Nocturnal leg cramps
Have you ever experience leg cramps? You’re sleeping peacefully when all of sudden a painful sensation pierces your leg, jolting you awake. I had such bad leg cramping last night while I was sleeping, it woke me up! Ouch.. the pain made me crying.. I can feel it untill today. I don't have anybody to help me, got to do it myself, so, what I did last night was straighten my leg and flex my foot toward the knee. Grab the toes and pull them upward toward the knee. I feel my calf muscles stretching.
These cramps are sudden, involuntary contractions of the calf muscles that occur during the night or while at rest. Occasionally, muscles in the soles of the feet also become cramped. The sensation can last a few seconds or up to 10 minutes, but the soreness may linger. The cramps can affect persons in any age-group, but they tend to occur in middle-aged and older populations. (Am I into the middle-aged group???)
No one knows for sure what causes nocturnal leg cramps. In many cases, there doesn't seem to be any specific trigger. However, sometimes the cramps are caused by overexertion of the muscles, structural disorders (eg, flat feet), standing on concrete, prolonged sitting, inappropriate leg positions while sedentary, or dehydration.
What can I do to prevent these cramps?
To stave off future episodes of nocturnal leg cramps, consider the following tips:
• Drink six to eight glasses of water daily. Doing so will help prevent dehydration, which may play a role in the cramping.
• Stretch calves regularly throughout the day and at night. (See box below for more information.)
• Ride a stationary bicycle for a few minutes before bedtime. This activity can help prevent cramps from developing during the night, especially if you do not get a lot of exercise during the day.
• Keep blankets loose at the foot of the bed to prevent your toes and feet from pointing downward while you sleep. • Do aquatic exercises regularly during the week to help stretch and condition your muscles.
• Wear proper foot gear.
I heard about taking potassium for leg cramps. There is a lot of potassium in various foods, and we can buy salt substitutes to really boost our potassium. The "Lite Salt" is half regular salt (sodium chloride) and half salt substitute (potassium chloride). Most people don't have a problem with the taste, it's very similar to regular salt. We can also get pure salt substitute. But to compare - 1/4 teaspoon of pure salt substitute has 610 mg potassium, more than the amount in six of the pills. That's the amount that many people with cramps start out trying, then adjust from there.
Along with potassium, calcium and magnesium are very helpful too in dealing with leg cramps.
These cramps are sudden, involuntary contractions of the calf muscles that occur during the night or while at rest. Occasionally, muscles in the soles of the feet also become cramped. The sensation can last a few seconds or up to 10 minutes, but the soreness may linger. The cramps can affect persons in any age-group, but they tend to occur in middle-aged and older populations. (Am I into the middle-aged group???)
No one knows for sure what causes nocturnal leg cramps. In many cases, there doesn't seem to be any specific trigger. However, sometimes the cramps are caused by overexertion of the muscles, structural disorders (eg, flat feet), standing on concrete, prolonged sitting, inappropriate leg positions while sedentary, or dehydration.
What can I do to prevent these cramps?
To stave off future episodes of nocturnal leg cramps, consider the following tips:
• Drink six to eight glasses of water daily. Doing so will help prevent dehydration, which may play a role in the cramping.
• Stretch calves regularly throughout the day and at night. (See box below for more information.)
• Ride a stationary bicycle for a few minutes before bedtime. This activity can help prevent cramps from developing during the night, especially if you do not get a lot of exercise during the day.
• Keep blankets loose at the foot of the bed to prevent your toes and feet from pointing downward while you sleep. • Do aquatic exercises regularly during the week to help stretch and condition your muscles.
• Wear proper foot gear.
I heard about taking potassium for leg cramps. There is a lot of potassium in various foods, and we can buy salt substitutes to really boost our potassium. The "Lite Salt" is half regular salt (sodium chloride) and half salt substitute (potassium chloride). Most people don't have a problem with the taste, it's very similar to regular salt. We can also get pure salt substitute. But to compare - 1/4 teaspoon of pure salt substitute has 610 mg potassium, more than the amount in six of the pills. That's the amount that many people with cramps start out trying, then adjust from there.
Along with potassium, calcium and magnesium are very helpful too in dealing with leg cramps.
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