With such a problem as a cramp, which brings rather unpleasant pain, many people face, according to statistics, about 80% of people on planet Earth experienced similar discomfort. Moreover, quite often muscle spasm occurs in patients regardless of gender, age or physical activity. Let's try to figure out why it reduces the muscles of the legs and how to deal with it.

What to do if it reduces the muscles of the legs?

What is a cramp and how terrible is it

To understand what a cramp is, you do not need to graduate from medical school. In fact, if a muscle or muscle group involuntarily contracts, while causing sharp, sometimes unbearable pain, then this is a cramp.

Most often, such manifestations occur in the legs, and to be even more precise, in the calf muscles, which are located on the back of the lower leg. Involuntary and painful muscle contraction is a cramp.

The consequence of such a spasm is involuntary extension of the foot, and the maximum possible, it creates the feeling that a person who feels a cramp wants to stand on tiptoe in order to reach something that is high or far away. In a word, if at least once in your life you felt how a spasm reduces a muscle, you will not confuse this sensation with anything.

The cramp in itself, except for pain, does not bear any negative consequences. Especially if it is single, arising randomly and passing quickly enough. But if you have such symptoms often, with enviable regularity and frequency, then you should think about what caused such phenomena in order to eliminate them.

Causes of leg cramps

There can be several answers to the question of why it reduces the muscles of the legs, and in this case only a doctor can give an unambiguous answer. Similar phenomena are observed both in absolutely healthy people (for example, in athletes during intense training), and in people experiencing certain health problems.

Among the reasons called even psycho-emotional stress and chronic lack of sleep.

Convulsions can occur in perfectly healthy people.

However, first things first.

The first and probably the most common source of such phenomena is a banal muscle strain.

It may occur if:

• The day before you walked for a long time, especially when climbing uphill or stairs;
• Engaged in active sports (running or swimming a lot) after a long break, loading the calf muscles;
• For more than 3 hours a day, they wore heels whose height exceeded 5 cm (this item, of course, applies exclusively to the representatives of the beautiful half of humanity).

In addition, convulsions can be triggered by a deficiency of certain nutrients in the body. Convulsions can be caused by a decrease in the level of potassium, calcium or magnesium, a lack of B vitamins, as well as a low content of vitamins E, D and A. In this case, the answer to the question of how to relieve muscle spasm is quite simple: you should restore the balance of microelements, and this problem will stop bothering you.

When you can't get past the cramps

A frequently repeated cramp can be a bright, flashy sign of varicose veins or thrombophlebitis. In this case, it is not necessary that the veins on the legs showed through and were visible to the naked eye, at this very last stage, the disease is very difficult to control and fight it.

Recurring cramps can be a precursor to varicose veins.

If, in addition to cramps, you begin to notice that your shins and ankles swell, your legs get tired quickly from even simple and short movements, and spider veins appear on your hips, then you should visit a doctor and consult about this disease.

However, very often a cramp can be a symptom of serious problems, among which are:

• kidney failure since this disease disrupts the normal excretion of metabolic products from the human body, their toxic effect can lead to seizures;
• Chronic disorders in the circulatory system in that part of it that supplies blood to the lower limbs. Do not forget about obliterating atherosclerosis and other similar diseases;
• Diseases of the cardiovascular system that are accompanied by manifestations of heart failure;
• Unbalanced female sex hormones(namely, an excess of estrogen in the blood). This reason applies exclusively to the female half of humanity.

What to do if a cramp has cramped a muscle

All the actions that a person who feels that a cramp has cramped his leg should take can be divided into two parts:

• The first is immediate relief of symptoms.
• The second is to identify the problems that caused such a state.

The answer to the question of how to relieve muscle spasm is actually very simple. If you anticipate the onset of a spasm (and many people are capable of such “predictions”), immediately relax your leg.

If you skip this moment safely, pull the sock towards you, loosen your leg, and then pull again. If that doesn't help, get up and walk slowly and without strain. It is better if you walk on a cold floor rather than a warm carpet.

Effectively solves the issue of relieving cramps with a light muscle massage. For these purposes, you can also use a warming ointment. And finally, if all these methods have not brought the desired result and the pain condition does not go away, pinch the place of the spasm or lightly prick it with a needle. As a result of all the above actions, you should feel how the spasm relaxes and the muscle becomes soft.

Light massage and tingling help relieve cramps.

Don't expect pain to go away immediately after the spasm is relieved. It can be unpleasant for some more time - from several minutes to half an hour. But you will no longer feel such a sharp pain. In order for the pain to pass as quickly as possible, try to raise your legs above the level of the body.

When to contact doctors

As for the diagnosis and identification of the causes of seizures, we repeat once again: deep digging and analysis of the state of your body, as well as visits to the doctor and testing are necessary only if muscle spasm is regular and there are no visible reasons that we talked about above.

However, before turning to the help of doctors, pay attention to how to relieve muscle spasm on your own:

• Pick the right shoes. It's best to avoid heels altogether. If this is not possible, then replace the high stilettos with lower (up to 4 cm) and stable heels. Pay attention to the rise and support of the ankle.
• Try not to overload your legs. If you still need to walk a lot, go back to the previous point and choose comfortable shoes.
• Pamper your feet- contrast baths before bedtime with mint or valerian will be appreciated by them.
• Practice foot massage. It can be performed both independently and with the involvement of specialists.

What to do about cramps in pregnancy

The statistics currently accumulated regarding women in an interesting position says that almost every one of them at least once encounters a similar phenomenon at different stages of pregnancy.

The answer to the question of why it cramps muscles in pregnant women is, in most cases, quite simple, this is due to the additional burden on the body that occurs as a result of bearing the fetus.

Additional load on the body as a result of bearing a fetus causes muscle spasms in pregnant women.

Here, most likely, it makes sense to talk about the lack of trace elements and vitamins, which have already been mentioned as the causes of seizures. If everything is in order with this, then it is worth checking the level of iron, lowering blood sugar levels at night and in the morning, as well as inferior vena cava syndrome, which becomes especially important in recent months and goes away on its own after the baby is born.

In order not to miss the serious consequences that convulsions in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy can signal, it is imperative to tell the doctor who is pregnant about such problems. He will help to understand why during sleep he reduces the muscles of the legs, and prescribes the necessary therapy.

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April 19th, 2016 © Fithealthbody 449