An involuntary contraction of a muscle group accompanied by sharp, acute pain and numbness is called a cramp or spasm. Leg cramps are a problem for many men and women, requiring diagnosis and mandatory treatment. Numerous causes of muscle spasms are well studied by medicine, are easily corrected, and quickly treated. If you constantly suffer from contractions of your limbs, then be sure to consult a doctor who will help you solve this problem. What are the reasons for cramps in the left or right legs?
Causes of leg cramps
In medicine, tonic muscle spasms are distinguished, characterized by prolonged muscle tension, and clonic - short-term contractions, alternating with relaxation. Leg cramps belong to the first category and occur in the feet and calf muscles. Spasms of the lower extremities are accompanied by acute, painful sensations of petrification of a part of the body; they occur suddenly, the pain syndrome lasts from 2 to 5 minutes, and goes away only after relaxation of the muscle.
Causes of leg cramps:
- Lack of vitamins and microelements– magnesium, calcium, potassium, responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles. A lack of micro- and macroelements can be caused by an unbalanced diet, an excess of harmful substances (nicotine, caffeine, tannin, sugar), a protein diet, or taking medications that interfere with their absorption.
- . With active sweating, there is a significant loss of microelements that ensure healthy muscle function. Therefore, it is so important to drink up to 2.5 liters of water per day, especially during the hot summer season and during active sports. . Excessive tension during sports activities, unevenly distributed load, insufficient warm-up and warm-up before training, heavy monotonous physical labor lead to overstrain of one muscle group, improper functioning of the body muscles, and cramps. For the effective functioning of muscle mass, it is important to alternate tension/relaxation during physical activity.
- Temperature changes. Hypothermia while swimming or in the cold causes a sharp contraction of the muscles of the limbs and the appearance of muscle cramps. Therefore, it is important to monitor your body temperature and prevent temperature changes of up to 10 degrees.
- Diseases. Improper metabolism, vascular diseases, and limb injuries are common causes of muscle cramps. To eliminate spasms, consult a specialist (endocrinologist, neurologist, phlebologist, orthopedist) and undergo the prescribed treatment.
- Stress. During emotional stress, there is an intense load on the entire human body, primarily on the nerve endings responsible for contracting the muscles of the body. An excess of stress hormone () leads to an imbalance of micro- and macroelements, leading to a lack of calcium in the body, which is necessary for healthy functioning, muscle tension and relaxation.
Muscle cramps
Muscle cramps in the legs occur due to a disruption in the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscle for relaxation. These spasms affect the muscles of the lower leg, front and back of the thigh. The intensity of the cramp can vary from a small twitch to a significant contraction accompanied by severe pain. Spasmed muscles are like stone: hard, tightly compressed, and stand out sharply on the body. A seizure lasts from 1 to 15 minutes, with several repetitions of spasms over a period of time.
Toe cramps
Toe cramps are a syndrome of metabolic disorders or diseases of a different nature. Occurs with joint diseases, venous insufficiency, and diabetes. It can be observed in people whose activities involve standing on their feet for a long time, walking for a long time in uncomfortable shoes. Frequent attacks of toe cramps require mandatory consultation with a specialized doctor who will help determine the cause of the symptom and prescribe the correct treatment.
Feet
Spasms of the muscles of the feet are associated with the presence of flat feet or neurological disorders. If you frequently experience cramps in the foot area, consult an orthopedist or neurologist. Avoiding wearing uncomfortable shoes, reducing the intensity of the load on the lower extremities, and taking vitamins and microelements that help normalize the functioning of the muscles of the musculoskeletal system help reduce the number of attacks.
Why do my legs often cramp at night?
The main cause of nighttime muscle cramps is slow blood circulation, which reduces the absorption of nutrients necessary for muscles, and an uncomfortable position during sleep. For frequent nighttime antispasmodic attacks, increase potassium and magnesium in your diet. Eat buckwheat and oatmeal, lentils, legumes, dried fruits, nuts, seaweed, and dairy products more often.
To improve the health of blood vessels and the circulatory system, reduce the amount or completely avoid nicotine, caffeine, and sugar. Reduce the amount of animal protein you consume, giving preference to dietary poultry. Spend more time outdoors, combining leisurely walks with light physical activity on your body muscles. Pay close attention to the quality of your sleep. A comfortable bed with an orthopedic mattress will help you reduce the number of muscle cramps at night.
What causes this phenomenon during pregnancy?
Muscle cramps during pregnancy can be caused by many reasons: from disturbances in phosphorus-calcium metabolism to various complications caused by difficulty in blood circulation. If you experience frequent leg cramps during pregnancy, it is important to determine and treat the cause of the muscle cramps by consulting with your healthcare provider.
Let's consider the main prerequisites for the development of muscle cramps in pregnant women:
- lack of B vitamins, magnesium, calcium, potassium;
- decreased hemoglobin (anemia);
- increased blood sugar levels;
- vascular diseases, varicose veins;
- violation of venous outflow in the legs;
- excess caffeine;
- sedentary lifestyle.
A balanced diet, additional vitamin complexes, and moderate physical activity will help avoid muscle cramps during pregnancy. If attacks often recur and do not disappear, then this is an additional reason to seek advice from your doctor. Timely treatment and correct diagnosis help eliminate antispasmodic attacks and prevent negative consequences from muscle cramps during pregnancy.
What to do in case of a sudden seizure - first aid
There are several ways to provide first aid for muscle cramps:
- conduct an intensive massage session of the affected area;
- try to stretch a tense muscle:
- calf, foot muscles - while sitting, straighten your limbs, grab your big toes with your hands, pull towards you;
- front of the thigh - stand straight, bend the affected leg at the knee, grab the ankle with both hands, pull the foot towards the buttocks;
- back of the thigh - stand up straight, put the leg with the affected muscles forward one step, put it on the heel, bend the healthy one at the knee, lean on it with your hands, carefully begin to stretch the patient, moving the pelvis back, as if you were trying to remove the shoe from the patient;
- apply a cold compress.
Use these methods to relieve the underlying pain syndrome of a cramp. They help relax tense muscles, increase blood flow in the legs, and reduce pain. After eliminating the main pain, ensure good blood flow to the affected area: lie on your back, place a pillow under your feet so that your limbs are at an angle of 60 degrees, try to relax as much as possible. Remain in this position until all pain from the muscle cramp goes away.
Methods of treatment outside of an attack
The main goal of preventive treatment of muscle cramps outside of antispasmodic attacks is to improve the condition of blood vessels and the circulatory system. Review your diet, enriching your diet with essential vitamins, micro- and macroelements, and giving up harmful, unhealthy foods. Reduce or completely eliminate alcoholic beverages, fast food, industrially processed foods, overly salty and sweet foods, and carbonated drinks from your diet. Stop smoking.
To prevent treatment of muscle cramps, do not allow your body to become dehydrated. Drink 2–3 liters of liquids during the day in the form of still drinking water, green tea, freshly squeezed juices, natural fruit drinks, homemade compotes. Reduce the amount of coffee and black tea you consume. These drinks have a diuretic effect, so in addition to water, beneficial microelements will be washed out of the body.
To reduce the likelihood of muscle cramps, engage in sports or other active activities that will help restore blood circulation in the legs after sedentary work and improve blood supply to the lower body. Before going to bed, it is advisable to do yoga and Pilates every day, which will relieve stress and tension and stretch tired muscles. A good prevention against night cramps is a warm shower or bath with aromatic oils: rose, lavender, mint, ylang-ylang.
Medications
Based on the diagnosis, medications from different areas are used to treat and prevent muscle cramps: correcting metabolism, improving the condition of blood vessels and the circulatory system, helping to recover from injuries. Additionally, complexes of vitamins and microelements are prescribed to replenish substances important for the body. It is important to remember that tablets should only be used for medicinal treatment of muscle cramps after consulting a doctor.
Folk remedies
Folk remedies for muscle cramps help reduce the number and frequency of spasms, reduce pain during an attack, improve blood circulation in the extremities, and increase the elasticity of the vascular system. The use of traditional methods is a good prevention and addition to the main treatment regimen for painful muscle cramps prescribed by a doctor.
Popular treatments for seizures:
- cold compresses with lemon juice on the feet, 2 times a day for 2 weeks;
- bay leaf oil, used during self-massage for muscle spasms;
- Place a regular magnet on a muscle group cramped, after 1 minute the attack will pass;
- compress at night for 1 week: apply a horseradish leaf, smeared with honey, sprinkled with salt to the sore spot, wrap it with a cotton towel on top;
- ointment based on celandine: mix the juice of the plant with Vaseline, rub problem parts of the body before going to bed for 2 weeks;
- daily self-massage of feet with mustard oil.
Physiotherapy
A special set of exercises will help you against cramps in the limbs. Performing therapeutic exercises promotes better patency of veins, develops and improves the functioning of muscle mass, helps train muscles to contract/relax, strengthens ligaments and joints, relieves stress and emotional tension. By performing special exercises, you reduce the likelihood of attacks of spasms in the limbs, and prevent varicose veins.
A complex of therapeutic exercises for muscle cramps:
- in a standing position:
- circular rotations with each foot in different directions, 30 times;
- rolls from toe to heel, 30-50 times;
- we rise on our toes and sharply lower our heels, 30 times;
- swing your legs in different directions, 20 times.
- in a lying position:
- we rotate our legs, imitating riding a bicycle;
- alternate swings of limbs, 30-40 times;
- swing your legs crosswise, 20 times
By constantly performing simple therapeutic exercises 1-2 times a day, you will get rid of cramps in the muscles of the limbs, feet and fingers. After completing the complex, take hot water and aromatic oils that help improve blood circulation, dilate blood vessels and relax muscles: basil, eucalyptus, sage, geranium, lavender, mandarin, sandalwood, neroli.
Video: how to get rid of leg cramps
Attention! The information presented in the article is for informational purposes only. The materials in the article do not encourage self-treatment. Only a qualified doctor can make a diagnosis and make recommendations for treatment based on the individual characteristics of a particular patient.
Found an error in the text? Select it, press Ctrl + Enter and we will fix everything!“For several days in a row I get a cramp in the morning. The pain is so unbearable that it makes it difficult to sleep. Why do leg cramps occur and how to deal with them?
Anna Samoilova, reader of "FACTS"
“If seizures occur sporadically and quickly pass, you should think about what kind of life you lead,” says family doctor of the family medicine outpatient clinic No. 7, Podolsk district of Kyiv Alla Ganzyuk. — Muscle spasms can occur in a person who eats poorly, adheres to strict diets, drinks little fluid, enjoys black tea and coffee, and also experiences physical overload.
However, a similar symptom often occurs in some diseases. Frequent cramps can bother people suffering from varicose veins, especially when thrombosis begins. Muscle spasms occur with metabolic disorders, diseases of the thyroid gland, for example, hypothyroidism, and problems with the spine. If cramps bother you almost every day for a week or more, you should rush to see a doctor.
— How to reduce pain if a cramp occurs?
- In this condition, the muscle contracts strongly, lactate (a product of glucose oxidation) accumulates in it, which causes pain that can last for some time - a minute or longer. It is recommended to massage the muscle and pat it. You can rub your foot with an alcohol solution or lubricate it with a warming ointment.
— What nutrients might a person suffering from muscle spasms lack?
— Calcium, potassium and magnesium. It is recommended to consume hard cheese, cottage cheese and fermented milk products. But it is better to choose not low-fat ones, but those with at least five percent fat content. There is no calcium in “zero” foods. By the way, it is believed that during stress the body loses calcium, which is necessary for relaxing muscles and the nervous system, so after emotional shocks its supply must be replenished. Potassium is found in dried apricots, baked potatoes, bananas, avocados, as well as in meat and fish. Magnesium is found in nuts, rye bread, oatmeal, and legumes. Foods rich in vitamin D are also recommended: chicken eggs, fatty fish. A person needs to drink at least one and a half liters of liquid. Moreover, after drinking coffee and tea, which remove it from the body, it is recommended to drink a glass of water.
— What can be recommended to prevent seizures?
— Eat nutritiously, do not abuse coffee, tea, or alcohol. It's better to quit smoking. It is important to wear comfortable shoes. Women should avoid wearing high heels. And if you have already put on such shoes, you should not walk in them for a long time. It is recommended to make contrasting foot baths with herbal decoctions, for example, nettle, yarrow. But the temperature should be comfortable. Before going to bed, you can do a little exercise (relaxation exercises) and a light foot massage.
- Lying on your back, legs bent at the knees. Raise one leg and place it on the knee of the other. Grasp the toes of your other foot with your hand and pull towards you until you feel tension. Change the position of your legs.
- Lying on your stomach. Bend one leg at the knee, reach it with your hands and pull it towards your head, raising your knee. Repeat with the other leg.
- Sitting, back straight, legs together. Lower yourself to your feet, trying to reach your toes. You can pull them towards you.
- During the day, it is useful to rise high on your toes and drop sharply onto your heels, rotate your feet in different directions, bend and straighten your toes. This exercise can be performed either standing or sitting.
Prepared by Tatiana MIKHAILENKO, FACTS
Cramps are involuntary muscle contractions that are independent of the person. Of course, this category does not include contractions of the heart muscle, although they also cannot be voluntarily controlled by a person. Also, scientists still do not have a consensus on spasms: are spasms and convulsions the same thing or not? Some consider them identical, while others define spasms in a narrower sense, understanding them as a spasm, which is accompanied by severe painful sensations.
Convulsions can appear as a result of an epileptic seizure, in case of extreme heat or, conversely, hypothermia. They can be provoked by a sharp drop in blood pressure or electric shock. Convulsions are common due to overwork, atherosclerosis, vitamin deficiency and during pregnancy.
As you can see, there can be many reasons and all of them are not so rare. Therefore, the condition of seizures can occur suddenly in any person. What to do if you have a cramp? Providing first aid for this condition - these are the questions that our conversation today is devoted to:
My legs are cramping - what should I do?
First aid in this case is as follows:
- To get rid of this condition, grab your leg in the place where it has cramped, and then do a quick and strong massage: grab your leg with your fingers and pull it towards you. Do this several times. This procedure very quickly stops the discomfort in the leg muscles.
- Sit on the floor, and then grab your feet with your hands and pull them towards you, towards your face.
Often the leg muscles cramp when swimming. If this happens, roll over onto your back, lie on the water and also pull your foot with your hand. You must, of course, understand that to carry out this procedure you need to be able to float perfectly on the water and swim well on your back. Therefore, learn this in advance if you often relax on open bodies of water.
— This unpleasant, often painful condition occurs at night. In this case, wet a fabric mat or just a piece of thick fabric with cold water, and then stand on it with your bare feet. You can apply a cold compress to the muscle that is cramping. In addition, for nighttime cramps, lightly tap your back in the lower spine area.
When the cramp subsides, lie down on the bed and put something under your feet so that they are in a slightly elevated position.
Hands cramp - what to do?
In this case, the painful condition often occurs as a result of prolonged, monotonous work with the hands, for example, embroidery or when working on a computer keyboard. If the muscles of your hand or fingers suddenly cramp, stop working immediately. Now stretch each finger, remember the arm muscles, do a massage and several physical exercises that involve your arms (flexion-extension of fingers, flapping your arms, etc.). After the cramp goes away, after about 3-5 minutes, you can continue working.
Providing first aid for other convulsive conditions
During an epileptic seizure:
When a person is struck by an epileptic seizure, his muscles are constrained by a spasm. But he loses consciousness, so he cannot help himself on his own. In this case, it is necessary to help the person before the emergency doctor arrives:
It is necessary to place the patient on his back and in no case interfere with his uncontrolled movements. Do not hold his legs and arms, as this will not help him, but you may injure yourself, too. If possible, place something soft under his head and legs. Turn the patient's head to the side so that he does not choke on his own saliva. Between the teeth (if the mouth is open), insert a piece of cloth, for example, a crumpled handkerchief folded several times, so that it does not injure the tongue with the teeth.
In extreme heat:
In extreme heat, cramps also often occur. This condition is especially typical for children. In such cases, the onset of a pathological condition can be noticed. The patient's muscles begin to tremble slightly, his head falls back, and his eyes close. The skin may turn blue, and foam appears in the corners of the mouth.
If this happens, place the patient on his back with his head in your lap. There is no need to restrain involuntary movements that occur in the patient. Turn his head to the side, and unbutton his collar and clothes on his chest. Place a crumpled, clean cloth between your teeth. Continuously wipe away any saliva, foam or vomit.
An attack of intense heat passes in about 3-5 minutes. But after stopping it, in any case, you need to call a doctor. Ventilate the premises and give the patient antipyretic medicine.
Folk remedies
If your legs often cramp, rub your feet with lemon juice in the morning and evening, do not wipe, let the juice absorb into the skin. Only then can you put on socks and shoes. Repeat the procedure daily for 2 weeks.
In addition, bay leaf oil can be used for treatment. To prepare, finely break 50 g of bay leaf, place in a clean jar, and fill with unrefined vegetable (preferably sunflower) oil. Place the jar in a dark cabinet for 12 days. Then strain. If you have a cramp in your arms or legs, rub this area of your body with the resulting product. Be healthy!
Every person has experienced seizures at least once in their life. These sensations are very painful and unpleasant. They can signal some serious illness, but they can also appear from a lack of vitamins, overwork or temperature changes.
What causes your leg to cramp?
Everyone knows that cramps are involuntary muscle contractions that occur as a result of external or internal stimuli. As well as the fact that they come in different natures, durations and intensities. These spasms most often occur in the legs and can last up to 15 minutes. However, remember: if the cramp lasts more than 3-5 minutes, you should consult a doctor.
The causes of seizures may be:
- lack of vitamins and microelements - magnesium, potassium, calcium and vitamin D due to an unbalanced diet, a high-protein diet or taking certain medications;
- smoking and drinking large amounts of strong coffee and tea;
- dehydration of the body;
- temperature changes, for example, when you are on the beach, warmed up in the sun, and enter cold water. Temperature differences should not be allowed to exceed 10 degrees;
- diseases of metabolism, blood vessels, limbs;
- stress, during which intense stress occurs on the entire body and on the nerve endings responsible for contracting the muscles of the body;
- lack of oxygen;
- decreased blood sugar;
- osteochondrosis, in which nerve fibers are compressed.
Night cramps occur when there is slow blood circulation or an awkward position during sleep. Cramps in the feet or toes may indicate various diseases - joints, venous insufficiency, atherosclerosis, diabetes, flat feet or neurological disorders. They occur if a person stands on his feet for a long time or walks in uncomfortable and tight shoes. And also if the diet lacks vitamins and microelements.
If you are deficient in magnesium, be sure to eat spinach, celery, tomatoes, grapes, cherries, and bran.
If the body lacks calcium, do not give up cottage cheese, cheeses, beans, almonds, cauliflower, yellow turnips, egg yolks, rutabaga, lentils, whey, bran, wine berries, olives.
The decrease in potassium content in the body can be replenished with bran, cranberries, walnuts, barberries, almonds, chestnuts, raw vegetables and sour fruits.
First aid for seizures
If you experience a cramp, try massaging your leg, from your toes to your heel and from your calf to your knee.
If you are lying down, simply extend your leg and pull your toe towards you.
Walking on a cold floor or a cool compress helps a lot.
You can place a regular magnet on a muscle that is cramped for one minute.
The well-known folk method also works well - pricking a muscle cramped with a pin. You just need to do this carefully.
However, remember that frequent seizures require consultation with a doctor who will prescribe appropriate treatment for you.
In addition, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor if even a single convulsion is accompanied by loss of consciousness, occurs due to symptoms of poisoning or against the background of high body temperature, and also if accompanied by impaired coordination of movements.
Folk remedies for seizures
Our ancestors treated cramps with lemon juice, which they rubbed on their feet twice a day - morning and evening. Mustard oil was also used in the same way. Chamomile infusion, which you need to drink throughout the day, also helps greatly - 1 tablespoon per 2 cups of boiling water. It is best to alternate chamomile infusion with raisin infusion: pour 2 tablespoons of raisins into 0.5 liters of boiling water, leave until morning and drink instead of tea. Baked potatoes also help remarkably with cramps.
Today we'll talk about leg cramps. Before we talk about getting help during a painful condition, we need to understand the causes of leg cramps and how to avoid them.
It is rare to find an older or middle-aged person who does not know what a cramp is.
Leg cramps usually occur suddenly with acute pain of varying intensity in the lower leg, calves, feet, toes, rarely in the thighs and can last from a few seconds to several hours.
At the same time, the leg muscles involuntarily tense, contract and cannot relax. Blood stops circulating in the “jammed” muscle group - we feel a lot of pain. And this causes the body to strain the leg muscles even more. We try to relax the muscle, but the body reacts to its tension and resists. There has been a breakdown. Vicious circle.
Leg cramp spasms vary by type:
- Tonic spasms – prolonged muscle tension, leading to hardening and severe pain
- Clonic spasms – repeated short-term spasms of tension and relaxation of different or the same muscle groups (example: tic of the eyelid or part of the face)
- Tonic-clonic spasms – this is a mixed version (an example of an epilepsy attack)
- Generalized spasms – Many muscle groups of the human body are involved in a cramp. This type is very dangerous, accompanied by loss of consciousness and requires immediate emergency medical care (example: convulsions due to tetanus)
Episodic attacks of leg cramps are usually associated with improperly selected shoes and prolonged stay in a static position. Frequent leg cramps may indicate a specific disease.
Causes of leg cramps
Before talking about help during leg cramps, you need to know the causes of this condition. After all, a seizure is not a separate disease, but only a consequence of some underlying disease. Knowing the true cause, you can take adequate measures to prevent the occurrence of leg cramps.
If we talk about diseases that are accompanied by leg cramps, then these are:
- Brain tumor
- Epilepsy
- Spasmophilia
- Acute infectious diseases (influenza) accompanied by high fever
- Acute poisoning, including alcohol intoxication
- Closed injuries
- Neurological diseases
- Polyneuritis
- Diabetes mellitus or prediabetes
- Vascular diseases - venous insufficiency, thrombophlebitis, varicose veins
- Osteochondrosis of the spine, radiculitis
- Diseases of the thyroid gland (hypoparathyroidism - disease of the parathyroid gland)
- Anemia
But at the same time, periodic leg cramps may appear if there is:
- Flat feet
- Clubfoot- the heel looks inward and thereby causes not only curvature, but also pinching of blood vessels and nerves in the ankle joint
- Incorrectly fitted in the instep and tight shoes
- Reducing the formation of adenosine triphosphoric acid in the body ( ATP), as a result, the ability of the muscles to relax is impaired. This is most often observed in pregnant women.
- Muscle fatigue due to incorrect body position and deterioration of blood circulation in the muscles (working on the legs, standing in line, squatting (working in the garden beds), sitting for long periods of time, uncomfortable sleeping position in bed).
- High body temperature(hyperthermic convulsion) in infectious diseases, heat stroke.
- Genetic predisposition– convulsive readiness is developed in relatives to the same strong stimuli.
- Residence in a stuffy room.
- Nervous stress. At this time, the hormone adrenaline increases, breathing increases, and the result is a decrease in carbon dioxide in the muscles, which means muscle spasms or cramps.
- Physical inactivity or a sedentary lifestyle.
- Acidity and slagging of the body (protein diets)
- Hormonal disorders
- Wrong reception contraceptive drugs
- Dehydration due to taking diuretics, severe sweating, diarrhea
- Hypothermia(sharp immersion in ice water)
- Lack of microelements in the body: calcium (hypocalcemia), potassium (hypokalemia), magnesium (hypomagnesemia).
- Lack of vitamins D, E, A, B.
- Take off your shoes and stand with your entire foot on the cool floor, transferring the weight of your body to the sore leg. Thanks to this, blood circulation in the legs will accelerate, and small nerve vessels will become more excitable from the cold - muscle tone will improve.
- Through the pain, try to roll your leg from heel to toe; if that doesn’t work, then pull your toes up and thereby stretch the muscle seized by the cramp.
- If you are able to bend down to the floor, then you can do the following exercise: squat down sharply and raise your butt, keeping your head down. This stretches the muscles of the back of the legs. Having straightened up, you need to make a twisting movement at the waist, turning your torso first in one direction, then in the other.
- If the spasm does not go away, then you need to pinch the sore muscle, grabbing your calves and do this for at least two minutes, even if the pain has subsided. Usually, after a short period of time, leg cramps recur, and by pinching and patting the calf muscle, we achieve better blood flow from the site of the spasm and can avoid repeated cramps.
- You can hold your cramped leg under a stream of warm water and at this time stretch the muscle, pulling your toes up and moving your foot “towards the nose.”
- Then you need to lie down with a pillow or cushion under your feet.
- It is good for someone to massage the feet and legs in this position, rubbing in any warming ointment, alcohol, vodka, apple cider vinegar or table vinegar diluted with water (one to one).
- After the massage, your feet need to be wrapped. Better relaxation can be achieved by keeping your feet warm.
If convulsions recur frequently, then you need to find the reason for this. The first person you will need to contact is a therapist.
The body lacks microelements and vitamins. What to do?
One of the important reasons for leg cramps is a lack of vitamins and microelements. And then the question arises: What to do? Of course, take measures to replenish them with the help of a rational fortified diet, taking vitamin complexes or dietary supplements in courses. However, we must not forget that:
- Adsorbents and antacids, due to their properties, do not allow the absorption of magnesium and calcium
- Any diuretic drugs promote the active excretion of calcium, magnesium, and potassium
- Eufillin and insulin remove magnesium from the body
- The hormone cortisol, produced by the body during stress, prevents calcium from being absorbed in the intestines and at the same time actively promotes its excretion by the kidneys.
- Proteins actively consumed by athletes remove calcium from the body, which prevents muscle spasms.
- Calcium is absorbed in the body only if there is a sufficient amount of vitamin D
- Expectant mothers intensively lose essential microelements during pregnancy
How to eat to prevent leg cramps
Most often, leg cramps arise from a lack of vitamins D and group B in the human body, especially B6, and due to inconsistencies in the amount of microelements Mg (magnesium), Ca (calcium), K (potassium).
A rational, balanced and fortified diet plays a major role in restoring the balance of vitamins and microelements. When creating a menu, you need to take this into account and include in your diet foods that contain essential microelements, as well as vitamins.
I offer you a list of food products that contain the most vitamins and microelements that help cope with leg cramps.
|
|
| Mg – magnesium |
|
| K – potassium |
|
| vitamin D |
|
| vitamin B6 |
|
Loading...