Sudden leg cramps when sleeping at night, is calcium deficiency? wrong! There are also two reasons, pay attention to

After retirement, Uncle Xu often played croquet with friends, and he continued to take a walk after dinner at night. He was in good health.

But recently Uncle Xu always dozed off during the day. When asked by an old friend, Uncle Xu said that he always had leg cramps, several times at night, which affected his sleep.

The old friend thought it might be calcium deficiency, so Uncle Xu went to the pharmacy to buy a few bottles of calcium tablets and insisted on taking the medicine for a while, but the leg cramps not only did not improve, but worsened. Finally, I went to the hospital for examination and found that the doctor found that the leg cramps had nothing to do with calcium deficiency.

The elderly often have calf cramps after falling asleep at night, which makes many elderly people restless all night. People often associate leg cramps with calcium deficiency, but blindly supplementing calcium may have the opposite effect.

1. Leg cramps at night, why?

Cramps, professionally called "muscle spasms", are actually the loss of control of muscle tissue, resulting in involuntary forced contractions, and finally causing muscle stiffness and pain.

There are many reasons for leg cramps , the more common ones are:

Cold: When the outside temperature changes, the human body will start "self-protection", the body will tremble, tremble, and the muscles will vibrate, allowing the body to quickly adapt. When the muscles vibrate too hard, cramps are prone to occur.

Overworked: When a person is overworked, the muscles are working overtime at the same time. When muscle energy is consumed, a large amount of metabolites such as creatine and lactic acid will be produced. These products accumulate in the body and cannot be discharged in time, which will cause cramps.

Calcium deficiency: Calcium deficiency can indeed cause cramps. When the calcium ion concentration in the blood becomes low, it is easy to cause hypocalcemia, and the muscles cannot restrain their excitement, and they will go too high and cramp easily.

Improper posture: When sleeping or squatting, improper posture will cause muscle compression and poor blood flow, which will easily cause cramps.

In addition to physical factors and environmental factors, certain diseases can also cause cramps, such as epilepsy, rabies, Parkinson's, and lower extremity arteriosclerosis.

Of course, in most cases cramps are short-lived and the body recovers on its own. However, if the frequency of cramps is frequent and the duration is getting longer and longer, and obvious incentives such as posture, temperature, fatigue, etc. are excluded, you should be alert to the possible cause of disease, and it is recommended to consult a professional doctor as soon as possible.

Second, distinguish between cramps and restless legs syndrome?

Night cramps can also be a sign of restless legs syndrome, a condition that has similar symptoms and is often misdiagnosed . However, there are some differences between the two:

Leg cramps at night:

Cramps cause severe pain lasting no more than 10 minutes, and cramps can cause sleep disruption or difficulty falling asleep.

At the time of the attack, stretch the calf or foot, the sharp pain may be relieved, and the leg may be sore the next day.

Restless Legs Syndrome:

Different from cramps, patients always have an urge to "move" their legs, and they always feel discomfort or pain in the legs, which usually worsens in the evening or at night, and is relieved by walking or stretching, but if there is insufficient exercise, the symptoms will worsen.

3. Leg cramps at night may be these two problems

The elderly always have leg cramps at night. If cold and calcium deficiency are excluded, it is likely to be related to two diseases:

1. Arteriosclerosis of the lower extremities

Arteriosclerosis in the lower extremities of the elderly, untimely blood supply to the legs, poor blood flow, and accumulation of metabolites that cannot be washed away will easily stimulate the muscles and cause pain and cramps, which is one of the early symptoms.

Symptoms of chills, numbness, and indirect lameness may also occur, but each episode will last longer as the disease progresses. If this is ignored, the skin will become ulcerated due to avascular necrosis, which may lead to necrosis and amputation.

2. Lumbar disc herniation

Studies have found that the incidence of calf cramps in patients with lumbar disc herniation is as high as 70%, which is related to spinal nerve root compression and decreased blood flow in the spinal nerve root.

There may also be lower limb numbness, weakness, waist and leg pain and other symptoms. If the symptoms do not relieve for a long time, you should be alert.

Fourth, do 4 points, or help prevent cramps

Almost everyone has experienced leg cramps, is there any way to intervene and avoid it?

To prevent leg cramps, we must first pay attention to nutritional balance . Pay attention to the combination of a variety of ingredients every day, ensure a certain amount of vegetables, nuts and fruits every day, pay attention to supplementing vitamin D and calcium tablets, and get more sunlight every day to help the absorption of calcium.

Secondly , pay attention to keeping warm . When the seasons change, or in an indoor air-conditioned environment, you should pay attention to keeping your feet and feet warm. In a cold environment, try to wear long pants and thick socks to avoid cold wind blowing directly on the lower limbs.

When exercising , do a good job of warming up, stretching and stretching muscles, promoting blood circulation, and activating muscle strength. Exercise should also pay attention to gradual progress , do not be too violent, so as not to strain tendons and muscles.

When cramping occurs, it's best to "do the opposite . "

Tian Weiming, Chief Physician of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine Orthopedics and Traumatology, Affiliated Provincial Hospital of Hebei Medical University, recommended that when cramps occur, you can pull your toes in the opposite direction of the force, and stick to it for a minute or two, and the cramps will be relieved.

For example, if the muscles of the calf are cramped, you can press the foot plate and bend the toes, and use the forefoot to push the ground, so that the pain disappears.

Although leg cramps are common, you should also take precautions against them. For recurring leg cramps, you must be careful and seek medical examination in time, so as not to delay the diagnosis and aggravate the condition.

References:

[1] "Calf cramps because of calcium deficiency? Unexpectedly, the "culprit" is actually...". Popular Science China. 2020-10-31

[2] "Calf "cramps" are calcium deficiency? It may also indicate these diseases! 》.Human Health. 2020-10-05

[3] Why do I always get leg cramps? ". Lan Shiting. 2022-06-28

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