There is a kind of pain like a needle stick called cramp, this pain is experienced by almost everyone, often sleep at night when the calf suddenly cramp …… What is this all about?
Which kind of cramp do you belong to?
Cramps, also called muscle spasms, are usually caused by abnormal neuromuscular excitement in an involuntary, unsuspected situation that causes excessive muscle contraction.
▲Simulation of leg cramps
The muscle is obviously tight and contracted during the cramp, and the pain is unbearable, which lasts for several seconds or tens of seconds and then gradually relieves, or there may still be pain after the cramp.
The following classifies cramps into four types.
1, calcium deficiency type cramps
Calcium deficiency is one of the causes of cramps. Calcium is a very important ion in the process of regulating muscle contraction, and when the concentration of calcium ions in the blood is too low, it will cause an increase in neural excitability of the muscles, prompting them to contract and leading to cramps.
Calcium-deficient cramps tend to occur in the elderly and pregnant women, who are prone to osteoporosis and should be properly supplemented with calcium. However, the concentration of calcium ions is not as high as possible, but should be maintained between 2.25 and 2.75 mmol/l.
2.Exercise cramps
Sweating after a lot of exercise, along with the loss of water and electrolytes, increase the body load, so that the muscle “strike”, the specific form of expression is cramps.
There is also a kind of cramp during exercise because of the stimulation of the muscles by low temperature, so that its excitability suddenly increases and thus tonic contraction occurs.
3. Night cramps
This includes cramps that occur in any static situation, such as when sleeping or sitting still. The most common ones are cramps in the calves and toes of the elderly and children.
The main triggers for cramps during sleep are external forces and fatigue. Fatigue, sleep, lack of rest or too much rest can cause blood circulation to slow down, resulting in a higher accumulation of metabolites in the muscles, such as lactic acid that constantly stimulates the muscles, thus causing muscle cramps.
4, ischemic cramps
This kind of cramp is a danger signal from the body and needs to be taken seriously!
Ischemic cramps can be very harmful if you do not seek medical attention in time and may lead to amputation, which can easily occur in patients with vasculitis and arteriosclerosis. The location of the vascular lesion is different and the site of the cramp is different, such as walking a fixed distance to appear cramps, and more and more frequently, the distance is gradually shortened.
Why do cramps occur?
Leg and foot cramps are mainly related to the following factors.
1.Sleeping in the cold
Exercising in a cold environment. Inadequate preparation activities, or swimming in summer with low water temperature, are prone to leg cramps. Sleeping at night without covers, the calf muscles are stimulated by the cold and can spasm so much that it hurts to wake up.
2, continuous muscle contraction too fast
Strenuous exercise, the whole body is in a state of tension, the leg muscles contract too fast, relaxation time is too short, the local metabolites lactic acid increased, muscle contraction and relaxation is difficult to coordinate, thus causing calf muscle cramps.
3, metabolism problems
When the exercise time is long, and the exercise volume is large, sweating and more, and there is no timely replenishment of salt, the body loses a lot of fluid and electrolytes, resulting in the accumulation of metabolic waste. Poor local blood circulation in the muscles, prone to spasms.
4, excessive fatigue
Climbing, climbing, calf muscle fatigue is most likely to occur. Because it is a foot to support the weight of the whole body, the force required to lift the leg muscles will be six times the weight of the person, when it is fatigued to a certain extent, spasm will occur.
5, lack of calcium
Calcium ions play an important role in the process of muscle contraction. When the concentration of calcium ions in the blood is too low, the muscle is easily excited and spasms. Adolescents grow rapidly and are prone to calcium deficiency, so leg cramps often occur.
6, improper sleeping position
If you are lying on your back for a long time, so that the quilt is pressed on the surface of the feet, or lying prone for a long time, so that the surface of the feet against the bed, forcing some muscles of the calf to be in a state of absolute relaxation for a long time, causing muscle “passive contracture”.
3 moves to quickly relieve cramps
1, toe cramps
To do the opposite, that is, the opposite direction of the cramp wrench toes and adhere to l to 2 minutes or more, you can see the effect.
2, calf cramps
Sitting or leaning against the wall, hands wrench toes to make toes up, then try to straighten the knee joint, hot compresses or light massage to relax the tense muscles.
3, swimming cramps
First take a deep breath and hold it, the body floats on its back, grab the toes with the hand on the opposite side of the cramped leg and pull it toward the body, press the knee down with the other hand to stretch the back of the leg, and continue to massage the rest after relief.
Reminder: general cramps are less harmful and can be relieved instantly with timely treatment. However, if the attacks are frequent, seek medical attention in time.
6 ways to prevent cramps
1, drive the cold to keep warm: hot water before bedtime hot feet, massage the calf muscles to promote local blood circulation.
2, adhere to exercise: usually strengthen exercise, pay attention to warm-up before the activity, improve blood circulation, enhance muscle contraction ability.
3, appropriate calcium supplement: calcium-rich foods such as milk, green leafy vegetables, sesame paste, kelp, tofu, etc.
4, pay attention to sleeping position: try not to lie on your back or prone for a long time, can avoid muscle contracture caused by long time relaxation of calf muscles.
5.Rational diet: the diet focuses on replenishing electrolytes (potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium).
6, timely hydration: If the amount of sweating is also large, need to timely replenish fluids to avoid dehydration, but note that in a short period of time can not be too much water at once, because a large amount of liquid may dilute the concentration of sodium in the blood, which may lead to a variety of problems, including muscle cramps. How much water to drink depends on the amount of activity and food.