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Painful Muscle Cramps, Causes, Treatment & Prevention

Charley Horse/ Leg muscle cramps

Painful spasms or cramps in the leg muscles last from a few seconds to a few hours. You could be out running or sleeping when suddenly your muscles become hard, tight, and extremely painful. It mainly occurs in the skeletal muscles which we have no voluntary control. Muscles prone to spasms include foot, calf muscles, front and back of thigh, hands, arms, abdomen and muscles along the rib cage.

Causes

The exact cause of muscle cramps is not known  however they can occur due to various reasons
1)      High or low PH or substrate concentrations  in the blood i.e

•   Hormonal imbalance

•  Low levels of potassium, sodium & phosphate

• Low levels of magnesium

• Low level  of calcium especially in pregnant women

2)      Medicine side effects

• Lasix (furosemide), Microzide (hydrochlorothiazide), and other diuretics ("water pills") used to remove fluid from the body

• Aricept (donepezil), used to treat Alzheimer's disease

• Prostigmine (neostigmine), used for myasthenia gravis

• Procardia (nifedipine), a treatment for angina and high blood pressure

• Evista (raloxifene), an osteoporosis treatment

• Brethine (terbutaline), Proventil and Ventolin (albuterol), asthma medications

• Tasmar (tolcapone), a medication used to treat Parkinson's disease

• Statin medications for cholesterol such as Crestor (rosuvastatin), Lescol (fluvastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin), or Zocor (simvastatin)

3)      Diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and neuropathy
4)      Poor blood circulation in the legs
5)      Overexertion of the calf muscle while exercising
6)      Insufficient stretching before exercise
7)      Exercising in the heat
8)      Muscle fatigue
9)      Dehydration

Treatment

1)      Massage or stretch the foot , ankle or knee in the opposite direction of the spasm. At the back of the thigh (hamstring)try to put your weight on the affected leg, bend your knee slightly or lie with your leg out straight or pull top of your foot toward your head. For cramp in the front thigh hold on to a chair an pull your leg backwards towards your bottoms.
2)      Stretch
3)      Ice the muscle
4)      Warm the muscle
5)      Bath the muscle with Epsom salt

Prevention/ Reducing risk of cramps in future

1. Eat foods high in vitamins, magnesium, calcium and potassium
2. Stay hydrated
3.  Stretch properly before exercises

If the cramps persist or exist for no apparent reason consult your doctor

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