Nocturnal Leg Cramps

In nocturnal leg cramps the commonly affected areas of the body are the calf, foot and the thigh. Although referred to as nocturnal leg cramps, they can occur at any time of the day or night. These cramps are not gender specific and they might affect both men and women equally and apart from people who are more than 50 years of age, small children are also affected at times.

Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water, indulging in stretching exercises, wearing shoes which give proper support and maintaining a proper posture while sleeping, are some of the preventive measures that can be followed in order to reduce the frequency of these cramps.

What Causes Leg Cramps At Night?

There are no such definite causes of leg cramps at night, however, based on assumptions and possibilities, there are some conditions that have been linked with these cramps. These include overuse or overexertion of muscles, sitting in the same place for a long period of time or sitting in an improper posture and dehydration. Dehydration could also cause the same as there is not enough water for transporting vitamins, minerals and other substances throughout the body.

Leg cramps while sleeping have been found to be common among expecting mothers and elderly, probably due to poor blood circulation in their limbs. People with a sedentary lifestyle are also vulnerable to leg cramps. Nocturnal leg cramps have also been found common among people who have deficiencies of calcium, potassium and magnesium.

Certain medical conditions such as diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, Parkinson's disease, endocrine disorders and medications such as contraceptive pills (birth control pills) may also trigger leg cramps.

Treatment Options

Increasing the level of potassium in your diet may help reduce the frequency of cramps. Some examples of potassium rich foods are bananas, apricots, nectarines, dates, grapes or raisins, beans, the cabbage/broccoli family of vegetables, oranges, grapefruit and its juice, pork, lamb, potatoes and corn, saltwater fish (like tuna), tomatoes and tomato juice.

Pain from leg cramps, that might occur suddenly, after getting up from the bed, can be relieved by applying a hot compress and massaging the cramped muscles. Even soaking the affected leg in warm water reduces the pain to a great extent.

Hold your toes to stretch your calf muscle. Pull them towards your knee and extend the leg straight out. This is an effective exercise to reduce incidents of leg cramps. Best time to do it is before going to bed and after waking up. While you are doing this exercise, you will feel the effect in the back of your calf muscles. Stretching the legs and Achilles tendons on a regular basis also help in improving the condition.

The calves, when toned and well stretched, are less prone to developing cramps. For this, exercises such as 'toe-ups' and 'wall stretches' are helpful.