Use a warm towel or heating pad on tense or tense muscles. Taking a hot bath or directing the stream of a hot shower to the cramped muscle may also help. Alternatively, massaging the tight muscle with ice can ease the pain. Applying cold is another great way to treat muscle cramps.
Once the pain subsides a little after applying heat, you can pick up an ice pack or ice pack and place it on the cramping muscle. Remember to wrap the ice in a towel. You can also try massaging the cramp with the ice pack to relax the muscle. 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. Muscle cramps occur for a number of different reasons, but most often when muscles can't relax properly. If all else fails and you continue to have regular muscle cramps, 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.
Although generally harmless, muscle cramps can make it temporarily impossible to use the affected muscle. Overuse of a muscle, dehydration, muscle strain, or simply maintaining a position for a long period of time can cause a muscle cramp. Try to stretch the affected muscle hard (for example, stretch the calf muscle by flexing your foot up). 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.
If you ever wake up at night or are suddenly stopped by a Charley horse, you know that muscle cramps can cause severe pain. 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. 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). 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.
If you're experiencing muscle spasms as a symptom of fibromyalgia, natural muscle relaxants, such as magnesium and cayenne pepper, may help.
