How to prevent night cramps. Causes and treatment of night leg cramps

Cramps are very unpleasant, painful and uncomfortable manifestations of the symptoms of a variety of diseases.

Causes of seizures

Reasons that favor the occurrence of seizures at different ages include oxygen deficiency in the body (hypoxia), encephalitis, meningitis and other neuro infections, epilepsy, brain development defects, deficiency of glucose, magnesium and calcium in the blood, acute respiratory infections (pneumonia, influenza), metabolic diseases substances in children and birth trauma in newborns, and traumatic brain injuries, complicated pregnancy, elevated body temperature, drug and other poisoning, encephalomyelitis, and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system, severe dehydration and severe disorders of water and salt metabolism.

In addition, bright lights and loud sounds can trigger seizures if a person is hypersensitive to such irritating factors.

When your leg cramps cold water, that is, spasms occur calf muscles, this is caused by a narrowing of blood vessels caused by exposure to low temperatures and muscle strain. More often this happens with a reduced calcium content in the body and diseases of the spine.

Muscles also cramp from excessive and prolonged physical activity. This is also explained by the loss of potassium and calcium along with sweat and dehydration.

How to treat seizures?

Treatment of seizures involves, first of all, providing emergency care and preventing complications. In addition, if you experience repeated spasms, you should think hard about treating the underlying disease that is causing this condition.

If a convulsive seizure occurs, injury should be prevented, that is, the victim must be restrained. If the entire body is covered by convulsions, the patient should be turned on his side, preventing the vomit from closing the respiratory tract. You should also prevent tongue biting by placing a hard object, such as a stick, between the teeth. At the same time, you should definitely call an ambulance.

If a person close to you suffers from epilepsy, you should be sure to know the rules of behavior in the event of a seizure, since seizures can recur many times every day.

If the underlying disease leading to the development of seizures is characterized by insufficient oxygen supply, the patient’s blood should be saturated with oxygen through a face mask (oxygenation). Brain defects require the use of anticonvulsants (anti-seizure medications) to prevent seizures. For meningitis, antibacterial treatment can prevent seizures. For febrile convulsions, antipyretics are used, since recovery will quickly come with normalization of temperature. When dehydrated convulsive state can be prevented or treated with IV fluids to normalize blood volume.

If you often experience cramps in the calf muscles, you should first of all organize a diet consisting of foods that include a lot of calcium and potassium. These are dairy products, legumes and bananas, vegetables, fruits, liver, oatmeal. It is recommended to do it regularly special exercises to relax the calf muscles. In particular, a fairly simple exercise is in which you grab your toes with your hand and pull them towards you. You can often help yourself by applying sensitive pinches to the shin. In any case, you should undergo a full examination to determine the causes of seizures.

An injection is very effective for spasms of the calf muscles, however, you need to know how to do this, since you should only inject at special injection points. In addition, we should not forget here about the possibility of infection entering the body and possible damage to nerves and blood vessels.

How to prevent seizures?

Preventive use of vitamins C and magnesium and calcium supplements helps a lot.

For varicose veins lower limbs means to improve the functioning of veins - venotonics - can prevent cramps in the calf muscles.

For epilepsy, seizure preventive medications include anticonvulsants such as phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, and valproic acid.

Only an integrated approach to prevention can prevent the development of seizures. Single for the body muscle spasms do not pose any danger.

Convulsive contractions of the calf muscles occasionally or constantly bother almost 8 out of 10 people among the adult population. Because of this, many people have to figure out how to get rid of leg cramps. Isolated cases of seizures can be triggered by certain external factors or poor nutrition. However, with constant attacks, you should seriously pay attention to your own health, as this may be a sign of illness or systemic disorders.

Mechanism and causes of seizures

Cramps are sudden, very strong and uncontrollable muscle contractions. At the very least they cause convulsions discomfort, at the most, severe pain that persists even after the convulsive spasm has been removed. During a cramp, a limb becomes numb, and it is not possible to move the part of it whose movements are provided by the contracted muscle. It is not possible to relax the muscle on your own. As a rule, it is possible to stop the spasm only with the help of intense massage or after taking medications.

The most common causes of leg cramps are:

1. Deficiency of magnesium, potassium and calcium. Normal nervous and muscular systems provided by these microelements. Tissues that do not receive sufficient nutrition with these microelements become thinner, and after stress they are quite difficult to recover.
2. Lack of water in the body. Normalization water balance often causes a person to experience leg cramps, so dehydration should be avoided.
3. Pregnancy. Often in a woman’s body during this period there is a lack of microelements due to the fact that the body undergoes major changes on different levels. Changes concern the hormonal, cardiovascular, nervous systems, and the functioning of internal organs.
4. Increased stress on muscles. Most often, this reason leads to cramps in athletes.
5. Varicose veins. Due to varicose veins, tissues do not receive sufficient nutrition, which is why cramps appear.
6. Flat feet. The vascular system undergoes abnormal changes if a person has a deformed arch of the foot.
7. Stress. The entire body suffers from constant nervous tension caused by stressful situations. Leg cramps can be a manifestation of this condition, so you will have to relieve not only muscle tension, but also nervous tension.

How to cope with an attack

There are several ways to help cope with cramps during an attack. Since they are accompanied by severe pain and can occur at almost any time, knowing what will help cope with the pain is very important. You can combat leg cramps with the following basic methods:

1. If your foot is cramped, you need to use your hand to pull your toes towards you as much as possible or step on your toe, trying to press firmly with your toes on the surface.
2. If you know which point you need to inject, you can carry a needle or pin with you so that by injecting at a certain point, you can relieve leg cramps. Right place A doctor must show you for the injection.
3. If cramps occur at night, then, first of all, you need to take a sitting position, because physiologically, the lying position is most conducive to the appearance of cramps. The numb area should be intensively massaged, and then lie down so that your legs are higher than the rest of your body.
4. A good method of fighting if a muscle cramps in a public place is to squeeze the muscle with your fingers. You can't let her go until the cramp goes away.
5. You can rest your hand on the wall while facing it. The cramped leg must be pulled back and placed so that it rests completely on the ground.

If a cramp occurs once, then there is no need to see a doctor.

Preventive measures

Prevention will help to avoid repeated attacks and eliminate the causes of their occurrence. Compliance general rules to maintain the health of the whole body can be a great help in avoiding cramps. These rules include:

1. Rational nutrition. Mono-diets are especially harmful to the body. Popular weight loss option - protein diet. But in this case, the human body will not receive a large amount of the substances it needs, so the occurrence of seizures will be very likely.
2. Wearing comfortable shoes. The maximum permissible heel height can be 4–5 cm, and you should also not wear shoes that are too narrow.
3. Quitting bad habits. Drinking alcohol, smoking, and a large amount of coffee, tea and sugar in the diet can trigger seizures.
4. Eating foods that improve calcium absorption. They should be rich in vitamins D and B6.
5. Physical activity and massage. It is necessary to perform simple exercises daily that will not cause muscle fatigue. It is good to lightly massage the area that is experiencing cramps.
6. Contrasting foot baths. Such procedures strengthen blood vessels and increase their tone, therefore they serve as a prevention of varicose veins.

It is important to monitor the water-salt balance in the body, drink enough fluids - at least 2 liters of clean water per day, go for a walk fresh air, especially in sunny weather.

Gymnastics against leg cramps

Regular execution simple gymnastics Helps reduce and completely eliminate seizures. Gymnastics complex could be like this:

• To warm up, you need to walk on a smooth surface barefoot.
• While sitting, you need to place your feet completely on the floor, with your big toes together. After that inner part The feet must be raised and remain in this position for 10 minutes.
• The toes need to be squeezed and unclenched. This must be done 10 times in each of 3 approaches.
• The feet need to be raised above the floor and performed with them. circular movements. This needs to be done for 1–2 minutes.

After performing the gymnastics, you need to lie on the bed and raise your legs to the wall. You need to lie in this position for several minutes. Gymnastics helps improve blood circulation and fluid outflow. As a result, swelling disappears and seizures do not occur.

Effective treatment for leg cramps

You can get rid of cramps only if integrated approach. You will have to reconsider your lifestyle: eat right, give up bad habits, do physical exercise.

Most often, the first drugs prescribed to a person are vitamin complexes

If this therapy does not help, move on to more serious drug treatment.

At home good effect quite often provides treatment with traditional methods:

1. The area that is cramping should be rubbed with lemon juice every day. After the juice is completely absorbed by the skin, it is best to wear socks made of natural wool.
2. During an attack of convulsions, you need to rub the sore spot with mustard oil or plain mustard. Pain and numbness will quickly go away thanks to the warming effect of the product.
3. A compress of table vinegar and vodka also helps to cope with convulsive spasms.
4. Warmed honey will help get rid of an attack. It should be applied to the sore spot large quantities and wrap with cotton cloth. Keep the compress for 30 minutes.
5. An ointment of 5 g of turpentine, 10 ml will help prevent attacks apple cider vinegar and 1 egg yolk. It must be applied daily at night.
6. For internal use, you can prepare a decoction of cinquefoil. 40 g of herb must be poured into 1 liter of boiling water and allowed to brew. After this, the decoction can be taken 4 times a day, 1 glass per dose.
7. You can prepare drops from thyme seeds (10 g) and vodka (100 ml). It is necessary to infuse the product for 2 weeks. After this, the course of treatment will continue for another 2 weeks. Every day you will need to drink 10-15 drops of the product 3 times a day before meals.
8. Garlic oil helps a lot. To prepare it, you will need 1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped, pour any oil (200 ml) and put everything in the refrigerator for a day. After this, the product can be taken 5 ml three times a day.

Treating seizures on your own may not be safe, so you should see a doctor if seizures recur. Only an experienced specialist can prescribe adequate treatment.

You're just in the middle of a run, workout, or CrossFit session when suddenly a shock occurs—a muscle cramp that causes you to stop moving and freeze in pain. Nothing kills a workout like sudden stiffness caused by a cramp. And this trouble can arise in any situation: when you lift weights, run a sprint, or do laps in the pool. Don't let muscle cramps keep you from training!

You have just been practicing an exercise, and then next moment already blinded by a harsh, pinching pain in the muscles that came from out of nowhere. Yes, muscle cramps are probably the worst thing that can happen, because at this moment your workout comes to an abrupt halt. Your muscles are stuck in the "ON" position, which is why the cramped muscle feels hard to the touch - it is in a state of absolute tension, to the point of pain.

"A cramp occurs when muscle fiber is compressed and does not have enough resources to release this tension,” explains Jennifer J. BECK, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at UCLA’ s Orthopedic Institute for Children. Usually muscle cramps affect the area that you work the most. “Runners are more likely to experience cramps in the lower extremities, while rowers and swimmers may be more likely to experience cramps in the upper extremities and chest" says Beck.

Provide your body with proper nutrition

But exercise isn't the only culprit. “The most common cause of muscle cramps is nutrition,” says JORDAN D. METZL, MD, is a sports medicine physician atHospital for Special Surgery in New York. “More precisely, its imbalance.” This is especially true for endurance athletes such as long-distance runners, cyclists and triathletes, who lose large amounts of electrolytes through sweat without replacing them. This can lead to sodium deficiency, which causes cramps.

Cramps seem to “attack” without warning, but often the culprit is an electrolyte imbalance in the body. "All your muscles contract and relax based on electrical impulses nervous system, explains Dean SOMERSET, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist physical training . — Nervous system sends an impulse to the muscles to make them contract, and then it sends another impulse to make them relax... and it's all controlled by potassium and sodium." When you experience a muscle spasm, it means the muscle is not receiving the signal to relax, often because it is deficient in one or both of these electrolytes needed to send the message.

There are several other reasons that deplete electrolyte reserves. One of them is to exercise in extreme heat because you'll likely sweat more as your body tries to cool itself. “If you run in 30-degree heat, your body sweats more, which causes you to lose a lot more water and sweat, which affects your sodium and potassium levels.”

• Solution. Somerset recommends eating something before a long workout (ideally something containing sodium and potassium) or drinking a drink that contains these electrolytes. Make sure you're getting enough sodium (this goes up in severe cases). physical activity). In addition to sodium, the minerals potassium, magnesium and calcium can help prevent muscle blockage. "Aim to get these nutrients primarily from food," advises Beck. The main sources of essential micronutrients are bananas (potassium), leafy greens (magnesium) and dairy products (calcium).

Don't overwork yourself

In addition to electrolyte imbalances, there are some other physiological causes of cramps. Muscle fatigue can also be a trigger. “Due to overtraining, clogged and damaged muscles are unable to fully absorb nutrients and eliminate waste,” says Somerset. This can happen over longer periods of time or even during one long workout, such as a marathon, so be sure to refuel if you plan to go out long distance or increase the time strength training for an hour or two.

"Lack of blood flow can also cause cramps because your muscles won't get the oxygen they need to perform basic functions," Somerset explains. In many cases, the reason is simply that your clothing is too tight, for example the elastic at the bottom of your cycling shorts is cutting off blood circulation (many athletes are very fond of compression clothing).

“In other cases, seizures may be a sign of what is called dynamic cerebrovascular accident, which in turn signals possible vascular problems or heart disease,” says Somerset.

• Solution. Make sure that your clothing does not pinch the muscles and does not obstruct blood flow, only in this case the muscles will receive adequate nutrition. If you frequently experience cramping in your lower extremities (such as your calf muscles), see your doctor.

Dehydration causes changes in electrolyte concentrations and an increase in lactic acid from muscle metabolism. Both of these things can cause seizures. Individual needs vary - some people do fine with a little water, others need more fluid or sports drink with electrolytes.

If training turns out to be stronger than you

“Functional cramps occur in people who cross their muscular limit,” says Metzl. This may mean you are loading too much. heavy weight on the barbell, reaching the limit of the number of repetitions you can perform, or even putting your body in a position where flexibility is difficult to achieve. Sudden and intense movements, such as sprint intervals, can be another trigger for cramps. This is especially true if you haven't warmed up, stretched, or prepared your body properly for the activity. “If you're going to get all the energy you need from your muscles back surface hips and quads to do something like a 400-meter sprint, but your muscles don't have the energy or building blocks to do it, they'll likely cramp, Beck explains. - Stiffer muscles are less able to change length during normal function known as mobility. This means that they must do the same job, but with a shorter change in length. Repeat this movement with high speed or in a large volume can cause the muscle to cramp because it does not receive proper stretch during the exercise.”

• Solution. To maintain muscle mobility, include in your workout more exercise to develop flexibility. “Using a foam roller before exercise can also help,” says Metzl. Stretching as well proper warm-up are key to preventing mid-workout cramps. Stretch the muscles that you will use the most. Runners should especially target their hamstrings. per day strength training for your upper body, stretch your chest, shoulders, and arms. If a cramp strikes while you are doing an exercise, stop and gently stretch the affected muscle. "Don't try to work through a cramp or do a big, serious stretch," Beck warns. “Both can lead to muscle rupture.”

First aid

Unfortunately, there is little you can do if you are already experiencing a muscle cramp. “Stop the movement that caused it, take a deep breath and lightly massage the affected area. Be patient and try to remain calm,” suggests KATE BISHOP, Find Your Trainer Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

"Massage - effective treatment(immediately during a cramp) because it creates neurostimulation, causing the muscle to relax,” Somerset adds.

However, the pain does not always stop there. “Essentially, the muscle involuntarily contracts at maximum force, which can cause it to suffer later, as if you had done the most rigorous workout and experienced the worst case of delayed onset muscle soreness syndrome,” Somerset explains. Like any soreness, it will go away over time, but most instructors say doing light exercise will speed up the recovery process.

“The bottom line is that seizures can occur in anyone at any time, regardless of physical fitness, gender, age, and even your hydration level,” says Bishop. And while some aspects of why muscle cramps happen and how to treat them remain a mystery, you can improve your chances of completing your workout routine without cramping.

The main causes of leg cramps are lack of physical exercise during the day, dehydration and poor blood flow in the legs. They can last from a few seconds to several minutes, and in the most severe cases- even up to several days.

However, they can be reduced with some simple tricks. First of all, you should increase your magnesium intake by consuming foods high in the mineral, such as yogurt, bananas, dark greens, vegetables, pumpkin seeds, and dark chocolate.

These are the 15 most useful products: bananas; Greek yogurt; mushrooms; cocoa; tomatoes; quinoa; apple cider vinegar; pumpkin seeds; sardines and salmon; nuts; sea ​​salt; green leafy vegetables; molasses; avocado.

However, the following magnesium oil may also be of great help. You should rub it on your feet before going to bed and leave it to work overnight.

Here's how to do it:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup magnesium chloride flakes
1/2 cup distilled water

Instructions: Boil water and add cereal while stirring. Once they have dissolved, remove them from the heat and let them cool. Then pour the oil into a spray bottle.

Usage: You should spray 5-10 times on each foot before going to bed.

Regardless, we will also offer the following tips:

Do stretches. Stretching prevents leg cramps as it increases blood flow and thus helps in the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the cells.

More vitamin D. This vitamin is extremely important for the absorption of calcium, which is an electrolyte and balances body fluids. The best way Increase the level of this vitamin in the body by exposure to the sun, as well as consumption of seafood and mushrooms.

Imbalance in electrolytes. Proper hydration prevents cramps. If this doesn't work, the electrolytes may be imbalanced in the body and the following drink will be extremely helpful:

Electrolyte drink.

Recipe: You should mix half a teaspoon of salt, water, 6 teaspoons of sugar. You can replace sugar with honey, in which case reduce the sollimon and lemon juice by ½, and drink this drink daily.

If you suffer from leg cramps, you should:

*Walk at a slow pace at all times to improve blood flow.

*Massage with circular movements.

*Stretching.

Treatment with folk remedies:

*Wetting feet with lemon juice;

* Rubbing the numb muscle with mustard oil;

*Take Echinacea tincture (1 drop per 1 kg of weight every 4 hours in cases where cramps are accompanied by fever);

*Consuming garlic (crush 1 clove with a spoon of honey);

*Drinking freshly prepared orange juice;

*Drinking tea from raspberry shoots (boil raspberry shoots for half an hour);

*Taking the infusion of Adonis spring (add 2 tsp of dry Adonis to one glass of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes, drink 1 tbsp for adults 3 times a day, children 2 years old - 5 drops, children 6 years old – 15 drops, children 12 years old – 2 tsp 5 times a day);

*Drinking tea from birch buds (add 2 tsp of birch buds to one glass of boiling water, infuse, drink as tea in equal portions morning and evening for 2 days);

*Taking herbal infusion (1 tsp spring adonis, 1 tsp birch leaves, 1 tsp hawthorn, 2 tsp marsh cudweed, 1 tsp horsetail, mix in 300 ml boiling water add 1 tbsp of the collection, leave for 6 hours, drink half a glass 3 times a day before meals for cramps in the calf muscles);

*Drinking infusion of broadleaf ragwort (add 20 g of ragwort to 200 ml of boiling water, infuse, drink 40 drops daily); Drinking a soothing mixture of mint, lemon balm and motherwort;

*Drinking an infusion of common thyme (add 15 g of thyme to one glass of boiling water, leave for half an hour, drink 1 tablespoon 3 times a day for the treatment of neurological spasms);

*Drinking infusion of small-leaved linden (add 1.5 tablespoons of linden flowers to one glass of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes, strain, drink 1 tablespoon 3 times a day);

*Drinking a decoction of chamomile flowers (add 4 tablespoons of chamomile to one glass of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, strain, drink a third of a glass 3 times a day after meals).

First aid:

In cases where seizures occur at night and they are not associated with certain diseases, old man can do a few simple steps on his own right in bed:

*Stretch your muscles. Alternate kneading and stroking. Do both, moving from the foot up. Sometimes the pain during a seizure is so severe that the elderly person cannot move. Then you will need to ask those people who will be nearby at that time to stretch your muscles.

*Prick the numb muscle with a pin. Such items are unlikely to be at hand. But if seizures occur frequently, then it is better to worry about first aid in advance (for example, fasten a pin to your pajamas).

*Pull thumb on yourself. This will stretch the muscle and the spasm will go away faster. Walk barefoot. The cooler the floor is, the sooner the cramp will go away. Therefore, you can walk on a wet towel.

*Warm your foot. This will relieve the spasm. You can hold your foot in a basin of heated water. You can cover your leg with heating pads, wrap it in an ironed towel, etc.

*Pinch your leg. Sometimes it will not be possible to perform this action because the tense muscle in an elderly person will become “wooden”. Doctors then recommend actively stretching the part of the face in the place where the mustache grows. It is this area that is “responsible” for the muscles of the lower extremities.

*Apply ice or a wet towel. In this case, the spasm subsides completely and does not bother the elderly person for a long time afterwards.

For an elderly person, to get rid of leg cramps, simply adjust their diet by adding more foods containing magnesium and calcium to their diet:

Orekhov;

Croup;

Bran;

Cheese;

Eggs;

Vegetables;

Dairy and fermented milk products;

Figs;

Prunes;

Blueberries.

Important to know: The body of an elderly person cannot absorb calcium without vitamins D and magnesium without vitamins B6. The lack of these vitamins causes regular night cramps in older people. A lack of B6 vitamins provokes muscular dystrophy. It’s not easy to saturate your body with the “sunshine vitamin”. Products that contain it can provide only a tenth of the required daily amount. The sun also will not always provide the daily norm (for example, for residents of the northern regions).

Hypovitaminosis D can be eliminated with the help of a vitamin complex that contains:

*Vitamin D3 (active form of vitamin D);

*Vitamin B6, normalizing mineral metabolism;

*Drone brood (donor of entomological prohormones, but not a hormone substitute, a valuable resource of minerals, vitamins, amino acids;

Testosteroids;

*Progesterone;

*Estradiol;

*WITH free amino acids used for osteoporosis, menopause, postmenopause and other diseases.

*If hypocalcemia is diagnosed, it is possible to get rid of night cramps if you start taking medications containing calcium. The most effective such preparations are considered to be a vitamin complex containing calcium citrate (quickly absorbed organic calcium salts) and drone brood.

*For older people diagnosed with hypocalcemia and hypovitaminosis D, for the best treatment effectiveness, a course of a complex with an increased dose of vitamins D3 and B6 is recommended.

For the prevention of night cramps during active physical activity, vigorous exercise, and the use of medications that cause muscle spasms, older adults are recommended to:

*Monitor your diet;

*Take full rest;

*Systematically take massage courses.

At varicose veins veins, when massage of the lower extremities is practically impossible, it is recommended to wrap the legs with a loose bandage and use prescribed medications to improve blood flow.

A natural remedy for improving venous flow is dandelion root. It is part of many drugs that normalize blood circulation through the veins and prevent thromboembolism.

Comprehensive treatment of leg spasms should also include the use of muscle relaxants that eliminate spontaneous spasms. An example of a natural muscle relaxant is valerian. It helps relieve stress, which increases nighttime cramps. Foot baths with decoctions of valerian roots at night are also recommended.

Prevention in old age:

Elderly patients are more susceptible to cramps due to age-related muscle loss (atrophy). Age-related atrophy can worsen with a sedentary lifestyle.

During the aging process muscle tissue become incapable of strong and rapid contraction. Over the years, the tendons gradually shorten, causing severe muscle contractions. In the body of an elderly person, the reaction to temperature changes and the need for water gradually becomes dull.