There is nothing worse than suffering the excruciating pain of leg cramps at night just when you had began to drift off to sleep. These contracting muscle spasms last anything from a few seconds to
Leg Cramps at Night
many minutes, the pain can be intense and can even make the muscle feel very sore for some time afterwards. The cramping tends to occur whilst relaxed and especially when trying to drift off to sleep.
The pain of a leg cramp is caused when the calf muscle or even the muscles in the feet contract too tightly. Leg calf cramps, are mainly caused by a contraction of an already shortened muscle that may then cause the muscle to go into spasm. It can happen during sleep mainly because when we lie in the usual sleeping position, we tend to keep the knees in a flexed position with the feet pointing downwards, thus causing tension by shortening the calf muscle. Maintaining a correct posture could possibly avoid this problem and some stretching exercises may also relieve the pain.
Although specialists in this area are unsure and divided as to what really causes leg cramps at night however, believers in alternative medicine think that this unpleasant sleep disorder, night cramps are caused by a lack of essential elements in your body including potassium. Well, one very good and easily available source of potassium are bananas and so it cannot do any harm to eat them on a regular basis to see if you experience any improvement.
How To Relieve Leg Cramps At Night
When you experience a leg cramp spasm, one idea is to get hold of the toes on the affected leg with both hands and pull them towards you as firmly as you can. This act will stretch the muscle in the leg and may do the trick and relieve the pain. Other things to try are:
- Try walking around the room for a few minutes as this will also stretch the muscles in the leg.
- Try firmly massaging the calf or foot muscles for several minutes using both hands.
- Keep your leg straight and flex your feet towards you until you can feel the calf muscles stretch
- Place a bag full of ice on the leg muscle to help relax it. Use a bag of frozen peas if you have nothing else.
How to avoid leg cramps at night
Try to maintain the correct posture when trying to sleep for example by using a pillow between your legs to keep them slightly apart especially if you sleep on your side. If you prefer to sleep on your back then try to elevate your feet again by using a pillow. Consider using a specifically designed orthopedic pillow designed especially to correct the position of the legs and feet whilst in bed.
If none of these methods work for you and you continue to experience severe leg cramps at night then it’s advisable to seek help from your doctor.
