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. You probably know that bananas are a good source of potassium.
But they'll also give you magnesium and calcium. They are three of the four nutrients you need to relieve muscle cramps found under yellow skin. It's no surprise that bananas are a popular and quick option for relieving cramps. Legumes, such as beans and lentils, are packed with magnesium.
A cup of cooked lentils contains approximately 71 milligrams of magnesium, and a cup of cooked black beans has almost twice as much, at 120 milligrams. In addition, they are high in fiber and studies show that high-fiber foods can help alleviate menstrual cramps, as well as control blood sugar and lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. Like beans and lentils, nuts and seeds are a great source of magnesium. For example, 1 ounce of roasted sunflower seeds contains approximately 37 milligrams of magnesium.
And 1 ounce of roasted and salted almonds has twice as much. Many types of nuts and seeds also contain calcium and magnesium. Treating pain and spasms with hot or cold therapy can be extremely effective. 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. 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. 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 you're experiencing muscle spasms as a symptom of fibromyalgia, natural muscle relaxants, such as magnesium and cayenne pepper, may help. Overuse of a muscle, dehydration, muscle strain, or simply maintaining a position for a long period of time can cause a muscle cramp. Although generally harmless, muscle cramps can make it temporarily impossible to use the affected muscle. Also known as muscle cramps, spasms occur when the muscle involuntarily and forcibly contracts uncontrollably and cannot relax.
Muscle relaxants used for muscle spasms are called centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxants (SMR) and are often only prescribed for periods of 2 to 3 weeks. Stretching the area that has muscle spasm can generally help improve or stop the onset of the spasm. If you have persistent muscle spasm, especially if it's severe, your doctor may prescribe a muscle relaxant or pain reliever. 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.
If all else fails and you continue to have regular muscle cramps, consider getting regular massages to help your muscles relax.
