Prevent And Stop The Painful Leg And Calf Cramp That Begin When You’re In Bed
What causes leg and calf cramps at night?
Only imagine that you are lying down and your lower leg seizes. This kind of pain is intense enough so to make you want to scream and it doesn’t let up and your muscle is hard to the touch. When you will try to move your leg, it kind of feels paralyzed. Does this sound familiar?
In accordance to American Family Physician, the nocturnal leg and calf cramp can affect up to 60 percent of adults and many times it is referred to as muscle spasms or charley horses, and they occur when one or more of the muscles in the leg tighten involuntarily.
Having these leg cramps most often affect the gastrocnemius muscle (calf muscle – calf cramp) which spans the back of each leg from the ankle to the knee. But, they may also affect the muscles at the front of each thigh (quadriceps) and the back of each thigh (hamstrings).
You might be awake or asleep when a leg cramp happens but most of the time, the muscle relaxes itself in less than 10 minutes. Your leg can kind of feel sore or tender for up to a day afterwards. Having often calf cramp at night can disrupt your sleep.
Experiencing leg cramps during sleep are more common among women and older adults.
How to stop leg cramps at night
These following tips are able to help you avoid leg cramps while sleeping:
- Consume plenty of fluids. These allow for normal muscle function and you may need to adjust how much fluid you drink based on the factors as the weather and your age, activity level, and also the medication you’re taking.
- Ride a stationary bike.Only few minutes of easy pedaling might help loosen up your leg muscles before you go to sleep.
- Stretch your legs often .When stretching your calves and hamstrings before bed it may be able to reduce the frequency and severity of nocturnal leg cramps.
- Avoid some heavy or tucked-in bedding. This kind of bedding could push your feet downward while you are asleep. Use some loose, untucked sheets, and a comforter that can allow you to keep your feet and toes upright while you are sleeping .
- Change the sleeping position.You shall always avoid sleeping in positions in which your feet are pointing downward so give a try to sleeping on your back with a pillow behind your knees.
- Choose supportive footwear.Some poor footwear might be able to aggravate issues with the nerves and muscles in your feet and legs, most often and especially if you have flat feet.
Treating leg and calf cramps
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