{"id":1664,"date":"2020-07-23T05:15:44","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T05:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.kayawell.com\/?p=1664"},"modified":"2020-07-25T10:19:56","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T10:19:56","slug":"muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies","title":{"rendered":"Muscle Cramps \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Causes, Risk Factors and Home Remedies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_73 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\r\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\r\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\r\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\r\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies\/#Muscle_cramps\" title=\"Muscle cramps\">Muscle cramps<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies\/#Symptoms\" title=\"Symptoms\">Symptoms<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies\/#When_to_seek_medical_attention\" title=\"When to seek medical attention\">When to seek medical attention<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies\/#Causes_Muscle_Cramps\" title=\"Causes Muscle Cramps\">Causes Muscle Cramps<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies\/#Muscle_Cramps_Remedies\" title=\"Muscle Cramps Remedies\">Muscle Cramps Remedies<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies\/#Risk_factors\" title=\"Risk factors\">Risk factors<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/muscle-cramps-causes-risk-factors-and-home-remedies\/#Prevention\" title=\"Prevention\">Prevention<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Muscle_cramps\"><\/span>Muscle cramps<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Muscle\ncramps are unexpected or sudden, involuntary shrinkage which happens in several\nmuscles. Such shrinkages are mostly painful and can affect various groups of\nmuscles. A cramp&#8217;s severe pain can wake you up at night, or make walking\ndifficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those in the\nback of your lower leg, your thigh back, and your thigh front commonly affected\nmuscles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Muscle\ncramps can occur in everybody muscle. They occur mostly in the:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Arms<\/li><li>Abdomen (Belly)<\/li><li>Hands<\/li><li>Feet<\/li><li>Legs<\/li><li>Ribcage<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Symptoms\"><\/span>Symptoms<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Characteristically,\na cramp is painful, often severely so. The patient generally needs to stop all\nactivities and seek relief from the cramp; the person cannot use the affected\nmuscle while it cramps. Serious cramps can be related to soreness and swelling,\nwhich can often continue up to several days after the cramp has subsided. The\nknotted muscle will bulge at the time of cramping, feel very tight and may be\ntender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are no\nspecial tests for cramps. The diagnosis of muscle cramps is however relatively\neasy. Most people know what cramps are and when they have one. The doctor, or\nany other bystander, can feel the tight, hard bulge of the compressed muscle\nwhen present during a cramp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_to_seek_medical_attention\"><\/span>When to seek medical attention<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People who\nsuffer from muscle cramps should consult a doctor as soon as possible if they\nalso have alcoholism, sudden weakness or loss of sensation, or serious symptoms\nor if they have lost fluids of the body (such as vomiting, diarrhoea, or\nexcessive sweating).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Causes_Muscle_Cramps\"><\/span>Causes Muscle Cramps<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctors do\nnot know the exact causes of muscle cramp. When your doctor provider cannot\nfind the exact cause, the cramps are known as idiopathic. Many different\nmedical disorders can cause this symptom. Cause of muscle cramps may&nbsp; include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Age<\/strong>: Losing\nmuscle mass will put greater pressure on your muscles over time. These\nadjustments will lead to more frequent cramps in your muscles as you age.<\/li><li><strong>Dehydration<\/strong>: Losing\nbody fluids while exercising (especially in hot temperatures) can cause muscles\nto cramp.<\/li><li><strong>Hypothyroidism<\/strong>: Having a\nthyroid gland that is less active than normal can lead to muscle cramps.<\/li><li><strong>Medication<\/strong>: Taking\nsome medicines, which have pseudoephedrine and statins, will cause reflex\nmuscle cramping.<\/li><li><strong>Physical\nstrain<\/strong>:\nOverusing your muscles while exercise or hard activities will lead to cramps.<\/li><li><strong>Pregnancy<\/strong>: Mostly,\npregnant women experience leg cramps because of low levels of electrolyte,\nchanges in circulation, and pressure on the nerves caused by the growing baby.<\/li><li>Tight muscles:&nbsp; Inactivity\nand a lack of stretching can involuntarily cause muscles to contract (clench).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Muscle_Cramps_Remedies\"><\/span>Muscle Cramps Remedies<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are\nsuffering from cramp, below steps can relieve your pain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Stretch and\nmassage:<\/strong>\nGently stretch the muscle which is cramp and rub it to help it relax. For a\ncalf cramp, slowly put your weight on your cramped leg and bend your knee for\nthe calf cramp. If you are not able to stand, sit on the floor with the cramped\nleg extended.<\/li><li><strong>Apply heat\nor cold:<\/strong>\nUse a hot towel or heat bag on tight muscles. Bath with hot water or directing\nthe stream of a hot shower onto the cramped muscle will help. Additionally,\nwith ice massage, the cramped muscle will relieve pain.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Risk_factors\"><\/span>Risk factors <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The cause of\nmuscle cramp is not clear, but risk factors may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Tight, inflexible muscles<\/li><li>Poor physical condition<\/li><li>Poor muscle tone<\/li><li>Poor diet<\/li><li>Physical overexertion<\/li><li>Physical exertion of cold muscles<\/li><li>Muscle injury<\/li><li>Muscle fatigue<\/li><li>Excessive perspiration<\/li><li>Dehydration <\/li><li>Reduced blood supply <\/li><li>Wearing high-heeled shoes for lengthy periods.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Prevention\"><\/span>Prevention <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Preventing\ncramps is the best approach. The following measures can help:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Not exercising just after eating<\/li><li>Drinking lots of water after a workout (mainly sports beverages\nwhich contain potassium) <\/li><li>Avoid caffeine (for example, in coffee or chocolate)<\/li><li>Not smoking<\/li><li>Avoid high heels<\/li><li>Increase your level of physical fitness.<\/li><li>Avoiding drugs &nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Muscle cramps Muscle cramps are unexpected or sudden, involuntary shrinkage which happens in several muscles. Such shrinkages are mostly painful and can affect various groups of muscles. A cramp&#8217;s severe pain can wake you up at night, or make walking difficult. Those in the back of your lower leg, your thigh back, and your thigh [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcare"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}