Leg cramps are very common and can affect people of all ages for a variety of reasons. Whether you get leg cramps occasionally or regularly, there are ways in which you can get relief as well as methods to help prevent future cramps.
Why Is It Important To Learn How To Treat Leg Cramps?
When you get leg cramps, you can find yourself facing high levels of discomfort and if you get them during the night they can heavily impact your sleep levels. It is important to look at ways of treating these cramps, and there are various methods that you can choose from. It is also important to look at the long term methods that you can use in order to prevent these cramps. While leg cramps are not generally harmful in themselves, they can create hazards depending on what you are doing when the cramp strikes.
What Happens When Leg Cramps Strike?
When you experience leg cramps, you will feel a sudden tightening and spasms of the muscles in the leg. Most often, this occurs in the calf muscles and it can be quite painful. In addition, even when the cramp has gone, you still feel tenderness and soreness in the muscle for a while. In many cases, these cramps tend to occur during the night, but this is not always the case. While they are usually harmless, they can put you in danger if you are engaging in a specific activity such as driving when the leg cramp strikes.
These cramps are not harmful in themselves, but the intense and sudden spasms that they cause can put you in danger. When the cramp strikes, you will feel the leg muscle tighten and seize up suddenly. This can come as quite a shock, as there is no gradual onset. The leg cramps can disappear just as suddenly but you will most likely be left with sore, tender leg muscles for a few hours. The leg cramps themselves can last for just a few seconds or for up to ten minutes or so.
Reasons Behind it.. Why Do We Get Leg Cramps?
There are a numerous causes relating to leg cramps. It has become far easier to learn about conditions like this through health news report on CNN news and other media channels. This makes it painless to look at methods of treatment and prevention. So, let’s take a look at some possible causes of this condition:
• Strenuous exercise, where you have put the leg muscles under too much strain
• Poor leg circulation
• Dehydration [1]
• Certain deficiencies including magnesium, calcium, and potassium
• Not conducting proper warm up and cool down procedures before and after exercise
• Muscle fatigue
• Medication side effects
• Underlying issues
These are some of the main causes of muscle cramps. Some of the possible underlying causes that could cause leg cramps include liver disease or even pregnancy. Medication such as statins[2], which are used to lower cholesterol levels, can also cause leg cramps.
Quick Relief for Leg Cramps
When leg cramps strike, the one thing you are desperate to do is to make them stop. The intensity with which they can affect you causes a lot of discomfort and comes as a shock to the system. These six solutions can help to quickly alleviate leg cramps so that you can benefit from speedy relief from the discomfort. So, let’s take a look at some fast-working solutions for the treatment of muscle cramps:
1. Stretching: Try to do some stretching when the cramps strike. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated – simply stretch the muscles in the leg through movement such as standing against a wall and stretching the leg behind you.
2. Relaxation: Relaxing the muscle can also help. Many of us instinctively try and fight the cramp, but this can sometimes make it worse. Instead, try letting the leg muscle relax and resist the temptation to try and push through it.
3. Massage: If there is someone with you, try getting them to massage the area where the cramps strike. This can help to alleviate the cramps and can help to combat the soreness that follows.
4. Heat application: You can also apply heat to the area when leg cramps strike. This can help the cramp to subside more quickly. You can also use a product such as Deep Heat, which will provide you with massage and heat benefits.
5. Flex your toes: A very simple method to help combat leg cramps is to flex your toes upwards as soon as the cramp strikes. Flex and then point your toes, and hold the position for a few seconds.
6. Walk on your heels: You may feel a little silly doing it, but walking around on your heels can help. This can improve the flow of blood to the leg muscles, which means speedier relief for you.
How To Prevent Leg Cramp In Long Term?
It is also important to look at the long term prevention of leg cramps, particularly if you get them on a regular basis. Preventing leg cramps in the future is dependant on the cause of the cramps. For example, if you are getting cramps as a result of your medication, you may want to speak to your doctor about a change in medication. Some general tips to help with the long terms prevention of leg cramps include:
• Drink more water to stay hydrated
• Combat vitamin deficiencies with supplements and a change in diet [3]
• Always warm up and cool down when exercising
• Be careful of putting your leg muscles under too much strain too suddenly
• Limit the amount of alcohol you drink
Of course, if your cramps are in relation to an underlying problem, you should speak to your doctor about more specific methods of long term prevention.
Take The Advice With You!
While leg cramps are often inevitable simply because of our lifestyle and our bodies, making sure you are aware of how to treat them can prove invaluable. Also, ensuring you are aware of ways to prevent future attacks can be very helpful to yourself and people around you. These tips on both treatment and preventing leg cramps can help to reduce the number of attacks you have. They will also help you to alleviate the cramps more quickly if and when they do strike.
Reference
| [1] | ^ | Healthline: What Causes Dehydration? 19 Possible Conditions |
| [2] | ^ | WebMD: Side Effects of Cholesterol-Lowering Statin Drugs |
| [3] | ^ | Fooducate: 5 Foods to Help Avoid Muscle Cramps (Plus 2 Busted Myths) |
The post 6 Ways to Instantly Stop the Suffering From Leg Cramps! appeared first on Lifehack.
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