Surely everyone has had cramps in the fingers of the lower extremities at least once. Having experienced this most unpleasant feeling, many begin to wonder why their toes are cramped and how to deal with it. There are a lot of reasons for this unpleasant problem, and before starting treatment, it is necessary to find out what they are, only in this way can you get rid of spastic syndrome forever.
All muscle contractions occur involuntarily; a person does not make any effort for this. In medical practice, seizures are classified according to their location and duration of the attack.
Spasmodic muscle contractions are:
Muscle tissue consists of cells that serve as original transmitters of nerve impulses that enter there due to the presence of elements such as sodium, potassium and calcium in the body. When an impulse, somewhat like an electrical charge, passes through a muscle, the muscle contracts. The contraction occurs due to the fact that the impulses have different electrical potentials or polarities.
If calcium compounds enter a muscle cell, it contracts. After this, complete relaxation occurs. Then calcium molecules are removed from the cells, and they are replaced by potassium and sodium compounds, accompanied by magnesium replenishment. The imbalance of these minerals answers the question of why the toes and other muscle groups cramp.
Severe hypothermia, uncomfortable shoes or concomitant diseases lead to cramping of the toes.
The reasons for this unpleasant problem are:
What to do if you experience toe cramps during pregnancy. First you need to find out the cause, and only then begin treatment. The reasons may be as follows:
To relieve a patient from seizures, the doctor first diagnoses and determines the cause of the disease, and then prescribes treatment. Therapeutic agents include drugs that improve blood flow and a vitamin-microelement complex, the deficiency of which leads to spasms.
To improve the circulation process in the fingers of the lower extremities, it is necessary to replenish the body with the following substances:
All of the above substances are interconnected, so when treatment is prescribed, all these elements are present in it. These can be either medications containing them or a balanced diet that includes them.
Why fight a disease if it can be prevented? To ensure that you are never bothered by cramps, all you need to do is follow these steps:
With these simple tips, you can forget about muscle spasms and keep your lower limbs healthy.
A condition in which your toes begin to curl is called cramps. Why are my toes cramped, what causes this? Cramps are an extremely unpleasant and sharply painful numbness of the muscles of a certain area of the body. This process occurs involuntarily, its duration, as well as intensity, has great variability. There are several answers to the question of why your toes are cramped, and we will look at them during the course of this article. In medicine, there are various classifications of seizures, which are based on their location, duration, and the degree of muscle involvement in this process.
There are numerous factors that make us wonder why our toes are cramped. They can be divided into two large groups:
Cramping your toes? Causes: Primary (or idiopathic) seizures.
This type of convulsive contraction occurs for no apparent reason. And therefore they force a person to subsequently look for an answer to the question of why his toes are cramped. Currently, there is an opinion that the following conditions are predisposing factors to the development of this pathological process:
- excessive muscle tension during physical activity (here the main role is played by the duration and intensity of physical stress);
- wearing uncomfortable, ill-fitting shoes for a long time;
- sudden circulatory disturbance both in the entire leg and separately in each toe;
- old age (after passing a certain age, each person experiences a slight contraction of tendons located in various parts of the body, including in the foot area);
- uncomfortable or unusual posture during sleep (this factor is probably responsible for the fact that the frequency of seizures increases sharply at night).
Cramping big toe? Secondary seizures. Secondary reasons for which the toes cramp arise as a result of the fact that some disturbances are already occurring in the human body.
This microelement takes an active part in ensuring adequate contraction of muscle tissue fibers, which means its deficiency will lead to disruption of this process and the appearance of cramps. The cause of magnesium deficiency can be an irrational diet, as well as the presence of a number of diseases in which the absorption of magnesium in the intestines becomes difficult. Such diseases include all types of lesions of the small and large intestines. It is the lack of magnesium in the body that may be the answer to the question of why the toes cramp.
Calcium, like magnesium, is involved in the process of muscle contraction, and its insufficient level in the body can lead to muscle soreness, and subsequently to the development of cramps. In parallel with cramps, a person may complain of brittle hair, pain in the bones and problems with teeth.
Iron is an essential trace element that provides cells with oxygen. When there is a lack of it in myocytes, hypoxia occurs, which can lead to the development of muscle spasm, and then to convulsions. Most often, low iron levels can be observed in various anemias, including iron deficiency.
When glucose levels are low, a person may experience, in addition to convulsive muscle twitching, a sharp decrease in blood pressure, even to the point of fainting.
With rapid changes in the temperature of the human body, muscles can respond to these negative changes with spasm and numbness. Most often, muscle cramps can be observed during heat or sunstroke. Individual spasms and convulsions in the toe area can also occur when this area of the body is overcooled.
Central effects on the brain can also lead to toe cramps. Irritating impulses can occur when an area of the brain is damaged, such as from a stroke or alcohol poisoning. In addition, the toxic effects of some viruses, such as the influenza virus, can also have a similar effect.
If the normal functioning of blood vessels is disrupted, blood stops flowing in sufficient quantities to certain areas of the muscles, which can quickly lead to numbness and the development of cramps in the toes.
In some diseases of the spinal column, individual nerve fibers may be pinched, which leads to numbness in the underlying areas of the body, including the toes.
Women taking oral contraceptives can lead to the appearance of single cramps in the toes.
Now many people are trying to self-medicate. The question of what to do if your toes are cramped was no exception. Treatment (effective) should be carried out after consultation with a doctor. The main way to combat muscle cramps is to eliminate the etiotropic factor, that is, the cause that led to the development of this pathological process.
To alleviate the condition, people suffering from cramps in the toes can be recommended for preventive purposes:
- change your diet towards consuming healthy foods and dishes;
- regulate the level of physical activity according to your condition, avoiding both excessive overexertion and physical inactivity (inactivity);
- take various medications extremely seriously and use them only as indicated and after consultation with your doctor;
- constantly keep your muscles toned by regularly performing simple stretching exercises;
- wear only comfortable and high-quality shoes that do not cause any discomfort;
- reduce coffee consumption, and also, if possible, get rid of all bad habits, such as consuming excessive amounts of alcohol and smoking;
- regular use of a contrast shower, especially in those areas where cramps appear.
If convulsions have already occurred, then it is necessary to carry out several manipulations that will reduce their intensity and duration:
- first you need to relax so that your breathing is deep and even, this is necessary to fully saturate the body with oxygen, which will also reach the spasming muscle;
- then you need to carefully take a vertical position and put your feet together;
- after this, it is advisable to pull the foot towards you a little (in this case, the tendons and muscles will stretch slightly, and the cramp will pass much faster);
- if the cramp persists, a foot massage can be recommended using any ointment that has a warming effect.
After the attack of muscle cramps has passed, you need to lie down for a few minutes so that your legs are slightly higher than your head. Blood circulation in the foot will improve faster. Thus, in the course of the article, we answered the question of what to do if your toes are cramped. The reasons were sorted out. We also touched on methods of treating this disease.
If cramps in the toes begin to appear more and more often, then this is a reason to contact your doctor and immediately undergo a series of examinations that will help identify the true cause of this pathological process and make its treatment more effective. Self-medication in this case is not a good option. It’s better not to wonder what to do if your toes are cramped. Treatment will not come on its own; it is better to consult a doctor rather than wait for the result.
One of the most common problems related to lower extremity health concerns the cause of cramped toes. If you have experienced this feeling at least once, you can hardly confuse it with something. Together with an unpleasant and intolerable pain syndrome, the cramp makes it impossible to move normally. There is a need to take quick and effective measures to get rid of pain. If seizures occur frequently, you should seek medical help to determine their cause and prescribe treatment.
Toe cramps, the causes of which can be different, are involuntary muscle contractions accompanied by severe pain and distortion of their normal position. When this phenomenon occurs, a person is unable to walk normally until it is eliminated.
It is almost impossible to find out on your own why your toes are cramped. To do this, you will need to pass the necessary tests and undergo examinations by highly specialized specialists.
Among the main common causes of leg cramps are:
Toe cramp is a very unpleasant and very painful phenomenon. If she caught you at an inconvenient time, you will hardly be able to endure the pain and hide it. That is why it is important to know what to do to quickly relieve the condition if your toe (most often the big one) or several are cramped.
It is best to apply something cold to your feet. If your fingers are cramped, take off your shoes and socks and force yourself to walk on a cool surface. A foot bath with low temperature water will also help. After this, you need to take a position where your feet are above the level of your heart. There will be an outflow of blood, pain will weaken.
Pull your fingers towards you and massage them. You can even pinch the skin. Rub the cramped finger or several as hard as possible.
If your finger is cramped, prick the area where the cramp is felt with a needle (use this method only when you urgently need to eliminate the cramp).
When your fingers and feet cramp, but the pain does not go away after the cramp is relieved, use an elastic bandage. This will help you get back on your feet and move around painlessly.
To ensure that toe cramps do not take you by surprise, you need to pay enough attention to the prevention and treatment of this syndrome.
The causes and treatment of seizures are interrelated. It is best to start by making an appointment with a therapist and phlebologist. A visit to these doctors will allow you to rule out serious health problems and continue to use traditional medicine if you prefer them to drug treatment.
Among the special procedures that must be completed to identify the causes of seizures:
Therapeutic recommendations most often include the following:
Successful treatment is possible only with strict adherence to medical recommendations.
Many traditional medicine recipes can lead to recovery if you know exactly the cause of toe cramps.
Lemon juice should be lubricated on your feet for 2 weeks, repeating the procedure morning and evening. Only one lower limb can be treated if the pain is localized primarily in it.
To prevent and treat cramps in the toes, you can make your own bay oil. To do this, pour 50 g of dry bay leaf with 1 glass of unrefined vegetable oil. The preparation is prepared for 2 weeks in a dark place with low humidity. After straining, lubricate your fingers with it.
The crafty husk is no less effective than the onion itself. With its help you can successfully fight toe cramps. To do this, you just need to pour boiling water over it, leave for 10 minutes, and drink before going to bed.
Chamomile has long established itself as a traditional medicine, effective in the fight against a wide range of diseases. In order to get rid of muscle spasms in the toes, you need to pour 20 g of dried flowers into two glasses of boiling water and leave for 40 minutes. The resulting infusion is filtered and drunk between meals.
A tincture of thyme with yarrow is very effective for getting rid of cramps. 10 and 20 g of dry herbs, respectively, are poured with vodka (you can use 200 ml of alcohol). It is infused for 10 days, and then rubbed into the feet and fingers, and placed in dry heat (under a blanket).
Instead of tea, you can drink raisin infusion every day. Dried grapes poured with boiling water should be left to steep for at least 12 hours. It is very useful to alternate this tea with chamomile infusion.
You can drink various herbal teas and infusions of medicinal herbs to prevent toe cramps; you also need to pay attention to your habits and lifestyle. You may have to change something, give up bad habits and acquire useful ones.
First, always pay enough attention to physical exercise. This is what is missing in most people's lives. Let them be easy and simple, but you need to do them every day. This is important for blood circulation, supplying oxygen and nutrients to cells. It’s very good if you go jogging, swimming, etc.
Secondly, think about your diet. It must be balanced and maximally saturate the body with essential vitamins and microelements. Include more cottage cheese, bananas, cereals, herbs, seafood, and seaweed in your menu. This will help you not only get rid of toe cramps, but also feel cheerful and full of energy.
Thirdly, choose comfortable shoes. You can also walk in narrow high-heeled pumps, but only if long-term walking is not intended. This not only disrupts blood circulation in the feet, but also puts enormous stress on the spine. Sometimes this can cause not only cramping of the fingers, but also cramping of the feet and calf muscles.
Often people experience a phenomenon called muscle spasm in the toes. Toe cramps are not an independent disease; foot and toe cramps appear against the background of diseases in the internal organs and systems. If your toes cramp, this phenomenon is painful, most often occurs at night, appears unexpectedly during sports training, and can appear suddenly with a sharp change in climatic conditions. It is recommended that you read more about why your toes cramp and what to do when your toes cramp.
The main reasons why toes cramp are:
If your toe is cramped, a prerequisite for this may be an acute lack of microelements in the body. Sometimes a cramp occurs due to a deficiency of magnesium, which is the foundation for the well-established function of the muscular system during contraction. This symptom may indicate the presence of a disease.
With a lack of calcium, intense muscle tension also occurs. In parallel with the fact that a cramp occurs, this pathology is accompanied by a deterioration in the condition of hair and skin, teeth and emotional background. If your fingers are cramped, you need to know what causes it, visit a doctor, undergo appropriate diagnostic measures and eliminate the cause (if necessary).
Cramps also occur with iron deficiency. This element is responsible for saturating the blood fluid with oxygen. If your fingers are cramped, it means there is not enough oxygen. Such phenomena are often observed in those people who experiment with various diets and use sweeteners instead of sugar. To determine the deficiency of these elements, a person takes a blood test for biochemical composition.
Fingers can cramp due to a lack of potassium, which regulates the function of contraction of muscle fibers. A deficiency of such a microelement may indicate the presence of diabetes mellitus, pathological processes in the intestinal tract or in the urinary system.
If the reason why fingers often cramp is due to a lack of any of the listed minerals, the doctor will draw up a treatment regimen for this condition. In parallel with taking multivitamin and mineral complexes, it is important to adjust your diet. All treatment methods should be prescribed only by a doctor after preliminary tests.
The finger can cramp and curl due to single reasons, which include prolonged wearing of uncomfortable shoes, prolonged stay in the same position, intense loads on the limb. If the reason that spasm constantly occurs is wearing uncomfortable, too narrow products, you can eliminate this factor yourself. It is necessary to be careful when choosing shoes, based on the structural features of the foot and predisposition to possible cramps. When choosing products, you should avoid synthetics; a comfortable last and the correct size are important.
Prolonged stay in one position provokes the fact that the cramped finger may additionally hurt when the spasm stops. To avoid this condition and cramp of the thumb, it is recommended to change the position of the limbs as often as possible, moving the fingers if possible to prevent stagnation of blood flow.
A single spasm occurs under the influence of intense physical activity that does not correspond to the person’s physical fitness. To avoid this phenomenon, it is important to choose loads individually for the person, and be sure to warm up before training.
Disruptions in blood circulation cause seizures. To avoid this, it is necessary to introduce sports training, swimming, dancing, and running into your daily life. Such methods will bring pleasure and at the same time restore muscle tone and eliminate stagnant processes.
Pregnant women often experience cramps. They usually go away after childbirth. The causes of spasm during pregnancy are a sharp increase in body weight, deterioration of blood circulation under pressure from the growing uterus, swelling, and varicose veins. It is important to report all suspicious symptoms to the doctor managing the pregnancy; weight control is also important.
During active growth of the bone, joint and muscle system, children may also experience periodic convulsions.
First aid for muscle spasms is massage, rubbing the limb and fingers. You can do stroking, tapping, rubbing. Pull your finger towards you and let it remain in this position for several minutes.
A great danger is posed by spasms during water procedures (which is why many professional athletes and amateur swimmers often carry a pin with them). While in the water, the main thing is to suppress fear and growing panic, since the spasm that begins in the finger easily spreads to the entire limb. If you are prone to this phenomenon, you must have a pin with you.
Before going to bed, it is recommended to carry out a light massage of the legs and fingers, light gymnastics for the fingers to disperse the blood.
Cramps are uncontrollable muscle contractions that very often occur with pain. A muscle in a state of cramp becomes hard, dense, its shape may change, and twitching is observed. If the attack is severe, the pain persists throughout the day. When a person encounters this kind of pain for the first time, he experiences a feeling of fear: how to make sure that there is no more such pain. Some people have been familiar with cramps in their toes and hands since childhood. Some people developed seizures in adolescence, or even in older age. Often, cramps in the fingers and toes bother women during pregnancy. No matter how old a person is, it is necessary to get rid of seizures, because they significantly worsen life.
What are the causes of seizures? Why do my fingers and toes cramp?
If there are no health abnormalities in the body, then seizures can occur in the following situations:
- hypothermia. The most common cause of cramps, and painful muscle contractions appear not only during the cold season, but also when swimming in cold water. Cramps are not a sign of illness.
- staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time can cause seizures. The muscle nerve is compressed in the muscle canal. In this situation, urgently change the position to a comfortable one, relaxing the muscle group that is cramping. Perform a light, kneading massage.
- Excess nicotine and caffeine can cause seizures. Smokers and strong coffee drinkers experience muscle twitching. This reason is easy to fix - quit smoking tobacco products, replace coffee with tea or other drinks.
Let's talk about the types of seizures. There are cramps that cover a larger area of the body, cramps in the arms and legs.
Body spasms . The causes of painful muscle contractions throughout the body often include hidden serious illnesses, namely:
- cyst, tumor, or other brain damage.
- poisoning and others.
- epilepsy and others.
In this case, you need to consult a doctor (neurologist). Once the cause is determined, the doctor will prescribe the correct treatment for the disease. Often, after adequate treatment, seizures go away.
Seizures develop based on a strong degree of excitation of nerve cells in the brain, which often accumulates in a certain part of the brain. The accumulation is diagnosed using electroencephalography, based on certain manifestations.
Let's look at a common type of whole body seizures, namely the disease epilepsy. The main manifestation is an epileptic attack, the symptoms of which are specific: before the attack begins, the patient feels a change in the perception of sounds, taste, and aroma. Often, one patient has the same sensations before the onset of each attack, thus determining the onset of epilepsy. The patient experiences muscle tension throughout the body, then the muscles of the arms and legs regularly contract, and tremors are felt in the body. The attack may be accompanied by transient respiratory arrest. After an attack, the patient often falls asleep, and then does not remember what happened to him.
Why does it cause cramps in fingers, arms, and legs?
There are several reasons for this:
- if cramps occur in the legs and toes of the fairer sex, then high heels and tight shoes may have an effect. If cramps occur frequently, you should change your shoes.
— People suffering from flat feet may experience leg cramps. Contact an orthopedist, buy special shoes with orthopedic insoles, make an appointment with a massage therapist.
- cramps in the fingers, arms, legs can be caused by insufficient amounts of potassium and calcium in the body. In this situation, add dairy products, cottage cheese, fruits, cheese, vegetables, berries, bananas, and legumes to your diet. You will not only saturate your body with healthy vitamins and minerals, but also improve your immunity.
- more serious causes of cramps in the fingers, legs, and arms are infectious diseases, varicose veins, neurological, inflammatory diseases, spasmophilia, hidden injuries, epilepsy, meningitis, brain tumor. In this case, the help of a doctor is required!
- if you experience cramps in your legs and arms when you sleep, then the cause is most likely not pathology, but an uncomfortable body position.
- Frequent abuse of nicotine and drinks containing caffeine can cause cramps in the fingers, legs, and arms.
You can get rid of seizures if you establish the exact cause of their occurrence and eliminate it. You can alleviate the condition.
- if you suddenly have cramps in your fingers, legs, or arms, then pinch yourself on the affected area, or prick yourself with something sharp, for example, a needle.
- warming ointments for joints are excellent. You can use mustard oil for massage and rubbing.
- if you often get cramps on your legs, then carry out water procedures in cool water, rub your feet with lemon juice, place a bolster or pillow under your feet. Before going to bed, it is advisable to do gymnastics for your arms and legs.
As mentioned earlier, cramps are muscle spasms that are accompanied by unpleasant, painful sensations.
If there are no serious, chronic diseases, then there is nothing terrible about seizures, because in most cases the person himself must be blamed.
Uncomfortable body position during sleep, wearing shoes with a high platform, heels, tight shoes, staying in one position for a long time, prolonged physical activity on certain muscles - all of the above can cause cramps in the fingers, legs, and arms. In this case, traditional medicine recipes can help.
Insufficient amounts of vitamins in the body cause seizures. Leg cramps can be triggered by an insufficient amount of vitamin D. B6, deficiency of microelements such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, low hemoglobin and so on.
- in some cases, you need to take an Asparkam tablet (potassium, magnesium) every day, cramps in the arms, legs, and fingers will go away.
— Calcium Lactate tablets are considered an excellent remedy for combating seizures; they should be combined with vitamin D. A.
— Doctors often also recommend Magnesol tablets. The drug is prescribed for serious abnormalities in the body; in other cases, treating cramps of the fingers, arms, and legs with traditional medicine is sufficient.
Seizures can appear due to serious illnesses such as neurosis, epilepsy, tetanus. In this case, vitamins and miraculous recipes will not save you. It is necessary to treat the underlying diseases, and leg cramps are only a symptom that will go away with full recovery or during a period of remission.
Common recipes for treating leg cramps using traditional medicine:
— Take celandine, squeeze the juice out of it, mix with Vaseline in a ratio of one to two. You will get a Vaseline product that needs to be used to lubricate the places where the muscles often cramp.
- horseradish helps in the treatment of cramps of the hands, fingers, and feet. For oral administration, you need to make a tincture based on horseradish, oil, and honey. Grate two hundred grams of fresh horseradish on a fine grater, add five hundred grams of olive oil, and the same amount of honey. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and store in the refrigerator. Take this remedy three times a day in the amount of one medium spoon.
Perhaps everyone has encountered such a nuisance as an involuntary and very painful muscle contraction, for example, at night or while swimming. Knowing and understanding why your arms and legs cramp, you can respond promptly and adequately by taking appropriate measures. If sudden spasms happen rarely, you don’t have to worry too much, but when they happen frequently and regularly, you should think about treatment and prevention.
The cause of seizures can be inflammation, hidden injuries, endocrine disorders and diabetes, diseases of the nervous system. Serious health problems require contacting a doctor. In such cases, after examination and treatment, the seizures usually stop. Unbearable pain as a result of sudden muscle contraction also occurs due to flat feet, varicose veins, and stressful situations.
Convulsions can be triggered if a person is very cold or finds himself in icy water. Often, cramps in the calves, feet and toes occur as a result of a lack of microelements in the body:
Muscle strain provokes spasms during intense physical exertion or prolonged squatting.
The cause of seizures can be heat and sunstroke, as well as any other pathologically sharp increase in body temperature. During influenza and acute viral infections, alcohol intoxication, the development of a stroke and during the recovery period after it, the limbs cramp, since foci of irritation arise in the corresponding area of the cerebral cortex. Vascular diseases of the legs and hypoxia - insufficient oxygen supply to tissues can also cause seizures.
Diabetic patients are also familiar with cramping pain in the legs when, due to hunger, the blood sugar level sharply decreases. Cramps can also occur with an overdose of sugar-lowering drugs. The legs cramp when sensitivity is impaired when the nerve fibers coming out of the spine are compressed, if a person suffers from osteochondrosis. Being in a stuffy room for a long time, experiencing overwork or intoxication, even healthy people can feel convulsive muscle contractions.
If sharp convulsive pains persist during night sleep, if you feel an attack, it is recommended to sit down, lower your legs from the bed and very carefully step on the hard surface of the floor (a soft carpet is not suitable here). In this case, keep your legs together and straighten your torso as much as possible.
Within a few minutes, muscle tone and blood circulation in the limbs will be completely restored. Another way to overcome sudden sharp pain: grab your cramped toes with your hands and pull them towards you. As soon as muscle spasms weaken, it is necessary to massage the limb.
You can relieve pain and eliminate cramps by injecting strongly or pinching the sore spot. Pain in the muscle will calm down when applying ointment or warming cream. Rubbing the limbs with vodka or apple cider vinegar has a good effect. Frequently recurring spasms can be successfully combated with warm alcohol compresses.
To successfully deal with muscle pain due to spasms, it is important not only to understand why your arms and legs cramp, but also to follow simple recommendations from doctors.
Finger cramps are observed from time to time in almost every person. But there are conditions when such symptoms appear regularly. In order to effectively treat pathology, you need to understand what can cause it.
What could be the reasons if your fingers cramp? The reason for this is:
Often cramps fingers during pregnancy. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the growth and development of the fetus occurs with an increased need for vitamins and other useful substances. As a result, the mother experiences a lack of them in the blood. Hormonal changes also play a significant role.
To provide effective assistance for seizures, their cause must be identified and, to the extent possible, its influence must be eliminated.
To quickly relieve discomfort, local massage is practiced, which you can do yourself. It will become even more healing and pleasant if you use balms and aromatic oils.
Baths with warm water and sea salt help. They significantly relieve muscle tension. Finger cramps often occur at night, so such procedures are best done before preparing for a night's rest.
You definitely need to reconsider your diet. The daily menu should include foods rich in microelements - potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Hands should always be kept warm, so in the cold season you should wear gloves or mittens.
When working with your hands constantly and for a long time, you should take breaks from time to time and exercise in the form of rotational movements and massage your hands.
The use of acupuncture in the treatment of spastic muscle contractions has recently gained great popularity. This allows you to restore blood circulation and impaired innervation, which makes you forget about the problem for a long time.
In some cases, finger spasms may indicate a serious pathology. Therefore, if cramps become frequent, painful and cannot be relieved with exercises and massage, you should consult a doctor, undergo an examination and receive the necessary recommendations.
Cramps in the calves of the legs, the cause and treatment of this phenomenon is not known to everyone, although they occur very often. According to statistics, every second inhabitant of the planet has had to deal with this at least once.
The intense moment of a long-distance runners' competition made us think about how cramps occur, what is the cause and what is the treatment for cramps in the calves. When there were no more than two hundred meters left to the finish line, one of the leaders suddenly fell, as if knocked down, and lay motionless for some time. His face was contorted in pain. He couldn't move. “Yes,” the commentator says disappointedly, “the athlete was clearly prevented from getting gold by a cramp.” However, the journalist was unable to clearly explain why the athlete’s leg cramped. Let's try to figure out what is the cause of this unpleasant and very painful condition.
A cramp is a sudden and lightning-fast change in muscle tone, which is accompanied by severe pain. Doctors distinguish three types:
Most often, cramps cramp the calves, back or abdominal muscles. By the way muscles contract, an experienced doctor can easily recognize what disease they signal. For example, based on long, almost three-minute tonic convulsions, accompanied by loss of consciousness and unnatural straightening of the legs and arms, he diagnoses epilepsy. Convulsive, chaotic contractions indicate severe poisoning or organic damage to the brain. Rhythmic, provocative and demonstrative poses, not accompanied by loss of consciousness, but lasting from twenty minutes to several hours, will allow the doctor to assume that the patient is having a hysterical attack. But these are already serious pathologies.
The athlete we talked about at the very beginning of the topic does not have any of these signs. He had what is called a cramp in his calf. This condition is familiar to many of us. And we often don’t attach any importance to it, we try to get rid of the cramp by pulling our big toe or standing barefoot on the cold floor, rising on our tiptoes and rolling onto our heels. But this, alas, is not a panacea. The cramp is a no-no, and it will return, and it will happen at the most inopportune moment, for example, while driving a car or while crossing the road.
Why cramps in the calves - first of all, muscle spasm signals a deficiency of vitamins and microelements, primarily potassium, magnesium and iron. Women actively lose these minerals during pregnancy because they are the main building materials for the baby growing in their womb. A lack of substances can be caused by metabolic disorders, and as a result, the body’s reluctance to fully absorb them from food and water.
The spasm can be caused by excessive physical exertion. Let us remember that the athlete fell at the highest moment of tension - he really wanted to win, so he overestimated the capabilities of his body. But this is an explanation from the perspective of the average person. From biochemistry you can find out what happened: the muscle is fueled with energy by sugar, which is broken down as a result of a complex organic reaction. Most of the energy is used to produce heat (so we don't freeze in the cold if we move). The smaller one determines the correct contraction of the muscles, which ensure the rhythmic functioning of the blood circulation and lymphatic system.
If the reaction proceeds to completion, blood and lymph easily pick up oxygen and other nutrients and deliver them to the internal organs. However, when overloaded, cells do not have time to process sugar. Its remains turn into lactic acid, which enters the blood, accumulates in it and blocks the muscle. The acid will hold the caviar (and we are talking about calf spasm) in this state until a new portion of oxygen squeezes it out. Muscle cramps in the legs deserve special attention if they are accompanied by redness, severe itching and peeling of the skin. In this case, calf spasm is a symptom of serious endocrine diseases - pathology of the thyroid gland, diabetes mellitus and other disorders that are very dangerous to health. For this reason, only a doctor can answer the question of why the calves are cramped.
Let's return to our runner, whom we left lying on the treadmill. He is in no hurry to get up not because he is lazy or capricious. The athlete is very concerned about his health, so he will definitely wait for the doctor, who will determine whether the athlete will leave the gravel track under his own power or will be carried away on a stretcher. We must follow this first rule of the athlete: do not try to self-medicate. And if cramps are affecting your quality of life, see a doctor immediately.
Some doctors boldly advise preparing a decoction of valerian or horsetail, making wraps with them and taking half a glass orally three times a day. However, such a glass is half full of poison, because during pregnancy, certain kidney diseases, uterine bleeding of various natures, during breastfeeding and while taking diuretics and antihypertensive drugs aimed at lowering blood pressure, these herbs can cause severe allergies, dehydration and education kidney stones.
The only thing you can do painlessly with a cramped muscle is to gently stroke it, then quickly and sharply pinch it to expel lactic acid from the blood.
We hope you listened to our advice and went to see a general practitioner (this is the doctor who deals with seizures). He asked you to undergo a series of tests, received the results and prescribed treatment. Let's say you took a course of pills prescribed to you (or received pills that, like vital medications, you will take for the rest of your life). Now, what the answer to the question will be: whether muscle cramps in the legs will recur depends only on you.
From the very first day of treatment, start doing light exercises that will improve blood circulation in your legs. Gymnastics should be done in the morning. Before starting the warm-up, you need to take a warm shower or foot bath, adding a little sea salt to the warm water. Then dry your legs and stretch them a little while sitting on the floor. Then stand up and make ten to twenty circles around the room, walking one circle on your toes, the second on your heels, the third on the outside of your foot, and the fourth on the inside. At least five such cycles should be performed.
If you do not have varicose veins or serious joint pathologies, you can do ten to fifteen squats. If these diseases are present, gymnastics should be completed. You should have breakfast 30-40 minutes after gymnastics. The diet should include cottage cheese, sour cream, herbs and vegetables. For lunch, be sure to eat meat, fish or a couple of boiled eggs. Try not to get carried away with cereals, potatoes, nuts, fatty broths and sauces. Your food should become light, transparent and not cause heaviness or a feeling of satiety. You should have dinner three hours before bedtime, excluding sweet, sour, salty or bitter foods. Food should have a soft, neutral taste so that sleep becomes a complete rest, and not a battle between the stomach and the brain.
A very interesting method of treating cramps in the calves was told to us by the Old Believers whom we met during the ethnographic expedition. They were in the Northern Urals. There are no good roads in this region, so many distances have to be covered on foot. Their legs get tired, they often cramp, but local residents cope with this ailment this way: they collect a full bucket of weed grass, which is called creeping wheatgrass, brew it with boiling water and let it sit for 24 hours. The next day, pour the broth into a barrel, add warm water so that the volume of the mixture reaches half the barrel, and climb inside. They sit in barrels like that for one and a half to two hours.
If your muscles are cramping, you should immediately consult a doctor, as a thorough examination and consultation with a qualified specialist will help identify the disease in time.
It is important to remember that preventing a disease is much easier than curing it.