What causes cramps?

Question

i used to have lots of cramps in my right leg while sleeping and theyre VERY painful. so...what causes them??

Answer 1

Some people get cramps when their potassium is low. You'll want to make sure you eat bananas, oj, strawberries on occasion to keep your potassium at a good level.

Some leg cramps are caused by poor circulation. You could possibly be laying in a strange position that cuts off the circulation to your leg. If that isn't the case, you should mention the cramps to your doctor next time you see him/her so he can check your pulses.

Cramps can also be a symptom of a neuromuscular disease. If they continue, spread, or get worse, check with your doc.

You could also be walking funny, have shoes that aren't good for your particular stride, or be straining that leg muscle, causing it to cramp up at night. When you get a calf muscle cramp, you should try very hard to stretch the muscle. The best way is to get out of bed and stand flat on your foot; or if you can't get up, try to pull your toes up to stretch that calf.

Answer 2

Generally it is related to a deficiency in magnesium and potassium.

related - Much pain is from muscles below is an example of what may help (based on headaches).
Begin with a couple swigs of molasses or a couple of bananas (natural muscle relaxers) daily - magnesium (which regulates many things in the body) and potassium (a needed building block for muscles).
Drink at least 1/2 gallons of water per day. Running a body low on water is like running a car low on oil is the analogy the head of neurology at UCDavis told my husband about 10 years ago.

Now to the cause - muscles - your back, neck shoulders and head have tender spots. They are knots in the fibers of the muscles called trigger points. It makes the muscles tight which makes them press on nerves and other things causing the pain.

The cure - start with a professional massage, (if this does not do it you probably need a chiropractor as well) you will also want to go back over any place you can get to 6-12 times per session up to 6 times per day rubbing (or lightly scratching on your head) every where that is tender until the knots go away. The place where the skull connects to the spine press up under the edge of the skull (to get to those muscles).

For more information read The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Davies. It teaches what to do and where the pain comes from.

Answer 3

I sometimes get the same thing. One leg would get really cramped and I couldn't sleep. I asked my doctor once and she said it was just "growing pain." The cramps are particularly bad when you're having a growth spurt.

I only get them occasionally now. Just drink some water and take a Tylenol and you should be fine. It's REALLY unlikely that you have deep vein thrombosis... lol. Don't listen to that other person.

Answer 4

It can be something trivial, like a muscle spasm or something life threatening like deep vein thrombosis (DVT) which is a leg related blood clot emergency. Please get it checked out to rule out anything serious. It may not be anything bad, but why take a chance?

Answer 5

normally muscle cramps are caused by a loss of electrolytes

Answer 6

It is a lack of calcium(try viactin chewables) or it could be dehydration. Start drinking more water!

Answer 7

its muscle contractions
basically causexd by your muscles contracting
the muscles arte just doing there job and it hurts sometime
they are simply caused by nature