Leg cramps at night - causes and treatment

January 17, 2021

Cramps are uncontrollable contractions of the leg muscles that appear unexpectedly. As a rule, they appear in the evenings before going to bed or in the morning after waking up. Based on the duration of the manifestations, there are short ones, lasting a few seconds, and long ones, the duration of which can be up to 15 minutes. If they are single in nature, they do not cause serious problems. However, they lead to discomfort, disruption of rest and muscle function. With repeated repetitions and the appearance of pain, they serve as a separate symptom indicating a number of diseases.

From this article you will learn the reasons why your calves cramp in the morning, what first aid should be given for cramps, treatment and prevention.

Causes of seizures

Morning cramps that do not require medical intervention include involuntary contractions that occur when:

• keeping the body and legs in an uncomfortable position for a long time;
• wearing ill-fitting, uncomfortable shoes;
• lack of water in the body, and vice versa, excess fluid;
• lack of vitamins and microelements in the body;
• lack of physical activity, and vice versa, excess of it;
• being in all sorts of stressful situations;
• excessive alcohol consumption, smoking.

If the pain is recurring and manifests itself, it is necessary to consult a doctor, since muscle spasms may indicate a number of diseases, such as:

• varicose veins, other manifestations of venous pathologies, such as atherosclerosis, venous insufficiency;
• disruption of the heart;
• thyroid disease or deficiency;
• kidney pathologies;
• infectious diseases;
• excess body weight.

In this case, after a series of consultations and examinations of the body, treatment appropriate to the diagnosis is prescribed.

| 01.11.2019

Leg cramps are a problem that is familiar to quite a lot of people. Most often they occur at night, when you are sleeping peacefully, and then wake up from a sharp dagger pain. Of course, after a few minutes, after you rub your leg, the pain will go away, but it will continue to make itself felt for some time. It is unlikely that such sensations can be called pleasant. Let's try to figure out what causes leg cramps. Common Causes of Leg Cramps A cramp is an involuntary muscle contraction accompanied by severe pain. Most often, cramps are observed in the calves, although sometimes cramps occur in the feet and toes. Seizures can occur at different ages, but more often people of the middle and older generations are susceptible to them. We will look at the most common reasons why leg cramps may occur. Micronutrient deficiency The most common cause. This primarily concerns a lack of potassium, calcium and magnesium. Micronutrient deficiencies can occur due to certain medications that slow the absorption of magnesium. These medications include, for example, antacids used to treat heartburn. Also, a deficiency of these substances occurs during pregnancy, since the woman’s body consumes them in much larger quantities than usual. Diets high in protein make calcium absorption difficult. In addition, stress and increased sweating can cause micronutrient deficiency. The last reason is especially relevant in the summer, and therefore cramps in the leg muscles occur much more often in the warm season. In addition, cramps can be caused by a lack of vitamin D. Physical activity and sports Cramps appear due to constant muscle tension and insufficient relaxation. Typically, physical activity causes cramps in the calves, since it is the calf muscles that bear the maximum load. Other causes include: varicose veins; hypothermia; presence of old injuries; radiculitis; flat feet. Causes of cramps in the toes Such cramps are observed less frequently than cramps in the calf muscles. In women, the cause of cramps in the feet and toes is often the long-term wearing of narrow, uncomfortable shoes, high-heeled shoes without habit. In addition, hypothermia can cause convulsions. But if leg cramps are not isolated, but are observed frequently, then you need to visit a doctor, since most likely the cause is venous insufficiency, a lack of certain electrolytes, or another disease. What to do if you have leg cramps? Since the sensations of cramps are very painful, measures must be taken immediately. This is especially important if a cramp cramps your leg while in a body of water: An injection with a sharp object helps to quickly relieve cramps. To do this, some people who know that they are prone to cramps fasten a safety pin to their swimming trunks when swimming. If a cramp appears, stand up, take off your socks and shoes, despite the pain, take a walk. Preferably on a hard, cold surface, not on a carpet. Rub the sore limb. Do not be careful, press on the cramps in the calves of the legs, possibly hard, to push through the cramped muscle. You can use mustard oil for massage. In the summer, to avoid cramps, drink mineral water with a lot of salts or add a little salt to your drinking water. If the cramp has passed, but the muscle continues to hurt, it is recommended to wrap the leg with an elastic bandage. And remember: if cramps recur regularly, then you need to take a course of vitamins and microelements, including calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, but before that, visit a doctor and take general and biochemical blood tests.

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First aid for leg cramps

If your calves cramp in the morning and you need help, you can resort to the following actions:

• You need to pull the toe up towards your head. In this case, the muscles are stretched, not allowing contraction;
• If the spasms do not calm down, there is a need to get a massage. It is important to carry out carefully, without applying too much pressure;
• Bring the body position to a position in which the limb being abducted is above the head. This is necessary to reduce blood flow and muscle activity;
• Get out of bed and walk around;
• Take a warm compress. A dampened towel works great;
• Take a warm bath to relax your muscles.

Why do muscles cramp?

The cause of muscle spasm is often not easy to determine.
In a significant number of cases, we have to talk about idiopathic muscle contraction (i.e., there is no obvious cause of the spasm). Muscle cramps during sports

usually caused by excessive or unusual load on a muscle (muscle group), dehydration and loss of calcium and potassium through sweat, and improper training.

The fact that muscles cramp in sleep

, as a rule, is explained by poor body position during sleep. When we sleep, our body is generally relaxed, but certain muscle groups experience increased stress; a long stay without movement does not allow this load to be redistributed to other muscles, which can lead to muscle cramps.

Most susceptible to muscle spasms:

• athletes;
• pregnant women;
• elderly people (this is due to weakening of muscle tissue - muscle atrophy);
• small children (first 3 years of life).

Factors contributing to muscle contraction are:

• overweight;
• heat;
• intoxication of the body (in case of an infectious disease, alcohol intoxication, etc.)
• certain medications (for example, hormonal contraceptives);
• leg diseases and some other diseases (liver cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus).

Treatment

Depending on the diagnosis and further treatment, the attending physician prescribes medications. Some make up for the lack of vitamins and microelements - they influence the cause of the disease, others relieve spasms and improve well-being - symptomatic therapy is carried out. They are used together, complementing each other.

The most popular medications for treating calf muscle cramps are:

• Tablets containing microelements - Asparkam, Panangin, Magnerot, Magnelis B6.
• Vitamins - popular are Complivit, Alphabet, Calcium D3
• Ointments - Venuron, Venarum, Heparin ointment, Diclofenac. They affect the veins, improve blood circulation in the legs and relieve pain.

In addition to medications, physiotherapeutic methods are used, such as electrophoresis, magnetic therapy, laser therapy, ion therapy and others.

Muscle spasm

Probably every person has experienced muscle cramps at some point. In medical parlance, this condition is called “muscle spasm.”

Our muscles are constantly under tension; Thanks to muscles, our body moves, maintains its shape, muscle contractions ensure the functioning of many internal organs and systems of the body. But sometimes muscles contract unnecessarily, involuntarily, and such contraction can be painful. The spasm can affect any skeletal muscle of the musculoskeletal system, but the gastrocnemius muscle (the muscle of the back of the lower leg) and the thigh muscles are most often affected.

The muscle can cramp during increased stress (for example, when playing sports) or at rest (when sitting at a computer or while sleeping).

Prevention

In order to avoid night and morning cramps in the legs, it is important to remember to follow preventive measures to prevent the occurrence of cramps. They include:

• Maintaining a daily routine. The body needs proper rest and sleep at strictly defined hours;
• A healthy diet, food should include calcium - milk, cottage cheese, cheese, almonds; magnesium - buckwheat porridge, walnuts, legumes; potassium - dried apricots, raisins, beets, sunflower seeds
• As directed by the doctor, follow a diet, abstain from spicy, fatty, excessively sweet and salty dishes and foods;
• Periodic calf massage will improve blood circulation in the legs and relax the muscles;
• Wearing comfortable shoes will allow you to get an even load on the foot, helping to relieve and prevent tension in the muscles.

Muscle cramps: should I see a doctor?

A one-time muscle contraction in most cases is not a cause for concern. However, if muscle spasms occur frequently enough, it may be a symptom of a developing disease. The range of possible diseases is quite wide; it includes vascular diseases (varicose veins), liver diseases, kidney failure, thyroid diseases, nervous system disorders.

It is necessary to consult a doctor when contracting muscles if:

• muscles cramp once a month or more often;
• muscle cramps are very strong (cause severe pain);
• muscle spasm has no obvious connection with physical activity;
• muscle pain does not go away after simple procedures (relaxation and massage).

Why do leg cramps occur?

Some thyroid diseases can lead to seizures.
There are actually many causes of seizures - from banal malnutrition to serious, life-threatening diseases. The vast majority of leg cramps are caused by the causes listed below.

1. Imbalance of vitamins and microelements in the body:
   magnesium deficiency is the cause of ¾ of all cases of leg cramps;
2. thyroid diseases;
3. hypovitaminosis B (mainly B6);
4. chronic renal failure (since this disease interferes with the elimination of metabolic products from the body that have a toxic effect on it).
5. Reduced blood glucose levels – hypoglycemia. It occurs more often when diabetes treatment is too aggressive or when the diabetic does not comply with the diet.
6. Prolonged, excessive physical activity on the legs - running, walking, swimming, football and others.
7. Varicose veins, thrombophlebitis.
8. Chronic circulatory disorders in the vessels of the lower extremities (obliterating atherosclerosis and other diseases);
9. Diseases of the cardiovascular system, accompanied by symptoms of heart failure and, as a result, impaired blood flow in the parts of the body most distant from the heart, in particular in the feet and legs.
10. Degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the spine (osteochondrosis).
11. Imbalance of female sex hormones, namely, excess estrogen in the blood.
12. Psycho-emotional stress.
13. Chronic lack of sleep.

Our often incorrect lifestyle leads to the fact that already at a young age, the systems of the human body fail one after another:

• due to constant stress, blood pressure begins to rise,
• Wearing high heels causes problems with veins,
• due to poor nutrition, hypovitaminosis occurs or, even worse, chronic diseases of the digestive tract that disrupt the normal absorption of nutrients from the digestive organs into the blood;
• Due to self-medication of infectious diseases (in particular, tonsillitis), complications develop in the form of steadily progressing heart disease (acquired defects) and kidney disease (glomerulonephritis).

Since the main cause of leg muscle cramps is magnesium deficiency, I would like to highlight this problem in more detail.

The unbalanced diet of most of us leads to the fact that the level of magnesium in the blood gradually decreases. Our bad eating habits, such as regular consumption of coffee, alcoholic beverages, sweet and starchy foods, contribute to less absorption of this microelement from food into the blood. When hypomagnesemia occurs (low levels of magnesium in the blood), the body tries to compensate by “washing out” the trace element from the musculoskeletal system. That is why, if you take a blood test to check the level of magnesium, the results will show the norm or even an excess of this microelement.

In addition to seizures, other symptoms may indicate a lack of magnesium in the body:

• memory impairment, decreased concentration, fatigue, nervous tics;
• numbness of the limbs;
• irritability, anxiety, nightmares, profuse night sweats;
• laryngo-, broncho-, esophageal spasms (periodically occurring spasms of the larynx, bronchi or esophagus);
• abdominal pain, relieved by taking antispasmodics (drotaverine, or no-shpi, spasmobrew, papaverine, platifillin), constipation or diarrhea;
• painful menstruation in women;
• hair loss, brittle nails;
• toothaches, caries;
• pain in the heart area, tachycardia (increased heart rate), various types of arrhythmias.

If a patient, in addition to leg cramps, has several of the symptoms described above, magnesium deficiency should probably be considered one of the causes of involuntary muscle contractions.