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Night cramps
At night, a person remains motionless for a long time, this impedes blood circulation in the legs and can lead to night cramps, due to which the person wakes up.
Most often, night cramps appear in the lower leg and calf muscles, but the feet and thighs can also be involved.
The pain caused by cramps can last from a few seconds to several minutes. However, after the cramps have passed, muscle pain may remain for the rest of the night or even the next day.
Leg cramps most often appear in adults over the age of 50; men and women are equally susceptible to this unpleasant phenomenon.
Don’t confuse night cramps with restless legs syndrome
restless leg syndrome
like night cramps, they appear during sleep, but this is the only similarity between these two problems. Here are some of the differences:
- Restless legs syndrome is not painful, whereas night cramps are quite painful;
- Restless legs syndrome is more like discomfort and a feeling of “pins and needles” crawling up your legs;
- Night cramps interfere with movement when, as in restless legs syndrome, there is a desire to constantly move the legs. Moreover, moving your legs with restless legs syndrome can alleviate the situation, but with cramps it does not make much difference;
- Stretching the cramped area of the leg may help with cramps, but not with restless leg syndrome.
Causes and risk factors for night cramps
The causes of night cramps are often unknown, however, here are a few potential causes and risk factors for cramps:
- Passive lifestyle;
- Working on your feet all day;
- Incorrect body position when sitting at a table;
- Constant load on the leg muscles.
Various health conditions can also cause seizures:
- Pregnancy;
- Alcohol intake and abuse;
- Dehydration;
- Parkinson’s disease;
- Neuromuscular disorders;
- Flat feet, leading to excessive and improper load on the leg muscles;
- Endocrine diseases, such as diabetes;
- The use of diuretics and the resulting disturbances in salt metabolism;
How to prevent and treat night cramps?
Treatment for seizures directly depends on the cause of their occurrence. So, for example, if dehydration is the cause of your cramps at night, you should make sure you drink enough water throughout the day. Here are some more tips for preventing and treating night cramps:
- Do exercises to promote blood flow to your legs;
- Take a relaxing hot bath to help loosen tense muscles and promote healthy sleep;
- Apply a heating pad to the areas where cramps occur;
- Try acupuncture;
- Make sure that you do not suffer from a lack of magnesium or potassium in the body – a lack of these substances leads to cramps;
- Stretch before bed;
- Swimming along with water exercises will help relax your leg muscles;
- Give preference to comfortable anatomical shoes and avoid high heels.
How to act correctly if seizures occur?
Sit on the floor and straighten your legs in front of you, point your toes towards you, while you can use your hands to pull your toes towards your knees.
After this, slowly get up and walk around a little, shake your legs – this will help improve blood circulation. Gently massage your feet in circular motions from bottom to top.