About Leg Cramps:
A leg cramp is a prolonged involuntary muscle spasm that causes immense pain while it is happening. This irritating ailment can occur at the most inappropriate times, like during sports, exercise or any other physical activity. These painful leg cramps can make your nights restless, making you unable to get a sound night of quality rest. People who get frequent muscle spasm must try to get rid of leg cramps and to cure the problem as quickly and effectively as possible.
How to Avoid Leg Cramps:
There are several factors that can help you to get rid of leg cramps more rapidly. Let’s discuss about some of these effective measures and the ways to overcome the muscle cramps:
- Restore Your Body Minerals
When you have muscle cramps, your body probably needs potassium, magnesium and calcium to get rid of leg cramps. This trio of minerals helps to regulate activity in your nerves and muscles, and makes you able to get rid of leg cramps quickly by regaining your muscle’s strength and abilities. It is advised to place a hot cloth on the painful muscle to relax the cramp and increase blood flow to the affected tissue to get rid of leg cramps easily.
- Using Approximation Method
An effective way to get rid of leg cramps is to find the central point of the cramp. You can do this by spotting your thumb on the painful muscle area and holding down the pressure for ten seconds. Although, it would make you feel more pain and discomfort, but after several repetitions of this exercise, the pain reduces. This technique to get rid of leg cramps is called ‘approximation’.
- Drink Plenty of Water
Cramps are often caused by dehydration. To get rid of leg cramps, drink plenty of water throughout the day. Drink a glass of tonic water before bed. Tonic water contains ‘quinine’, a popular remedy for leg cramps. Several researches have supported the use of quinine to get rid of leg cramps occurring at night time.
- Regular Exercising
Regular exercise also helps to maintain your muscle strength and to get rid of leg cramps. Lack of exercise causes loss of muscle mass and leads to muscle spasm. It is advised to warm up and stretch before exercising and avoid overexerting yourself. Overworked muscles are more likely to get cramps than the ones exercised to their usual capacity. Gradually build your leg muscle strength and endurance to get rid of leg cramps.
- Stretch Your Muscles
To get rid of leg cramps and for immediate relief, gently rub the area of pain. Try stretching your leg up and down in order to stretch your muscles. Another effective way to get rid of leg cramps is to have a walk. Try walking around on your bad leg. This helps to increase blood circulation, makes your muscles stretched, and results in getting rid of leg cramps rapidly.
- Proper Massaging
Whenever you get a muscle spasm, try massaging the area gently to get rid of leg cramps. A proper pain relieving cream can be helpful in this regard. Apply cream on your painful area and rub gently with your fingers until the cream is properly absorbed. Covering the area with a cloth also helps to get rid of leg cramps. It helps to keep the muscles warm and improves blood circulation.
- Usage of Honey & Vinegar
Sometimes natural remedies also greatly help to get rid of leg cramps. One such remedy is the usage of honey and vinegar. Make a mixture of one tablespoon of organic raw honey and two tablespoons of vinegar. This mixture is good for a lot of ailments. It improves the functionality of the immune system and helps to get rid of leg cramps quickly. In addition, use of mustard is also effective to get rid of leg cramps.
The above mentioned methods can greatly help to get rid of leg cramps, if followed properly.