What are the Causes of Leg Cramps & Pain and Treatments

Updated: 8/14/2019

Overview

Leg cramps (or widely known as night leg cramps)^[1] are not rare syndromes in our daily life. The cramps are one of the most annoying syndromes that frequently come without any notice and hindrance. Even though these syndromes are proved normally harmless; their appearance is still a warning signal of the body’s problems. The first thing people have to know when they look at these syndromes is the causes of leg cramps. “Why do leg cramps appear?”, “What are the underlying meanings of their symptoms?” and “Why do some people suffer from leg cramps more often than these other?” are common questions that related to the sources of this syndrome. Only when we find out the causes will we have the right treatments and further healthcare actions.

To help readers have an overview of leg cramps, AllRemedies.com would like to provide some useful information about the causes of leg cramps in details. Let’s spend some minutes to figure out why they become so common in our daily life and what problem of your health that lays under leg cramps.

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I. Possible Symptoms Of Leg Cramps

Leg cramps happen mostly on the calf muscles. Sometimes, they may also develop in the feet or thighs. An episode of leg cramps varies from a few seconds up to about ten minutes, and thigh cramps often last the longest. When leg cramps occur, the significant symptoms are the pains in affected muscles that will be tightened. Besides, feet and toes will be firm and inflexible. The pain and tenderness result from leg cramps may last for several hours, even when the cramps have passed.

If you only experience leg cramps occasionally, there is no need for concern. However, the high frequency of leg cramps is believed to reflect the life’s quality as well as the health condition of sufferers.

II. Top 2 Main Causes Of Leg Cramps

So, what are the causes of leg cramps? Several factors lead to the leg cramps, but generally, they are categorized into certain groups based on the types of cramps:

1. Unknown (Idiopathic) Leg Cramps

People experience idiopathic leg cramps frequently, and actually, the exact causes of these leg cramps remain an unsolved question for health specialists. No official answer has been given out, but some potential theories have been built up as an effort to access the problem.

Many people often have leg cramps during their sleep. Nerve compression is supposed to be the reason. The natural position that you sleep with your knee bent and feet pointing downward may shorten the muscle, which results in the cramps in your calf ^[2]. Stretching at the time is believed to make sufferers feel better.

Besides, it is said that leg cramps will happen if there is a restriction in the blood supply ^[3]. For example, when you do exercises, the amount of blood supply to your leg may be inadequate. The unexpected blood limitation negatively affects muscles and produces pain, which might make you unable to move your leg.

2. Secondary Leg Cramps

While most of the leg cramps happen out of the concern and remain harmless, some of them may contain medical information about your health condition, which requires you to pay more attention.

• Exercise:

Leg cramps may be the most frustrating problem for athletics and people who enjoy doing exercises, especially those who love extreme sports^[4]. During the intense activities, people often put themselves in a harder way than normal to get expected the result. This effort will put your muscle under excessive pressure, and leg cramps will appear as a consequence. The more intensity you place on your body, the more chances for cramps to occur. Therefore, preparation is advised and required before exercising to prevent unexpected leg cramps.

• Pregnancy:

There is an interesting fact that the elderly and pregnant women experience leg cramps more regularly than other groups of people^[5]. When women are having babies, they will gain a lot of extra weight due to the baby inside and a special diet. These additional weights will put pressure on the muscles, especially the leg, leading to the cramps. The more weight a woman gain for nine months, the more pressure she and her leg muscles have to take.

• Liver disease:

The performance of the liver may be one of the possible causes of muscle cramps, including leg cramps^[6]. When the liver gets diseases or problems, and it is unable to work properly, the whole body will be affected. Toxins in the body will be piled up, and researchers also pointed out that people with a high level of toxins in the blood make it easier to suffer leg cramps than the others do. A large number of poisonous elements like lead or mercury, will prevent muscles from performing well and result in cramps.

• Dehydration:

Water is essential for our life because it accounts for up to 70% of the human body^[7]. When water is deficient in our body, the level of salt, which contributes to the performance of muscles, will decrease. As a result, people with a low level of water will experience leg cramps more often^[8]. So do not forget to drink a sufficient amount of water every day to protect yourself from these frustrating syndromes.

• Medication

There are some certain substances used in treatments that may lead to leg cramps for users, but the family doctors don’t tell you this. They include: Diuretics^[9] that are used for patients with high blood pressure or those who suffer heart failure and kidney disease because it helps to eliminate fluid, Raloxifene^[10][11] (For those women who have suffered during the menopause, Raloxifene is used to treat osteoporosis), Nicotinic acid^[12] (one of the common substances used in high cholesterol treatment) and so on.

III. Natural Treatments For Leg Cramps At Night

Now, we will introduce some ways to fight against or even get away from these syndromes.

1. Exercise

One of the most common ways that are recommended by health specialists is doing exercises. This method can be applied during the time of leg cramps to reduce the pain and during daily life to lessen the likelihood of leg cramps. Exercise during the cramps includes some activities like stretching and massaging the part of the body that experiences the cramps. Straightening legs or try to walk on heel for a few minutes are proven to relieve the pain of cramps.

Prevention is always better than treatment. Even though there is no perfect way to stay away from leg cramps, some exercise may reduce the time cramps appear if they are applied frequently. Stretching the muscle is highly recommended three times a day. It is suggested that if these exercises are helpful, then you should do them as many as you can. Exercising may prepare your body well to lower the risk of leg cramps.

3. Healthy Diet

A healthy diet may help you to not only improve your immune system but also maintain bone health, resulting in prevention of  leg cramps:

• Vitamin D

Vitamin D plays a role in the immune system. Without vitamin D, the muscle will be weak and very susceptible to cramps^[14]. To supplement vitamin D for your body, you should regularly eat fish, mushrooms, cod liver oil, tofu, and oatmeal.

• Vitamin B

Vitamin B is very effective in reducing leg cramps^[15]. Therefore, you need to supplement this vitamin with these rich sources: oysters, crab, pilchard, salmon, tuna, beef, and egg.

• Magnesium

Magnesium has the effect of relaxing the muscles, especially for pregnant women^[16]. Magnesium is a mineral needed to strengthen bones and is an important electrolyte to reduce muscle tension. Therefore, remember to eat food rich in Magnesium such as avocado, spinach, soymilk, etc.

2. Painkillers And Quinine

Painkillers, along with quinine ^[13] are also mentioned as a way to reduce the level of pain if the exercise during the leg cramps does not work. However, you should follow the instructions and permission of the general practitioner because the side effects of these medications may be harmful and dangerous for patients, such as blindness or even death.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that prevention should be carried out as soon as possible to keep yourself from the cramps and their negative consequences. However, all content provided is for informational & educational purposes. We recommend you consult a healthcare professional to determine which situation you are having. In addition, asking for healthcare professional’s advice may help you know that you have to take medicine or not.

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