Leg cramps at night - causes and treatment

Cramps are involuntary muscle contractions that cause spasms. Such manifestations occur suddenly, do not last long, and may recur periodically. They often cause severe pain, especially in the elderly and children. Most often, cramps appear in the lower extremities, thigh muscles, and calves. The neck, back, hands, and abdomen are susceptible to these painful manifestations. Spasms of internal organs are quite rare. With regular repetitions, convulsive syndrome is diagnosed.

Types of seizures

All categories of people can experience seizures, regardless of age and lifestyle; they appear more often in the elderly and young children. Attacks are manifested by unequal painful muscle contractions and have different durations, mechanisms of development and frequency of occurrence. They are classified according to several criteria.

By locality

Depending on whether one muscle or a group of them is seized by a spasm, spasms are divided into:

unilateral – when pain occurs on one side;
focal (local) - appear in one muscle group;
generalized - affect the whole body, causing involuntary urination, loss of consciousness and even respiratory arrest.

By duration of exposure

Classified into:

myoclonic - short-term contractions or twitches, mainly in the upper part of the body, stop quickly and do not cause pain;
clonic - characterized by a longer duration, muscles contract rhythmically, can be of a local or general type, sometimes contribute to stuttering;
tonic – long-term, can occur in any part of the body, affect the respiratory tract, the part of the body seized by a convulsion takes one forced position, can lead to loss of consciousness;
tonic-clonic - in which tonic spasms turn into clonic; if the second type predominates, they are called clono-tonic.

Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of seizures

You should eat enough foods containing magnesium.
If you have regular seizures that have been bothering you for a long time, do not put off visiting a doctor. First, you should visit a therapist (if seizures occur in a child, then a pediatrician), who will conduct an examination, prescribe the necessary examination and, if necessary, recommend consultations with specialists of a narrow profile - a neurologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, nephrologist and others.

If the cause of seizures is any somatic pathology, then with adequate treatment, the problem of sudden muscle contractions will soon be resolved.

If the results of the examination show that there are no serious diseases that could provoke seizures, the doctor will give the patient recommendations, if followed, his condition will improve in the near future.

Proper nutrition.
The basis of the diet should be complex carbohydrates - cereals, durum wheat pasta, vegetables and fruits.
Fats also take part in the mechanism of proper muscle contraction - a small piece of butter or fatty red fish will enrich the body with this essential nutrient.
Don’t forget about foods rich in magnesium (nuts, legumes, carrots, greens, seaweed), potassium (bananas, dried apricots, melon, potatoes), calcium (milk and dairy products), B vitamins (dairy products, walnuts , red fish).
A healthy lifestyle (adequate physical activity, avoiding heavy loads on the legs, quitting smoking).
Sleep in a comfortable bed in a position with your legs slightly elevated above the axis of your torso and head.
Taking relaxing foot baths with sea salt - dissolve 3 tablespoons of sea salt in 5 liters of water at room temperature.
Massage your feet with warming ointment or cream before bed.
Refusal of uncomfortable shoes, high heels (shoes should be comfortable for your feet, the height of a stable heel should not exceed 4-5 cm).
If you have chronic venous insufficiency, wear compression stockings and tights (the degree of compression of these things can be different - to choose the right one, consult a phlebologist).
Treatment of flat feet, including wearing orthopedic shoes and/or special insoles.
Taking medications containing multivitamin and mineral complexes (calcium-D3-Nycomed, Magne-B6, asparkam).

Causes of seizures

There are several factors that influence the occurrence of seizures.

Occupational activities - People whose jobs involve standing in a single position all the time (salespeople, computer operators, etc.) or who are exposed to repetitive physical stress experience cramps at night or in the evening. People who smoke experience muscle cramps 5 times more often; the leading causes of cramps are smoking or extremely frequent drinking of coffee.

Often night cramps appear after a day spent in constant movement or even an ordinary brisk walk - this becomes the cause of calf cramps. The same result causes unusual significant physical stress. It should be taken into account in advance that it is undesirable to strain one muscle group; physical work should alternate with periodic rest.

Night cramps are much more common because the posture of the sleeping person contributes to this: relaxed and downward-facing feet, bent legs and the body turned on its side. This position shortens the calf muscle and helps cause spasms. Night leg cramps occur in athletes after significant daytime stress, children (especially with fever) and the elderly due to circulatory disorders in the extremities.

Severe cramps are not uncommon when swimming in cool water on a hot day. Temperature changes can also cause spasms in the pool: heated muscles contract sharply with sudden changes in the environment.

Cramps also appear as a result of severe dehydration, especially in those who engage in sports training or heavy physical labor in the hot season.

Stressful conditions can cause convulsions, and the effect does not occur immediately, but after a while, when calcium is redistributed in the body due to an excess of the hormone cortisol.

Spasms of the fibers of the foot muscles can appear as a result of wearing tight shoes or high loads with flat feet.

Another reason that leads to cramps in the arms and legs is the uncontrolled use of statins, dauretics, antibiotics and other drugs that redistribute or remove microelements from the body. Drug treatment of seizures is carried out with mandatory monitoring of the biochemical composition of the blood.

Leg cramps during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a happy and challenging time. When hormonal changes occur, weight gain and decreased activity. A woman develops varicose veins.

Muscle spasms should be given special attention because they are an anxiety disorder. Cramps indicate a lack of microelements, excess fluid loss (for example, a period of toxicosis). The increasing size of the uterus can put pressure on the inferior vein. At the first manifestations of cramps, you should immediately go to the doctor so that a specialist can identify and help eliminate the cause of night cramps as soon as possible.

Diseases and consequences

In addition to circumstances related to lifestyle or specific events, the muscular system may be subject to cramps due to the presence of a specific disease, to identify which it is necessary to seek help from medical institutions for examinations, tests and treatment.

Spasms can be symptoms of unrelated diseases. We can say that leg and arm cramps differ from spasms that occur in smooth muscle fibers and cause pain inside the body, which most often indicate diseases that require regular treatment.

If we characterize the main diseases leading to seizures, their list will look like this:

epilepsy and concomitant epileptic seizures cannot do without muscle cramps;
opisthotonus, better known as tetanus, is necessarily accompanied by severe spasms;
there is such a thing as psychogenic convulsions, characteristic of hysterical neuroses and other neurotic conditions;
inorganic and organic poisons also cause involuntary contractions of muscle tissue;
The most common factor leading to severe muscle tension is an excess or deficiency of microelements such as magnesium, potassium and others.

Improper distribution of microelements is caused by various reasons. Failure of the endocrine system requires serious treatment prescribed by a doctor, and metabolic disorders caused by other reasons can be corrected with medications.

Diagnostics

If there are complaints about the development of involuntary contractions in the lower extremities, the patient will have to undergo:

Laboratory testing of blood and urine. Determine the presence of electrolytes in the body.
Ultrasound scanning of the veins of the lower extremities (study of blood vessels).
Electromyography (study of muscle condition).

The listed types of diagnostics make it possible to determine why the legs are cramped: treatment depends on several factors, including the age of the patient, but is predominantly medicinal in nature. Additional types of research are prescribed taking into account the nature of the alleged violation.

Read also: Leg pain: causes and treatment

What to do if you have seizures

Muscle contractions that are not associated with serious illness do not require specialized treatment, but the pain they cause does need to be addressed. Therefore, there are simple methods that have proven their effectiveness:

massaging or shocking frozen muscles;
elimination of spasm with an injection of a regular needle;
massage stiff calf muscles - pull your big toes towards you;
the same group of muscles relaxes with the help of standing stretches - with your hands, reach the fingers of the sore limb resting on the floor surface;
when the muscles of the front surface of the thighs spasm, the knee bends, and the foot is pulled from behind towards the buttocks.

These methods allow you to get rid of the pain that has arisen, but if it appears quite often, the treatment of seizures should begin with identifying the causes that cause them and prevention.

Muscle spasm

Probably every person has experienced muscle cramps at some point. In medical parlance, this condition is called “muscle spasm.”

Our muscles are constantly under tension; Thanks to muscles, our body moves, maintains its shape, muscle contractions ensure the functioning of many internal organs and systems of the body. But sometimes muscles contract unnecessarily, involuntarily, and such contraction can be painful. The spasm can affect any skeletal muscle of the musculoskeletal system, but the gastrocnemius muscle (the muscle of the back of the lower leg) and the thigh muscles are most often affected.

The muscle can cramp during increased stress (for example, when playing sports) or at rest (when sitting at a computer or while sleeping).

Magnesium and potassium

Cramps that periodically appear in the feet, legs, and fingers can occur in people who consider themselves to be completely healthy. Treatment of this unpleasant and painful sensation must begin with a review of the lifestyle and nutritional composition.

It is necessary to understand whether there is enough magnesium and potassium in the diet, the lack of which can not only lead to seizures, but also make them permanent. It is these microelements that regulate the functioning of muscle fibers. Hypomagnesemia causes cramps in the legs, arms, back, neck, and tingling of the fingertips. Treatment with drugs for seizures can relieve pain.

Which doctor should I contact?

The best place to start fighting leg cramps is at the therapist’s office. He will conduct an initial diagnosis and prescribe the necessary tests. To find out which microelements are missing, a biochemical blood test is performed. A blood sugar test may be ordered.

Another doctor you should definitely visit is a phlebologist. This is a specialist who studies veins. His examination is necessary in order to exclude venous insufficiency and thrombophlebitis, which can also provoke seizures.

You can visit these specialists with us. Doctors at Best Clinic will definitely understand the reasons and develop a further plan of action.

How to prevent seizures

Measures aimed at eliminating and preventing the occurrence of seizures should include:

- giving up harmful addictions (smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol, coffee, tonic drinks); — sufficient daily fluid intake; — physical education to improve blood circulation; - enriching the body with vitamins and microelements (deficiencies in specific compounds can be identified using tests); - Night cramps can be prevented by a warm bath or shower.

To treat and prevent seizures, purchase a complex containing magnesium as a therapeutic measure. Even if there is no deficiency of this mineral in the body, it acts as an anticonvulsant element that reduces neuromuscular excitability.

Treatment

During an attack, leg cramps are initially stopped, and the causes of the condition are eliminated gradually, comprehensively.

Treatment of 90% of diseases that cause unpleasant spasms in the lower extremities is carried out conservatively. For this purpose, multivitamin complexes are prescribed; drugs that relax tense muscle tissue; medications that improve blood supply to the calf muscles and feet. To increase the effectiveness of drug treatment, it is recommended to undergo a course of massage of the lower extremities and physiotherapeutic procedures. Additional types of prescribed drugs depend on the characteristics of the clinical case.

Dear patients! Remember that only a qualified doctor can make an accurate diagnosis, determine the causes and nature of the disease, and prescribe effective treatment. You can make an appointment with our specialists or call a doctor at home by calling 8-(4822)-33-00-33

Be healthy and happy!

Magvit is an excellent cure for seizures

One of the most affordable, safe and effective medicines for treating seizures is the drug “Magvit” , produced by the Belarusian pharmaceutical company “Minskintercaps”.

This is the first drug completely developed by domestic pharmacists and has a beneficial effect in the treatment of seizures.

“Magvit” successfully fights both primary and secondary magnesium deficiency, and the pyridoxine (vitamin B6) included in the drug improves the absorption of magnesium into the blood and its absorption at the cellular level.

The combined use of vitamin and magnesium citrate components of the drug is justified by the following clinically proven data:

- magnesium and B6 enhance and complement the pharmacological effects; — the vitamin helps reduce the amount of magnesium excreted from the body and increases its content in red blood cells; - absorption and assimilation of magnesium improves; - Pridoxine, under the influence of magnesium in the human liver, transforms into the active metabolite pyridoxal-5-phosphate.

Advantages of Minskintercaps drugs

The company has earned well-deserved fame thanks to the production of inexpensive, high-quality medicines. All drugs comply with the requirements of the GMP standard, and their quality and composition are tested in a chemical and biological laboratory accredited in accordance with the requirements of STB ISO/IEC 17025.

The drugs are created from raw materials supplied by the world's leading companies; production is controlled by Pharmacovigilance and meets the requirements set by the European Parliament.

13 Feb 2018

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