6/11/2023 0 Comments Nocturnal leg cramps treatmentI make sure I don’t strain my calves by standing on tip-toe. I don’t allow myself to become dehydrated. “I almost never have cramps as severe as I had thirty years ago because I am very proactive. I tried those after reading your newsletters. “Neither soap nor mustard worked for me, but pickle juice gave relief in less than a minute. It is probably the bitterness of the tonic water that stopped the cramps. The FDA banned it, so I had to switch to tonic water. “Later, I took quinine and that was a good solution for me for years. It will go away.’ They have never had such severe pain as I experienced. ![]() I’ve had primary care doctors tell me, ‘It’s just a cramp. The alternative was crying and screaming for hours. “The first solution was a ‘karate chop’ my chiropractor taught my husband to do on the calf because nothing else would stop it at the time. Both my husband and I lost a lot of sleep when I woke us both, screaming in pain. ![]() I have a history of severe leg cramps that could last up to two hours. Here are just a few stories from readers to illustrate how serious this problem can be and the lengths people go to for relief. Stories from Readers About Leg Cramps At Night: ![]() Doctors have no FDA-approved medications to treat this painful condition that can have such serious long-term health ramifications. Moreover, sleep deprivation brings about vehicle accidents and medical errors and is therefore an urgent topic of investigation.”Īll of a sudden leg cramps at night are a big deal. Sleep deprivation is a major source of morbidity with widespread health effects, including increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart attack, and stroke. A recent review noted ( Nature Medicine, Dec. When you can’t get a good night’s sleep on a regular basis there are even more serious consequences. Immune function can be affected increasing susceptibility to infection. Sleep deprivation can also impact concentration, memory and mood. Lack of sleep often leads to next-day drowsiness. Many people get them so often that they can’t get a good night’s sleep. But nighttime leg cramps can be extremely painful and disruptive. They’re certainly not as dangerous as heart disease or diabetes. On a scale of 1 to 10 of health problems, leg cramps may not seem like such a big deal. Maybe that’s because nocturnal leg cramps have not been perceived as worthy of research dollars. Sadly, neither health professionals nor the Food and Drug Administration have come up with effective treatments. You can be fast asleep one moment and the next be writhing in agony. That’s because they can strike without any notice. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances such as low blood potassium or magnesium levels (a common side effect of diuretics) can increase the risk of cramping.Leg cramps are nasty whenever they occur. However, most cramps strike people who are otherwise healthy. They are common among people with foot problems like flat feet or high arches, metabolic disorders, or neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or neuropathy (nerve damage). Leg cramps are muscle spasms caused by “mini-seizures” of motor neurons (nerves that power muscle contractions). Among people over 50, about half report having leg cramps, a third say they are awakened by cramps at night, and 15 percent report weekly episodes. Although nocturnal leg cramps can strike people at any time of life, they become more common with age. How can I quickly stop the cramps, and are there ways to prevent them?Ī: Few things are more jarring to a night’s sleep than a sudden cramp in your calf. Q: I frequently have leg cramps that wake me up from sleep.
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