Complaints from patients with calf muscle spasms are regularly heard by doctors. The discomfort faced by completely different categories of people. Young and old, children, and pregnant women all suffer from this phenomenon. In this case, all patients experience so many sensations at night that they wake up and experience all the troubles. What is the treatment for cramps in the calf muscles? At night, these symptoms can seriously interfere with rest.
What is this phenomenon?
Everyone knows what a seizure is. This is when one or more muscles contract, that is, when the muscles contract themselves. In this case, this phenomenon is accompanied by pain. Cramps appear in the legs, calf area, and back of the shin. A spasm that unexpectedly covers the muscle causes the foot to fully flex, such as when a person is standing on tiptoe. At night, a sufficiently strong pain is felt in the calf muscles. Treatment for this phenomenon seems to be the only way out, even for the patient himself.
Causes of seizures
Effective treatment of any disease is possible. Only after identifying its origin. Therefore, at first, we need to consider what lies behind when talking about spasms of the abdominal muscles, their causes. Treatment is possible only after finding the factors causing the discomfort.
- The main causes of this pathology are:
- Non-full-body strong physical exercise;
- Exposure to cold;
- Various changes in the body;
- Lack of blood minerals;
- Neurological diseases;
- Stressful situations;
- Drinking large amounts of alcohol;
- Increased neuromuscular excitability;
- Epilepsy syndrome;
- Brain tumors and injuries;
- Various inflammations;
- Thrombophlebitis;
- Varicose veins;
- Flat legs;
- Obesity;
- Inactive;
- Taking diuretics or statin medications, taking “niacin”
How to first aid?
On the night of the question, you should start treating spasms of the calf muscles. In any case, the power of their manifestation is maximum. Let’s leave the question of combating the disease until the morning, and consider the methods of first aid.
- If the scatter on the legs decreases, it should be strong. Squeeze for 20 seconds with your index finger in the central part. This helps to improve blood circulation in the muscles. Breathing should be deep throughout the procedure.
- Another way to get rid of seizures is to contract the central area of your lower abdomen heavily for about 1 minute and 30 seconds.
- A small message will help. Thanks to this, the muscles are calmed because blood flows to the area where the spasm occurred.
- A special exercise is for cramped areas. Acts as an anesthetic. One person should stand facing the wall, legs shoulder-width apart. Your arms are at the same level as your head and you are leaning against the wall. Movement is slow as you try to move away from the wall so your feet don’t fall off the floor. The exercise continues until the calf muscles begin to stretch and end in the appearance of pain. To get rid of it, you need to rub the place covered with spasms. Such treatment of spasms of the abdominal muscles at night effectively eliminates discomfort.
Drug therapy
It is important to remember the appointment given at night and go to see the doctor. Until an appropriate treatment for spasm of the gastrocnemius muscle is selected, medications and certain procedures may help eliminate the discomfort.
- So there are several ways to solve this problem.
- You can do some exercise on a stationary bike or treadmill.
- Create a stretching complex with a massage lasting a few minutes before bedtime.
- You should not consume foods that contain caffeine and alcohol, as well as drinks and foods that have a diuretic effect (to avoid dehydration).
- Get your magnesium in moderation.
- Taking vitamin B12 can help, but only if your body isn’t getting enough.
- You can try to reduce muscle tone accompanied by spasms of the gastrocnemius muscle. Treatment (drugs and procedures) is recommended to first discuss with your doctor. A rather effective tool is “Mydocalm”.
- Drugs that eliminate neuropathic pain help. For example, the drug “gabapentin”.
- Carefully drink drugs that block calcium channels. It is a medicine used for migraines and high blood pressure. However, the cunning of these funds is the risk of hypotension.
- If physical exertion is strenuous, then you need to additionally drink plenty of water. Lack of calcium can be included in the reception of appropriate drug funds. Supports all-natural sesame oil and dairy products.
However, compliance with all these rules does not replace consultation with a specialist.
Convulsions in children at night
Especially during the period when a child is growing intensely, he may experience the convulsions mentioned above at night. Of course, these involuntary contractions occur in the muscles, because the baby does not understand what is happening to him. Often he is not very restless, he is afraid and begins to cry. Why does this happen?
Treatment of spasms in the gastrocnemius muscle with varicose veins
Some of the following factors can cause night cramps:
- The baby’s feet were in one uncomfortable position for a long time.
- The child is supercooled.
- The body lacks essential elements.
- The baby suffers from flat feet.
If seizures occur regularly and over a long period of time, perhaps the last two factors are the cause.
Additional intake of macronutrients
Understanding what triggers gastrocnemius muscles at night is very important. Therapy, if your body needs macronutrients, may be the right diet.
- Potassium is easily replenished if included in the diet. Grapes or more fruits such as plums, apricots, bananas and cherries. They are rich in beans, especially beans and lentils. as well as cereals such as oatmeal. Sources of potassium are fish, meat and dairy products.
- Everyone knows that calcium is more contained in various sour-milk products, such as cheese, cottage cheese and kefir. Also, it is very from nuts, cabbage, cress, beans and sesame seeds.
- Sources of magnesium are various vegetables such as oatmeal, buckwheat and barley, and cereal flour. It is eaten a lot in bran and soybean cultures, seaweeds and dried fruits of all kinds.
Diagnosis
If you have frequent cramps and have been around for quite some time, you should seek help from your doctor.
The first specialist is a therapist or if the child is ill, a pediatrician. The doctor will conduct a preliminary examination and, if necessary, conduct examinations. If necessary, he will refer you to a more narrow specialist, such as a neuropathologist.
Remember that it causes discomfort. It can be a serious illness. Treatment of calf muscle spasms, for example, caused by varicose veins in the calf, should only be performed by an experienced specialist. Neither home nor self-prescription drugs can eliminate the source of the disease. Therefore, the relief you get will not take long.
If the disease is a problem with the somatic nervous system, with proper treatment, the involuntary contraction of the leg muscles will soon stop.
Based on the survey, if the cause of the disease is not a serious pathology, the doctor will sooner or later give advice that will help improve the patient’s condition.
Power Supply
Treatment of spasms of the abdominal muscles at home begins with a change in diet.
The basic rules are:
- It should be eaten in small portions, up to 6 times a day.
- The key to your daily ration is that you should prioritize complex carbohydrates such as a variety of grains, whole grain pasta, and fruits and vegetables.
- You can not do without fat, it is responsible for muscle contraction. The daily rate includes butter as well as small pieces of sausage or redfish.
- The daily diet cannot do without the magnesium-rich foods already listed above. It is recommended to combine them with those containing vitamins of group B.
Read Also: 5 Yoga Postures to Build Your Abs
How to Prevent Cramps?
There is a set of measures that compliance with this policy will prevent the development of this disease.
- You need to introduce healthy habits and give up bad ones. For example, moderate exercise will make your legs too hard.
- Sleeping in a comfortable bed, the limbs should be raised in relation to the whole body.
- A foot bath is another effective way to avoid cramps. In 5 liters of warm water, dissolve a few tablespoons of sea salt.
- The feet are massaged using ointments that improve blood circulation in the tissues.
- In casual shoes, the height of the heel should not exceed 5 cm. Shoes in which the patient feels uncomfortable should also be excluded.
- If there are problems with the veins in the legs, put on special compression underwear – stockings or stockings are indicated.
- If there are flat legs, warts must be removed.
- It is necessary to take vitamin and mineral complexes.
These simple measures effectively complement the treatment of abdominal muscle spasms prescribed by a doctor at night.