How To Prevent Leg Cramps, You may Never Get Leg Cramps Again!

How To Prevent Leg Cramps, You may  Never Get Leg Cramps Again!
Leg cramps is an unpleasant symptom that many people experience chronically almost every night.
Most people may find short relief from the cramping for a few evenings in a row, but then they notice that the pain has returned even stronger!

Leg cramps are not only painful, but they can also disrupt the sleep we need to recover from the stress throughout the day. This annoying problem can be due to many reasons that need to be further examined.
One common reason is a lack of fluid and blood flow to the leg. Here are some remedies you may want to try out to avoid recurring leg cramps:

Magnesium

Magnesium is a mineral that is constantly used in many reactions throughout the body, and therefore it’s no surprise that many people suffer from magnesium deficiency.

Magnesium supplements have been proven to be valuable for alleviating leg cramps as it helps relax skeletal muscles. Diet rich in magnesium is the best way of obtaining adequate magnesium.

High magnesium foods include dark leafy greens, nuts, flaxen seed, other seeds, beans, whole grains, avocados, yogurt, bananas, dried fruit, dark chocolate, and more.

The recommended daily value (RDV) for magnesium is 400mg. Should you want to try dietary supplements, a typical effective dose is around 100mg two to three times a day depending on the severity of the deficiency.

In severe cases, a side-effect of magnesium supplementation is loose stools or diarrhea, and if this occurs, it is strongly advised to stop the intake.

You may need to experiment with the dose to find the lowest effective amount, but it’s better to stick to natural nutritional sources for your magnesium intake. However, if you do prefer supplements, remember to seek individualized professional advice prior to taking them.

Vitamin D

Calcium is another mineral that could be deficient in people experiencing leg cramps. If you are eating a balanced diet that includes a healthy portion of vegetables, but you still experience cramps, then vitamin D deficiency may be the culprit.

Vitamin D allows for the absorption of calcium from your diet and if you do not have adequate vitamin D levels, then the calcium is not absorbed properly.

Vitamin D can be obtained by exposing your skin to sunlight, but of course this isn’t always possible in the winter months or in areas which are mostly cloudy.

A good alternative to the missing sunlight is eating mushrooms and seafood which can also provide you with vitamin D. Some people also opt to take supplemental vitamin D, either in the form of drops or capsules.

Supplemental vitamin D should be taken with a meal since it is a fat soluble vitamin and 1,000 IU per day is a good starting dose. But again, I would highly recommend you seek individualized advice.

Stretching

You can help avoid leg cramps by incorporating simple stretches into your morning exercise routine which can help rush blood flow into your legs.

One of the easiest stretches is to find a ledge and rest the ball of your foot on it while your heel is touching the floor.

Next, slowly shift your weight towards the ledge like pressing the accelerator of your car. Maintain the position for only a few seconds and then rest for another few seconds. You should feel a good stretch in your leg muscles.

Repeat this stretch 6-8 times on each foot. This exercise will stretch out your calves which is the part of the leg where most people experience cramps.

Just note that the ledge should not be too high off the ground to avoid unnecessary pressure on the calves. You can easily create this ledge using a pile of books.

Hydration

Frequently, leg cramps can be caused by insufficient intake of fluids. It can also be due to a high intake of fiber containing foods which drain up our fluids.

You should always monitor your water intake and try adding more fluids into your diet if you notice that cramps are an ongoing issue for you. A couple of liters of water a day is a good amount to help you get rid of your cramps.

Acupuncture

The evenings are Yin time in Chinese medicine, and so the Yin substance, being blood, is often indicated in problems confined to night time.

The tricky part here is that we are not talking about overt blood deficiency that may show up on a blood analysis.

We are talking about a need to optimize blood circulation. Acupuncture can easily accomplish this and I have had great success with it. It opens up various channels through which blood can effectively flow to the legs.

Having a few sessions of acupuncture from a qualified practitioner may help you eliminate the cramps for good!

Massage

Along the same vein as acupuncture, massages can be used to stimulate blood flow and help circulation in tissues that are not adequately replenished. This is due to the squeezing and compressing actions of massage therapy which act like the beating of your heart in ensuring blood flow to the tissues.

You can easily massage your legs by compressing your muscles using your thumbs and fingers. If you notice any points which are tenderer than other areas, then spend more time with your thumbs in these places.

These areas of tenderness could represent trigger points and applying firm pressure on them, although temporarily painful, can help release the tension. Once released, you will notice that these, once tender points, are now softer and less painful. Massaging your muscles is also a great way of connecting with and showing “kindness” to your body.

All the options described above should help some people avoid nightly leg cramps. For others, leg cramps can also be due to mental-emotional stresses, which you may need to address in a different way.

Stressful situations and overwork lock our bodies in a sympathetic mode. Our body complains when we don’t take the time to attend to it properly and leg cramps can definitely be a sign of this neglecting!

You should take some time at the end of the day to relax by breathing deeply for a couple of minutes, and to think about things that happened during the day and made you smile.

This simple mental exercise often helps people to de-stress, and puts you in the parasympathetic mode needed for recovery and rejuvenation.

Published by G Jones for Carlsvilleproject Health