Muscle cramps are most commonly found in calf and thigh muscles. It is a problem where the muscle involuntarily contract but it cannot relax. Most of the skeletal muscles are prone to contractions, and the symptoms of contractions are twitches and pain in the muscles. Muscle appears harder than the normal when it suffers from the cramps and the muscular pain mostly attacks during night.
Cramps can be caused by certain sleeping position as the nerve gets compressed and there can be other reasons such as deficiency of calcium or potassium. Cramps can be caused due to overuse, injury, strain, dehydration or inactivity such as sleeping, standing or sitting in one portion for long. There are many common remedies, which can be taken to prevent muscle pain.
1. Stretching and walking before going to bed - If one is suffering from injury in muscles caused by the contraction, one can do easy stretches or just walk for some minutes, before going to bed. The muscles that are subjected to contraction should be stretched without putting pressure on the muscles.
2. Anti inflammatory creams - One can apply anti-inflammatory creams to prevent pain caused by muscle contraction.
3. Calcium deficiency - Taking calcium also prevents muscular contraction. Most of the contractions caused during night are caused by the lack of calcium and one can take diet rich in calcium to prevent cramping.
4. Sleeping position - Heavy blanket or object can also cause cramping in the legs.
5. Massage - Massage can prevent cramps in arms and legs. It helps in improving blood circulation in the cramp areas. Taking hot shower before going to bed also helps in improving blood flow.
6. Ice and heat pads - Rubbing an ice pack on the muscles and applying heat pads alternatively, helps in reducing pain after a muscular injury.
7. Water - Drinking a lot of water and taking adequate minerals in diet helps in prevention of muscular contraction.
8. Exercising regularly - One can prevent muscles form damages by doing exercises regularly. Exercise should be done at a low intensity and it can be done for small duration initially. Doing too much stretching in one day can cause muscle damage. In winter muscle cramps can be prevented by keeping the muscles warm and doing prewar exercises before starting any exercise.
1. A diet rich in potassium such as apple cider vinegar can be taken with honey after meals. Banana is also rich in potassium and it helps in protecting muscle injuries.
2. Rosemary leaves have anti-inflammatory properties and it can be taken to prevent muscle damage.
3. Drinking a mixture of honey and vinegar added to warm water helps in pain.
4. Chamomile tea can be taken to prevent muscular injuries.
There are other method of relive muscle pain and soreness such as swimming and massage. Once if you suffer from a cramp, you should gently rub the centre of the muscle to help the muscles to relax. If the contraction has been caused in the calf muscle, one can squeeze the centre part and do some exercising such as putting the foot on the ground and leaning, without moving the heel up.
