Spontaneous night cramps can wake you up and frighten you. If this is an episodic phenomenon, it is enough to adjust the diet and lifestyle. And here are frequent muscle spasms — anxiety symptom. They may indicate serious violations in the body's work: hypothyroidism, varicose veins, problems with the spine. In what cases are convulsions harmless, and when should you see a doctor? The editorial staff of estet-portal.com offers to understand the causes, methods of prevention and getting rid of muscle spasms.
- What are night cramps in legs
- Most Common Causes of Muscle Spasms
- Two ways to quickly relieve tension in legs
- How to prevent muscle cramps
- The main thing about getting rid of night cramps in legs
What are the night cramps in legs
A cramp is an uncontrolled contraction of a muscle. It can be short-term and painless, and it can cause severe discomfort and even severe pain. Spasms cannot be eased by willpower. Most often they occur in the calves of the legs, but sometimes they appear in the muscles of the fingers and lower leg. Often brings feet together.
There are several types of night cramps:
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Myoclonic. These are painless spasms in which the muscles twitch rhythmically or non-rhythmically.
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Clonic. Spasms feel like rhythmic tremors in the muscles. If it is small, then such convulsions are called tics.
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Tonic. Most unpleasant spasms when cramping a leg. These cramps are of particular concern because they last quite a long time and are painful.
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Tonic-clonic. With this type of convulsions, long periods of tension are replaced by rhythmic spasms.
When talking about & nbsp; night cramps, most often they mean tonic spasms. They manifest themselves as follows: the calf muscle reduces, there is a feeling of powerful tension, which causes severe pain. This can happen in a dream. Then the person wakes up and tries to relax the muscle, but it doesn't always work.
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The most common causes of muscle spasms
Usually, systematic convulsions torment older and middle-aged people. They can occur for the following reasons:
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Pregnancy. During the period of gestation, the body of the expectant mother needs large amounts of vitamins and trace elements. If they not enough, convulsions are possible.
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Stress and neurological disorders.
Taking certain medications. Medications can affect the absorption of magnesium, vitamins, which negatively affects general health.
Increased sweating. Most often, cramps occur in the summer, when the body loses a lot of useful substances through the sweat glands.
Some diseases. Seizures occur as a result of a hypertensive crisis, inflammatory processes, infectious diseases.
Intoxication. Poisoning or disturbances in the work of the kidneys are often accompanied by severe muscle spasms.
Two ways to quickly relieve tension in legs
If your leg is cramped at night, you need to quickly relieve the pain and relax the muscle. This can be done in two ways.
Sit in bed with your feet on the floor. Then you need to gently rise and stand up as straight as possible. This will help restore blood flow. Gradually, the tension in the muscle will subside.
Take a deep breath, grab your toes toes and, swinging, pull them on you.Your task — stretch the muscle. When the tension is relieved, the leg should be massaged to completely restore blood circulation.
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How to prevent muscle crampsIf you have frequent night cramps, you should correct your lifestyle. First of all, review all your shoes and choose only those models in which your feet do not get tired. Try to avoid unnecessary stress. Remember, if your legs are tense by the end of the day, the likelihood of cramps will increase, so before going to bed it is advisable to relax, massage and wrap them up.
Specialists recommend the following preventive measures:
Stop smoking. Bad habits affect your cardiovascular system and may cause cramps.
Change your diet. Reduce tea, coffee, sugar. Include in the menu products with a high content of calcium and magnesium: cheese, cottage cheese, honey, herbs, wheat bran, cereals, seaweed, fresh fruits, legumes, figs, dried apricots, dates, prunes.
Do contrast foot baths. Set up two small bowls of hot and cold water. Alternately lower your legs into them and hold for a few seconds. In & nbsp; hot water, you can add decoctions of mint, horsetail, valerian. If there is no varicose veins, the temperature difference should be maximum.
Keep your feet warm. Go to bed in warm socks. You can do nightly massages, warming compresses.
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The main thing about getting rid of night cramps in legsIf you almost wake up every night from pain in calf muscles, be sure to contact therapist, get an examination. It is important to find out the causes of spasms, because they can be symptoms of a serious illness. If convulsions happen sporadically, follow these simple tips:
Learn how to relieve cramps. To do this, you need to either gently get out of bed, or stretch a cramped muscle.
Quit smoking. It is detrimental to cardiovascular health.
- Less tea, coffee, sugar, more foods with calcium and magnesium.
- Alternately soak your feet in hot and cold water.
- All means are good — massages, compresses, physical exercises. Sleep in woolen socks.
Healthy diet, make small lifestyle changes — and quickly you will forget about night leg cramps
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