Do you know this feeling when an unimaginable pain in your leg awakes you from your blissful sleep? It takes a while for you to realize that the cause is a calf cramp that is not going away. Each movement of the leg or touch makes the symptoms worse, making you want to scream. It’s also hard to move your leg. Sounds familiar? What causes leg and calf cramps at night and can they be prevented? We check.
Night cramps of the legs, especially the calves and feet, affect many people. According to various data, this ailment occurs in as many as 60 percent. adults at some point in their lives. Nocturnal cramps occur when one or more muscles in your leg tighten involuntarily.
Leg cramps most often involve the gastrocnemius muscle located at the back of the calf, between the ankle and the knee. They can also happen in the thighs. Involuntary flexing can occur at the front of the thigh – quadriceps – or the back of the limb – in the hamstrings. The contractions happen while you are awake or asleep. Usually a muscle contraction will go away on its own after a few minutes, but it may take up to 10 minutes for a tense muscle to relax. Frequent calf cramps at night can disrupt sleep and are extremely unpleasant. This ailment most often affects the elderly and women. They are also very common ailments during pregnancy.
Causes of night leg cramps
Nocturnal leg cramps are idiopathic, meaning the exact cause is unknown. However, a number of factors have been identified that increase the risk of their formation. One of the most common and mundane causes of calf cramps in particular is the position of the feet while sleeping. If your feet are in plantar flexion while you sleep, the gastrocnemius muscle remains shortened, greatly increasing the risk of cramps.
Other reasons for night leg cramps:
Sedentary lifestyle – sitting for long periods of time can make the leg muscles more prone to cramps as they are not stretched regularly.
Wrong sitting position – Cross-legging or sitting with raised toes for long periods of time can also contribute to involuntary leg cramps.
Long-term standing – people who stand for a very long time, e.g. at work, experience such ailments more often.
Excessive exercise – Too much exercise or too much training intensity can cause them to overtrain and result in cramps.
Abnormal Nerve Activity – sometimes leg cramps can be related to nerve malfunction.
Tendon shortening – With age, the tendons that connect the muscles to the skeleton shorten, which can lead to muscle cramps.
Certain conditions or conditions increase the likelihood of having cramps in the calves and legs at night. The most common of them include:
- pregnancy
- flat feet
- stenosis – narrowing of the lumen of the spinal canal
- neurological disorders, e.g., motor neuron disease or peripheral neuropathy
- neurodegenerative disorders, for example Parkinson’s disease
- musculoskeletal disorders, e.g. osteoarthritis
- liver disease
- kidney disease
- thyroid disease,
- metabolic disorders, e.g. diabetes
- heart disease,
- peripheral vascular disease
- medications you are taking, e.g. statins and diuretics.
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Treatment of leg and calf cramps
While leg cramps at night can be very painful, they are usually not serious and do not require any treatment. You can try to relieve pain with home remedies. The key to relieving pain is to relax a tense muscle.
How to relieve leg cramp?
- Massage the leg to gently relax the muscle.
- Stretch your leg. If there is a cramp in your calf, straighten your leg and lift your toes up (tuck them up) with your toes pointing towards you.
- Come on your heels
- Preheat a muscle – heat can soothe tense muscles. You can make a wrap from a warm towel or a hot water bottle (you can buy a hot water bottle with cherry stones now for PLN 20 cheaper)
- According to some sources, you can preventively drink pickled cucumber juice, which can minimize nighttime leg cramps.
- If your leg still hurts after your cramp has subsided, use an over-the-counter pain reliever (NSAID).
- If frequent contractions interfere with your sleep and occur frequently, consult your doctor. In difficult cases, the doctor may prescribe muscle relaxants.
In order to alleviate the discomfort associated with muscle cramps, it is worth using Glutamine powder regularly – a dietary supplement supporting the functioning of the entire body.
How to avoid leg cramps at night?
To avoid muscle cramps at night, take regular care of your body.
- Drink plenty of fluids to keep your muscles working properly.
- Regularly stretch your leg muscles.
- Change your sleeping position, avoid positions where feet are tucked down and down.
- Avoid heavy bedding that can pinch the feet in a disadvantaged position.
- Use comfortable footwear that does not pinch the feet.