Leg muscle cramps can be a real nuisance, causing pain and discomfort. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take to help ease the pain and prevent future cramps. Using a warm towel or heating pad on tense muscles is a great way to relax them. Taking a hot bath or directing the stream of a hot shower to the cramped muscle can also help.
Alternatively, massaging the tight muscle with ice can provide relief. It's important to interrupt any activity that may have caused the cramp and stretch the muscle slightly, gently maintaining the stretch. You can even massage the muscle as it stretches or after you finish. If you have a calf cramp or a charley horse, stand up and rest your weight on your leg with the cramp and gently bend your knee.
With a tight leg, sit on the floor with your leg or foot stretched out in front of you. Keep your leg straight while gently pulling your foot back toward you. If regular muscle cramps persist, consider getting regular massages to help your muscles relax. Applying heat soon after the spasms start can help ease the pain that comes with muscle cramps, as it helps muscles relax.
There's no pill or injection that instantly relieves muscle spasms, so the best thing you can do is stretch the affected muscle and massage it.Older adults, people with nervous disorders, people who are pregnant or who are menstruating, and people who overuse their muscles or work harder are more likely to develop muscle cramps. Cramps also occur when a muscle can't relax properly (for example, due to a deficiency of magnesium or potassium in the diet) or when it is irritated by a buildup of lactic acid (which can happen if you don't rest your muscle after a lot of exercise). If your calf muscle cramps in the middle of the night, stand up and slowly put weight on the affected leg to push the heel down and stretch the muscle.Also known as muscle cramps, spasms occur when the muscle involuntarily and forcibly contracts uncontrollably and cannot relax. When one, part of one or more of your muscles feels like they're contracting or tightening without any voluntary action on your part and you can't get them to relax, it's a muscle cramp.
Muscle cramps occur for a number of different reasons, but most often when muscles can't relax properly. If you're experiencing muscle spasms as a symptom of fibromyalgia, natural muscle relaxants, such as magnesium and cayenne pepper, may help.
