 |
| Why do leg cramps occur |
Why do leg cramps occur?
Summary of the article:
What are leg cramps?
Causes of occurrence
symptoms
Pregnant cramps
Night cramps
Identify first aid for leg muscle spasms
Treating Convulsions
Treatment with folk remedies
Prevent
Cramps occur in the lower extremities in many of them, because the legs often fall on the legs. From this article you can find out the cause of spasticity, the type of cramps in the calf muscles and how to treat them using traditional methods and folk remedies.
What are leg cramps?
Cramps are involuntary paroxysmal muscle contractions resulting from excessive stress. Most often, their occurrence occurs suddenly, and the duration is short, but can be repeated several times, causing severe pain.
Periodic leg muscle cramps are called crumb syndrome. It is characterized by special pain.
Attacks that can occur in the muscles of the legs are divided into 3 main groups:
The clonica is characterized by short-term contraction and relaxation of individual muscle groups and soon succeeds each other. As a result, a typical involuntary movement of only the lower limb or lower leg occurs, which can be repeated with different powers.
Tonic is a spasm of the calf muscles, its hallmark is a long period of involuntary contraction of muscle fibers (can reach 3 or more minutes), because of which the lower leg can “freeze” in one mode.
A tonic clone is a type of seizure that combines the symptoms of the first two types of muscle spasm.
Cramps in calves
In addition, depending on the origin of the exemption, there may also be:
Fever - characteristic of children under 6 years old. The reason for this is the reaction to high temperatures.
Partially - characterized by prolonged pain in muscle cramps. They arise in response to pathological electrical discharges arising from focal lesions of the brain.
Alcoholic - occurs with excessive use of alcohol.
Medicines - often arise as a result of an overdose of the drug.
Myoclonus - convulsions occur more often in children. This type of seizure involves not only the calf, but also all muscle groups in the human body (including the muscles of the face, chewing and abdomen).
Myoclonic cramps can lead to a fall and loss of consciousness from a pain injury and various injuries (muscle rupture and even fractures with prolonged spasm due to the relative fragility of the skeletal system in children).
Causes of occurrence
By etiology, convulsions can be divided into 4 main groups, which occur in certain cases:
1. convulsions caused by repeated impulses emanating from the brain, as a result of:
Epilepsy.
Severe psychotic disorders;
The consequences of traumatic brain injury.
Acute ischemic accident.
Infectious lesions of the central nervous system.
Poisoning with damage to brain tissue.
2. Cramps in the muscles of the legs that occur against the background of an increased amount of acetylcholine in interconnected cracks as a result of:
Overdose of drugs - cholinesterase blockers.
Muscle relaxant overdose
Magnesium deficiency in the body.
3. Convulsions, the reason for this is a decrease in the threshold of excitability of muscle fibers that occur against the background of:
Imbalance of minerals in the body;
The lack of certain groups of vitamins.
4. Convulsions, the cause of this is a decrease in the concentration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This condition may occur when:
Diabetes.
Chronic heart failure.
Varicose veins.
Blurring atherosclerosis of the vessels of the legs.
Thrombophlebitis.
Anemia of various origins.
Thyroid weakness.
Excessive physical activity (especially if a person is bad or does not heat up before training).
symptoms
The most characteristic symptom of leg cramps is pain, which can sometimes be so intense that it causes a person to cry or become unconscious. Among the other symptoms that accompany pain, note:
Muscle stiffness and tension.
Inability to move only an injured limb or lower leg.
Short-term loss of consciousness (in cases of partial seizures not observed).
Reflex curvature of the head and eyes.
Increased salivation (most pronounced in chronic poisoning with nicotine and certain drugs).
At the end of the attack, a person may feel tired, short-term hearing loss and may fall asleep.
Pregnant cramps
Many women experience leg cramps, which often occur at night. If you experience this, remember that this is not considered a disease, because cramping during pregnancy may be associated with:
Has an increase in weight, which increases with the growth of the child.
Increase the body's need for minerals and vitamins.
Change in hormonal levels.
Swelling of tissues and blood vessels due to an increase in blood circulation.
Get ready for varicose veins.
Increased pressure in the size of the uterus on the surrounding nerves and blood vessels, leading to impaired muscle innervation or blood supply.
Pregnancy cramps
Usually, cramps in pregnant women after childbirth stop.
Night cramps
Spasms in the calf or in other muscles at night are most often called idiopathic. This name is due to the fact that it is impossible to pinpoint the cause of these seizures, you can only indicate that in groups of people who have chronic diseases, sudden muscle contractions are more common. Usually nocturnal spasms of the calf muscles are observed in people suffering from:
Diabetes
Dehydration.
Electrolyte imbalance (lack of magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium and phosphorus).
Nerve Surge.
Muscle fatigue (as a result of tedious training or the transition to a new mode, completely different in time and voltage from the previous one).
Peripheral vascular disease.
Hemodialysis (as a result of renal failure).
Stenosis of blood vessels and nerves in the lower part of the spinal column.
Hypoparathyroidism, which arose as a result of neck injuries, surgical operations to remove the thyroid gland, congenital pathology, and the inflammatory process in the gland itself.
The insufficiency of parathyroid hormone, which is produced by the endocrine glands, is always accompanied by convulsions, the cause of which is excessive calcium deposits. The amount of phosphorus will be reduced.
Until it was created a 100% effective agent that could help people get rid of cramps in the calf muscles, if the person does not suffer from any of the above pathologies. Vitamin and mineral complexes and Quinine were previously recommended to patients, but it was found that with idiopathic muscle spasms these methods are ineffective, and the bitter powder from the quinine tree does more harm due to side effects than human benefits.
Identification and first aid for spasm of the calf muscles
To understand that the patient has a cramp, you just have to feel his lower leg and check the muscle tension. In addition, a person will complain of pain in the area of spasmodic fibers.
The most important point in the diagnosis (especially if you have to do everything without specialists at home) is the recognition of the type of muscle spasm - it is epileptic or different. Knowing the differences between these 2 types of seizures will give you the opportunity to provide the right first aid.
To recognize epileptic muscle spasm, you should know that it has staging. The beginning is characterized by the appearance of clonic contractions lasting 10-15 seconds, which will be replaced by tonic ones with a duration of 10 or more seconds. In the future, muscle relaxation and cessation of spasm occur. In addition, epileptic seizures are distinguished by the fact that before the attack itself, the individual experiences sensations of bright color, a certain taste in the mouth, smell, the sound seems very loud. All this can occur both together and separately, being an individual sign for each person.
In addition, the danger of epileptic seizures lies in the possibility of transition of partial spasms to a full-fledged generalized attack, which is accompanied by such a clinical picture:
such a clinical picture:
Loss of consciousness.
"Glass" eyes.
The skin is a bluish tint (light cyanosis).
Respiratory arrest.
Thrown back head.
Involuntary urination.
Muscle stiffness.
Foam from the mouth.
The patient makes sounds that resemble snoring.
After a seizure, the patient has anxiety and fatigue.
When rendering first aid to a victim with epileptic seizures, it is necessary to put him on the floor so that he does not injure his head or suffer from other injuries when falling during an attack during generalization of the phenomenon.
If a person has convulsions that are not associated with epilepsy, it is necessary:
To improve the outflow of blood from the affected lower limb, preventing prolonged venous congestion of blood, by holding the leg in an elevated position.
Grasp the toes and pull them towards you (towards the knee joint).
Perform a light massage of the calf muscles to improve microcirculation and oxygen flow to muscle fibers.
Lightly pinch and tingle places distant from the affected area. The essence of the method is that as a result of irritation of tactile receptors, reflex distraction of attention from the main pathological site occurs, as a result, a person has a chance to interrupt a seizure.
If possible, try to get up and walk on a flat surface, it is best if the latter is cool.
First aid for cramps
Of course, seizures also go away on their own, but if you interrupt it shortly after the start, you can eliminate a strong pain syndrome during and after the spasm. If nothing is done, the victim may need painkillers (maybe even a few days use).
Traditional seizure treatment
When treating cramps in the calf muscles, it is necessary to remember that the main task is to stop an acute attack and eliminate its causes. If the etiology of the pathological condition remains unrecognized, pathogenetic and symptomatic therapy comes to the rescue.
If we talk about drug therapy, then the use of different groups of drugs depends on the causes of seizures. Most commonly used:
Benzodiazepines. Drugs in this group will help eliminate partial and generalized convulsions, psychomotor agitation, and insomnia. Benzodiazepines have a sedative, muscle relaxant and anxiolytic (elimination of fear) effect. The most common drug in the group is Diazepam. Used by slow intravenous or intramuscular injection.
Derivatives of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). The drugs are used as symptomatic therapy for insomnia, convulsions, acute psychoses, rehabilitation in the post-stroke period and brain injuries. They have a pronounced hypnotic, sedative, muscle relaxant effect, as well as a slight nootropic (stimulation of mental activity, memory) and antihypoxic (increase the body's resistance to oxygen deficiency) effect. A typical representative of GABA derivatives is Sodium hydroxybutyrate, which is also injected.
Trace elements, vasodilators, anticonvulsants. Best of all, they have a positive effect in pregnant convulsions, hypertension, arrhythmias, poisoning with salts of heavy metals. According to the mechanism of action, they have anticonvulsant, antiarrhythmic, hypotensive, antispasmodic and sedative effects. The most common representative - Magnesium sulfate, which is administered in dilution with saline intravenously.
If it is possible to completely stop the underlying disease, cramps in the calf muscles will not appear. But often due to the fact that the etiology of seizures in the calf muscles is not possible to determine, it is necessary to connect the pathological condition with an imbalance of trace elements in the body and hope that the appointment of the following drugs will have a positive effect:
- Calcium D3 NYCOMED.
- Calm Progress.
- Asparkam.
- Magnesium Oxide
- Panangin.
- Midokalm.
- Gabapentin.
- Vitamins and mineral complexes.
Also, for the effective treatment of seizures, you need to include more in your diet:
- Dill, parsley and green onions.
- Dried fruits.
- Plant a bran.
- Nuts.
- Legumes
- Seaweed.
- Fish and seafood.
- Hard cheese, cottage cheese and other dairy products.
- Liver and lean meat.
- Mineral water
- Honey.
- Lemon.
All these products contain many vitamins, minerals and other biologically active substances, the regeneration of which will help fight leg cramps.
If seizures that occur at night are alarming, you can do a light massage before going to bed, take a warm shower, and press. You can also warm up a bit, walk around the room or, if you have an exercise bike, use it as a muscle stimulator before bedtime.
Treatment with folk remedies
Among the methods of traditional medicine for convulsions, the following were the best:
Infusion of birch buds. Two teaspoons of a piece of wood are prepared in the same way as tea in one cup of boiling water. The resulting infusion can be consumed 2 times a day.
Cloves. Use the plant in amounts up to 620 mg with sugar.
Mustard oil can relieve cramps if you apply the product to the affected area during an attack.
Infusion of common wormwood. 30 g of plant sprouts should be poured with a pint of water, boiled for 5 minutes and allowed to cool. After infusion, you can use 3 times a day, one spoonful.
Chamomile oil. Also used as an effective tool for external use.
Chamomile Pharmacy. 4 tablespoons of dried leaves of the plant pour a glass of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, drain, you can take the drug in a third cup 3 times a day.
Med. Before each meal, consume two tablespoons of natural honey for at least a week.
Mac Dry the poppy petals, grind it into powder and cook boiled in honey and milk. You can also make tincture of vodka from poppy seeds.
Goose clove decoction. This treatment has proven itself not only for seizures of various origins, but even for tetanus. This drug can only be used as a prophylactic and cannot be used to stop seizures due to its extremely slow action.
Prevent
To reduce the risk of leg cramps, you should:
Correctly compose a diet and fill it with vitamins and minerals (especially for pregnant women).
Sleep only in a comfortable position, in a well-ventilated area so that during sleep there is no lack of oxygen in the muscles and no night cramps.
Just do those exercises that are in line with your strengths and will not increase your efforts.
Timely treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Carry out a routine inspection. This is best done several times a year, but even once may be enough.
There are not many preventative measures that prevent spasms in the calf muscles and can significantly reduce the likelihood of pathological conditions and their adhesion. But given the fact that there is a small likelihood of seizures, you should also remember the simple rules of first aid to protect yourself and your loved ones.