You can’t know how unpleasant muscle cramps can be unless you get them from time to time. Everybody knows the kind of pain you experience when you nick yourself while shaving or stub your toe – it’s irritating and painful, but it passes by quite quickly. Cramps are something else entirely.
Leg and foot cramps are caused by muscle spasms, which is why the pain is long lasting. It could happen at any moment, with no warnings whatsoever. Most often it strikes at night and there is nothing you could do about it in that very moment.
However, there is hope! To be able to minimize muscle spasms you have to determine the reason causing the cramps and find the right solution to the problem.
What is a cramp?
Leg cramps are painful muscle spasms in calves, thighs or feet. Usually it happens during the night right after you fall asleep or about the time you wake up. Obviously, it seems like there is something on the edge of those two states that makes the muscles abruptly contract, causing the pain.
What is the reason of muscle spasms?
1. Dehydration
One of the most common things that induce cramps is dehydration. Is your water intake not sufficient? Are you sweating a lot? Are you working out? All of that is making your body lose water, which means losing electrolytes that help to control muscular impulses and contractions. If your body is not producing the sufficient quantity of electrolytes, cramps could occur more often.
2. Feeling cold
Most people prefer sleeping in a cool environnement, moreover, it is recommended to keep a lower temperature to get a better rest. But if you keep your window open or your fan turned on during the night, make sure to cover your legs. It is still not very clear why lower temperatures evoke cramps but it is for sure related to the fact of lower temperatures reducing the muscular elasticity, turning them harder, which could be the cause of contractions.
3. Staying upright the entire day
Spending most of your day standing upright could be equated to a work out, except when you’re working out you’re getting the necessary warm ups and stretching. Your leg muscles are simply getting worn out from long lasting exploitation, especially if you have to carry something heavy. Wearing high heels to top it all up would make it just so much worse!
4. Working out
Cramps can be caused by physical exercices. In the long run working out makes your muscles stronger and harder, which lowers the probability of cramps to a minimum. However, after a few hours of physical activity your muscles are more likely to spasm because of the fatigue and lactic acid accumulation.
How to prevent cramps
1. Soap
You want the real medical magic? You have it!
No one knows why, but a lot of people got rid of night cramps by using regular soap! Just place a small chunk of soap under your sheets. The brand or type of soap has no importance. There is no medical explanation to this, but there is a known case when even a dog suffering from arthritis was able to appreciate the healing properties of soap her owner placed under his own sheets.
To know for sure if it works or not, you have to try it out!
2. Warm shower
Moderate exercices and stretching before the actual work out are not called warm ups for no reason. Muscles are performing much better when they are warm, so a warm shower will help loosen them a little and the water pressure could be used to massage them. You could just use a warm compress or take a bath as well.
3. Pickles
Yum! Pickle or tomato brine contains a lot of salt our body loses along with perspiration. By drinking some of that salt, sugar and vinegar solution you balance up the level of micro-elements that help control muscular contractions.
4. Bananas
This little trick is constantly used by ballet dancers, who really know the meaning of a cramp Eat them to prevent cramps or as a way to relief your pain. These delicious fruits are a great source of potassium, which is also responsible for muscular contractions and pain absence during movement.
We really hope these tips and tricks will help you avoid painful muscular contractions during the night! If you have your own solution to the problem, please feel free to share it, we’d love to hear about it!
