Muscle cramps

Muscle cramp is a painful contraction of a muscle that comes suddenly. It can last for few minutes to few days.

 

Reasons for muscle cramps

 

– Tightness in the muscles

– Dehydration, fluid loss, perspiration, heat stroke

– During exercise when muscles are tight, it tries to stretch itself more than its capacity

– Deficiency of vital minerals like calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium

– Persistent muscle spasm due to injury or wrong posture

– Muscle fatigue due to jerk or vigorous/overuse

– Rest cramps – can be during sleep in the night which is more common especially in the legs

– Some medicine like diuretic (Lasix) which causes loss of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, can causes cramps

– Poor circulation in parts of body can lead to low levels of Oxygen reaching the muscles.

– Muscle cramps during pregnancy is also very common

 

Ways to avoid or take care of muscle cramps

 

– Slow and repeated stretching of muscles

– During exercise when one has cramps, turn in the opposite direction it will help in relaxing the cramped muscle

– Regular exercise helps in reducing the muscle cramps

– Regular massages helps in reducing the cramps

– Pressing the cramps area strongly helps in releasing the cramps

– Application of heat(Hot Towel Therapy)

– Increase fluid intake

– Before any vigorous exercise always do loosening

– Drink lots of lemon water, buttermilk, honey water, watermelon juice, mango panna etc. if there is excessive loss of water due to sweating during summers

– Have food rich in calcium and magnesium during pregnancy

– Reduce the intensity of exercise if vigorous exercise is a cause of cramps

– Stretching the legs slowly during or after a sleep

– Take enough sun to avoid muscle cramps

– Limiting the intake of coffee or diuretics as these can lead to increased cramps

– Have healthy and nutritious diet to avoid muscle cramps

 

Although cramps can be very painful thing which can disturb day to day activity and sleep, typically it does not create any other problem and can be avoided by adopting various techniques.

 

by: Saroj Modi, Founder, The Inner Startup