What causes leg cramps? How can you prevent them?

Leg cramps are very common in life, and some people encounter them frequently, but many people don’t know the cause of the disease. Let the editor help you reveal the truth one by one.

Causes of Leg Cramps

1. Cold stimulation. For example, exercising in a cold environment in winter, not doing enough warm-up activities; swimming in low water temperature in summer; not covering yourself with a blanket at night.

2. Excessive fatigue. During intense exercise, the whole body is in a state of tension, the leg muscles contract too quickly, and the relaxation time is too short. The local metabolic product lactic acid increases, and the contraction and relaxation of the muscles are difficult to coordinate, which can easily cause calf muscle cramps. When walking long distances, traveling long distances, and climbing mountains, the calf muscles are easily fatigued, and then cramps occur.

3. Excessive sweating. If you exercise for a long time and a large amount of time, your body will sweat a lot, and if you do not replenish salt in time, a large amount of fluid and electrolytes will be lost in the body, metabolic waste will accumulate, and blood circulation in the local muscles will be blocked, which will easily lead to cramps.

4. Calcium deficiency. Calcium ions play an important role in muscle contraction. When the calcium ion concentration in the blood is too low, muscles are prone to spasm due to excitement. Teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people, and pregnant women are prone to calcium deficiency and may experience leg cramps during exercise.

5. Bad sleeping posture. For example, lying on your back for a long time with the quilt pressing on your feet, or lying on your stomach for a long time with your feet against the bed, forcing certain calf muscles to be in an absolutely relaxed state for a long time, causing "passive contraction" of the muscles.

6. Cardiovascular disease. Frequent leg cramps may be related to cardiovascular disease.

Prevention of Leg Cramps

1. Supplement calcium properly. Foods containing lactic acid and amino acids, such as dairy products and lean meat, can promote the dissolution of calcium salts and help calcium absorption.

2. Do stretching exercises before going to bed. If you are prone to cramps at night, stretch the parts of your body that are prone to cramps before going to bed, keep your calves warm while sleeping, and pay attention to your sleeping posture.

3. Do a good warm-up. When doing physical exercise, you should do a good warm-up. The exercise time should not be too long and the intensity should not be too high. The best way to exercise is to walk briskly for 30 minutes to one hour.

4. Drink water appropriately. Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink water. When you sweat a lot, you can drink some light salt water or sports drinks appropriately.

Treatment for leg cramps

The best immediate response to a leg cramp is to gently stretch the tense muscle.

Specific method: Immediately grab the big toe on the side with cramps, and slowly pull the foot toward the body, which can stretch the gastrocnemius muscle in the calf. Then slowly straighten the foot and stretch the leg hard, and the calf muscle will stop cramping; or you can use both hands to vigorously massage the calf, which will also be effective.