Night leg cramps, also known as nocturnal leg cramps, are quite painful, spasms of muscles or involuntary contractions in your legs, typically occurring when you are in bed. These cramps mostly involve the calf muscles, though muscles in your things or feet may cramp as well.
You can also get a leg cramp during an exercise, but it can also appear after a part of your body has remained frozen in one position for longer time.
Home Remedies for Night Leg Cramps
Muscle cramps are generally caused by dehydration, overuse of a muscle, fatigue, or stress. But, if a muscle often locks up for no any particular reason or calves’ spasm painfully when you are trying to sleep, the main cause is a faulty chemical signal from the nervous system that signals the muscle to contract.
Here are the simplest and effective natural remedies that will help you relieve the muscle pain.
- Massage
Find the epicenter of the leg cramp. Press into this place with your thumb and hold the pressure for about 10 seconds, then press over again. You are doing it right if you feel some discomfort, but not any serious pain. Repeat this a couple of times and the pain from the cramp will disappear.
- Electric Heating Pad/ Hot Washcloth
Put a hot washcloth or electric heating pad on the affected area to relax the cramp and raise blood flow to the tissue. You should set the electric pad on low and apply on the painful place for 20 minutes. In the end, remove it for half an hour before reapplying.
- Warm Bath with Epsom Salt
Pour a ½ cup of Epsom salt into a warm bath (or take a long and warm shower). The magnesium in the salt promotes great muscle relaxation.
- Include More Minerals in Your Diet
Low levels of minerals (better known as electrolytes) that include magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium – usually contribute tonight leg cramps. However, you probably do not need more sodium in your diet, but you certainly need more of the others. Cereals, whole-grain bread, beans, and nuts are great sources of magnesium. You can get potassium from most vegetables and fruits, especially oranges, cantaloupes, and bananas. High-calcium foods include cheese, dark leafy greens, yogurt, low-fat milk, broccoli, and almonds.
Keep Sodium Intake Low!
The average daily sodium consumption for people in the U.S.A is about 3 400 mg per day, which is an excessive amount that increases the risk of getting a cardiovascular disease. Generally, Americans must limit daily sodium intake to maximum 2,300 mg. However, this is an upper safe limit and not a recommended daily allowance.
- Include More Vitamin E in Your Diet
Take vitamin E to prevent further night leg cramps. Experts suggest that taking this vitamin improves blood flow in the arteries. Vitamin E is mostly found in foods that contain fat. Great examples are seeds, nuts, avocado, wheat germ and vegetable oils. Some fish and leafy greens also good sources of vitamin E.
- Stay Hydrated
It is proven that most leg cramps are usually caused by dehydration. In order to treat and prevent muscle cramps, you need to drink plenty of water during the day.
If you have a tendency to get muscle cramps during exercise, consume at least 2-3 cups of water about 2 hours before each workout. After that stop and consume 125 – 250 mL every 20 minutes during workout sessions. In case you are sweating a lot, consider some healthy sports drinks, which replace lost electrolytes.
- Wintergreen Oil
Combine 1-part wintergreen oil and 4 parts vegetable oil. Next, massage it into the leg cramp. The wintergreen oil contains methyl salicylate that stimulates blood flow and relieves pain. You should use this mixture a few times per day (but not with a heating pad because you can burn your skin.
Very Important Information (VIP):
To prevent night leg cramps, you should try not to sleep with the toes pointed. And do not tuck in the sheets too firmly – that tends to bend the toes downward and activating cramps.
Conclusion:
Forcefully stretching the affected leg can help you relieve the pain. Night leg cramps are often caused by dehydration, so if you are getting frequent muscle cramps, you need to drink plenty of water. Home remedies may help you prevent and decrease the number of muscle cramps.
Sometimes a muscle cramp is a sign that you are a lack of vitamin E and some essential minerals. Therefore, you should consume more foods that include vitamin E, and electrolytes, as magnesium, potassium, calcium, and sodium. However, you should be careful with the consumption of sodium. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests that people should consume no more than 2,300 mg sodium per day and that certain vulnerable groups of people should limit the intake to 1,500 mg per day.
References: Fda.gov May 18, 2010 Besthealthmag.ca