when you change your position in bed while sleeping. In this case, overstrain of individual muscle groups occurs. With atypical neuromuscular excitability, caused by disturbances in the electrical activity of the brain, muscle contractions may also occur, causing spasms.
The appearance of spasms in the legs is caused by disruption of the sodium-potassium pump, a transport protein that maintains the physiological concentration of potassium and sodium ions inside the cell and in the intercellular space. Potassium deficiency primarily affects neuromuscular conduction in the lower extremities and causes leg cramps. Acute potassium deficiency can lead to simultaneous cramps of all four limbs - quadriplegia.
Night cramps in the calves may accompany:
Cramps in the calves are caused by magnesium and iron deficiency, obliterating diseases of the lower extremities, and varicose veins. Cramps occur with hypothyroidism, uremia, and strychnine poisoning.
Muscle spasms occur when athletes overtrain. Undesirable reflex muscle responses can arise as a result of the accumulation of waste products and lack of blood supply in intensively working muscles. At night, all these predisposing factors can lead to uncontrolled erratic contractions and cause muscle spasms.
Spasm also occurs in insufficiently trained muscles. With a sedentary lifestyle, muscle mass decreases, neuromuscular regulation is disrupted, and the reflex activity of the spinal cord changes. It is important to find a middle ground: to play sports without overload and overexertion.
In old age, the cause of cramps can be shortening the length of the tendons and the associated disruption of muscle innervation.
Frequent stressful situations lead to an imbalance of essential macroelements - calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium. The body responds to stress by releasing huge amounts of cortisol, the stress hormone, into the blood. A side effect of this hormone is a deterioration in calcium absorption and increased excretion by the kidneys. Its absorption is also impaired due to a lack of vitamin D.
Disturbances in the electrolyte composition of blood plasma primarily contribute to the occurrence of seizures. A lack of macroelements leads to disruption of nerve impulse transmission and disruption of the regulation of muscle activity.
Losses of macroelements are provoked by taking diuretics and a number of medications. Uncontrolled use of diuretics leads to potassium and magnesium deficiency. The body reacts sensitively to a lack of magnesium. Approximately 3/4 of all cases of leg cramps are associated with a deficiency of this essential element.
The causes of cramps can be the use of medications:
Children who are actively growing may experience muscle cramps at night. Children wake up in severe pain. The reaction to pain is fear and crying. Parents are sometimes lost and don’t know what to do or how to relieve the pain. First of all, you need to calm the child, change his position in bed, massage the sore leg.
The cause of the spasm may be random and be a consequence of an uncomfortable position during sleep or hypothermia of the legs. But you should not ignore night cramps, as they can be caused by flat feet or an imbalance of macronutrients.
The main treatment for night cramps in the calves is aimed at eliminating provoking factors, which include excessive physical activity, cooling, lack of salt in the diet, and dehydration. If eliminating the causes does not produce results, then they resort to drug treatment. Patients are prescribed diphenine, quinidine, nifedipine, tocopherol, clonazepam, carbamaepin. For cramps that occur after hemodialysis, hypertonic solutions, quinine, and vitamin E are prescribed.
To get rid of leg cramps, it is necessary to adjust the balance of important macro- and microelements involved in the conduction of nerve impulses. Infusions of horsetail, yarrow, and nettle replenish calcium and magnesium deficiency. Lungwort and pikulnik compensate for the lack of silicon; currants, game, lemon, and sea buckthorn supply vitamin C and bioflavonoids. With sunflower and nuts, the body receives the necessary lecithin, violet and cucumber supply manganese.
Night cramps are not dangerous to your health, but they are very painful and affect the quality of your sleep. Timely preventive measures and medications successfully cope with muscle spasms, relieve pain, and restore sleep.