What causes calf cramps?

Many people have experienced cramps in their daily lives. When a cramp occurs in a certain part of the body, you cannot move and it is very uncomfortable. So what is the common calf cramp in life? What causes it?

① Cold stimulation from the external environment, such as low room temperature at night in winter, using too thin a quilt when sleeping, or exposing legs and feet outside the quilt.

② Fatigue, insufficient sleep, insufficient rest, or excessive rest can lead to accumulation of local acidic metabolic products, which can cause muscle cramps. For example, walking or exercising for too long, which can cause excessive fatigue of the lower limbs or insufficient rest and sleep, can cause lactic acid accumulation; sleeping and resting too much or too long can slow down blood circulation and cause carbon dioxide accumulation.

③ Electrolyte imbalance, such as calcium deficiency. Calcium ions play an important role in muscle contraction. Teenagers grow and develop rapidly, and are prone to calcium deficiency, so leg cramps often occur. Elderly women have decreased estrogen levels and osteoporosis, which can cause low blood calcium levels, increased muscle irritability, and frequent cramps. Long exercise time, excessive sweating, and failure to replenish salt in time will cause a large amount of fluid and electrolyte loss in the body, accumulation of metabolites, and poor blood circulation in the local muscle, which can also easily cause cramps.

④ Bad sleeping posture, such as 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.

⑤ Vascular factors: Varicose veins in the lower limbs can also cause leg cramps. In addition, leg cramps in middle-aged and elderly people are likely to be caused by lower limb arteriosclerosis occlusive disease. After arteriosclerosis, the blood supply to the legs is reduced, blood flow is not smooth, and metabolic products cannot be carried away by the blood. When the metabolites accumulate to a certain concentration, they will stimulate muscle contraction, causing painful cramps. Such elderly people will also experience "intermittent claudication" symptoms when they are active during the day.