Leg cramps may occur during pregnancy because of the excess weight, which are carried by the muscles of the leg. The reason may also be that they may worsen by the heaviness of the enlarged uterus that is put on the blood vessels, which passes the blood from the legs to the heart and nerves.
Leg cramps may make you feel discomfort at the initial stage of your pregnancy period and may make the situation worse as the pregnancy develops. This occurs mostly at night but one may also experience it during the day.
The causes of leg cramps during pregnancy are as follows:
1. Evade standing or sitting on your legs for longer period of time.
2. Relax or stretch your muscles in the calf on daily basis during the day and as much time you can manage to do, especially before your bedtime.
3. Twist your ankles and jiggle your toes when you sit, have dinner or while watching television.
4. Don't forget to go for a walk regularly.
5. Don't make yourself too weary. Relax on to your left side so that it enhances the circulation.
6. Drink plenty of water during the day.
7. Go for bath (warm water) before bedtime so that your muscles are relaxed.
8. It is considered to consume a magnesium supplement in addition to prenatal vitamin to help in leg cramps. Always consult your health care provider before using any supplements.
9. Wear comfortable and caring stockings.
10. Tylenol or Acetaminophen is also helpful for some women.
People think that leg cramps occur due to deficiency of calcium and the supplements of calcium will evade leg cramps. As it is compulsory to take sufficient calcium at the time of pregnancy but it's not true that taking extra calcium will avoid leg cramps. Some workouts that help to treat leg cramps are
1. Stretch or relax your calf muscles immediately. Keep your legs straight and then heels and softly and bend your toes back. It may be painful, but will make the contraction easy and slowly the pain would disappear.
2. Massage the muscles or warm the muscles with a heated water bottle. Walking is also a good way to treat leg cramps.
If a pregnant woman experiences a continuous cramp, or if she observes a soreness or tenderness in the legs, immediately one should visit the health care provider. These may be the symptoms of clotting of blood, which needs medications at that same time. Since clotting of blood is rare but still there is a high possibility of making a severe situation during pregnancy.
Leg cramps are very usual indications of pregnancy. They are the result of fatigue or holding of excess weight during this period. Since a woman gains more and more of weight, the chances of leg cramps increases. It is better to increase the calcium intake and evade phosphorus that are generally found in snacks food, sodas or processed meat. This may help in fighting with any problems that are caused due to the deficiency of calcium.
