Home Remedies and Cures for Leg Cramps

If you've ever woken up with a jolt in the night, and found your calf muscle contracting painfully, then you've experienced a leg cramp. However, as they are mostly harmless, and no cures for leg cramps exist, all one can do is employ home remedies for leg cramps to relieve the condition...

What are Leg Cramps?

A leg cramp is a sudden shooting pain that is felt in any leg muscle. Cramps usually occur in muscles that cross two joints, such as the calf (crossing the ankle and knee), the hamstring (crossing the knee and hip), and the quadriceps (also crossing the knee and hip). However, many people also experience muscle cramps in the feet. The pain comes from a muscle spasm, which is when a muscle contracts too hard, and one can feel the muscle contorting. Leg cramps can last from a few seconds up to a few minutes. They very commonly occur at night, when one is sleeping causing them to be called night leg cramps. However, for most people, a leg cramp is an occasional sufferance. However, they increase with age, and about 1 in 3 people over the age of 60, and about half of people over the age of 80, have regular leg cramps. While cures for leg cramps do not exist, there are various ways to treat this condition.

What Causes Leg Cramps?

The exact cause of a leg cramp is not known but several theories abound. According to one theory, cramps may occur if a muscle that is already in a shortened position, is stimulated to contract. The calf muscle is relatively shortened in the common sleeping position where the knees are slightly bent (flexed), and feet point gently downwards, and is thus prone to cramps. An imbalance in the electrolytes in the body can also cause leg cramps. Common causes of leg cramps are dehydration or muscle fatigue due to heavy exercising. You may also experience muscle cramps if you make sudden changes (more activity or different exercises) in your fitness regimen.

Sometimes, muscle cramps are the outcome of another condition or problem. Muscle cramps may occur due to ingestion of certain drugs, such as diuretics ('water tablets'), nifedipine, cimetidine, salbutamol, statins, terbutaline, lithium, clofibrate, penicillamine, phenothiazines, and nicotinic acid. Other conditions in which they occur are if a person has an untreated illness such as hypothyroidism, peripheral vascular disease, addison's disease or type 2 diabetes. Muscle cramps are experienced during certain stages of pregnancy, or due to treatments such as dialysis. They are also seen to occur in people who consume excess alcohol.

Home Remedies for Leg Cramps

The most important measure you can take to prevent leg cramps is to stay hydrated. Eight glasses of water a day is the recommended amount. Also supplement fluids whenever you feel you have lost some. Make sure you drink plenty of water before, during, and after exercise. The importance of stretching is hugely underrated. Stretching before and after your workout is very important to avoid muscle cramps. It is very important to warm up before and cool down after a workout and avoid vigorous exercise right before bedtime. It is a good measure to stretch the muscles once in a day even if you've not worked out. Never start a heavy workout suddenly. Start slow, and gradually build up to it. A good rule to follow is the '10% Rule', where you never increase your exercise over one week by more than 10%.

Home remedies for leg cramps include pointing your toes towards your face, holding some ice against the affected muscle, and relaxing it with a hot shower.

Cures for Leg Cramps

The best way to relieve a leg cramp is to stretch the affected muscle and massage it. Most cramps will relax in a matter of minutes. Painkillers are pointless as the cramp is likely to pass by the time they take affect. If you do find yourself with persistent, recurring leg cramps, you should visit your doctor, as it may be symptom of an underlying problem. Your doctor may prescribe muscle relaxing medications as treatment of leg cramps.

As there are no cures for leg cramps, it is advisable to use home remedies for leg cramps to avoid the problem altogether. Other precautions to take include wearing shoes that have proper support, and leaving the bed covers at the foot of the bed untucked.