Calf cramps

introduction

Calf cramps are painful, mostly acute onset and not long lasting pain in the muscle area of ​​the Calves.
They can appear at rest and suddenly, but also after and during great exertion.
In most cases, there is a sudden onset of pain in the calf muscles.
This pain has pulling and biting character and can also continue into the upper leg muscles. When touching the affected Muscles one falls quickly severe induration on.

The striated Musculature the body is made of so-called Actin and Myosin built up, which are entangled with heads.
The closest thing to a comparison is a zipper.
When muscles move, the corresponding muscles contract. The different heads slide past each other and "lock" in a different position after the muscle has shifted.
The smaller these distances, the “finer” the muscle moves.
At a Cramp However, their heads skip corresponding rest areas, there are entire stretches that are not locked. This is associated with corresponding severe pain.

In addition to the pain and the hardening of the muscles, it often occurs Functional restrictionsi.e. usual movements in that leg cannot be performed for the period in which a cramp occurs.
Cramps usually just last few seconds or Minutes and loosen up on their own.
Sometimes there can be several in quick succession Convulsive episodes come, which is extremely annoying and uncomfortable.
What makes a muscle cramp more difficult is that those affected who suffer a calf cramp try to relax the muscles, but this does not succeed, but leads to the opposite, i.e. the muscles become more hardened, which in turn leads to increased pain.
Many people pull the leg up, try with the Hands to massage and relax the hardened area. In some cases it works.
It is more effective against it the firm step of the foot on the ground.
It is important to put the leg in one other movement to get.
If those affected stand on the appropriate leg and rock a few times on the floor, the cramp usually disappears.
As it disappears, the calf muscles loosen up immediately.
Immediately afterwards, however, there is milder pulling pain that often lasts for a day or two aching are similar.

Frequency distribution

Depending on the underlying root cause of cramps those affected experience more or less leg cramps.
With systemic deficiency symptoms it can happen that calf cramps occur almost every night. This happens at night because the Muscles at rest is.

At untrained athleteswhich e.g. one marathon running, calf cramps almost always occur from a certain point in time, as the lack of training means that the calf muscles are no longer adequately supplied with oxygen and nutrients.

Men are usually from leg cramps more often affected than women, Adults more often than children and adolescents.

Leg cramps that have no obvious cause come in 2-5% of the population in front. Here, too, men are affected somewhat more often than women. Children and toddlers are almost never affected.
Older people are also less likely to complain of leg cramps.
The cause of this age- and gender-specific frequency distribution is unclear.

causes

In most cases, a corresponding cause of calf cramps is not found.

If you suffer from nocturnal leg cramps, you should consider a magnesium deficiency.
It is important to ensure that you drink an appropriate amount and that you drink an appropriately balanced mineral water.
If only tap water is consumed, which is almost always low in minerals, deficiency symptoms are more common, sometimes in connection with calf cramps.

Read more on the topic: You can recognize a magnesium deficiency by these symptoms

Calf cramps can also occur after great physical exertion. Here it comes to the cramps, especially in athletes, which exceed the performance limit and do not pause, quite often after or during marathons.

When the load limit is reached, the muscle is no longer adequately supplied with oxygen and nutrients and the anaerobic energy supply begins.
The muscle works in an acidic environment. In these metabolic situations, the athletes affected almost always experience sore muscles on the following day.
If the sporting activity is not slowed down and even extended in this situation, the risk of muscle cramps increases accordingly. Drinking too little further increases the risk.

Some medications can also cause muscle cramps and muscle pain.
So-called cholesterol-lowering drugs should primarily be mentioned here. Regular use increases the risk of muscle cramps.
If this occurs, you should consider changing the preparation or, after consulting your doctor, pausing the medication.

Read more on the topic: Causes of cramps

Night cramps in the calves

If a calf cramp occurs at night, there are different possible causes.
Is the day before Sports can be made Overload Be the reason for a nocturnal calf cramp.

In the future there should be a sufficient warm-up phase respected and also enough water to be drunk. Other reasons for night cramps would be Magnesium deficiencywhich has set in over time and then becomes symptomatic at night.

Furthermore, a very restless sleep be responsible for causing a calf cramp. Too cold or too warm roomswho are sleeping in can also contribute to the development of a leg cramp.

As a rule, leg cramps only last a few minutes, but can sometimes occur more frequently at shorter intervals. An important measure would be to adjust the affected leg accordingly in the acute situation stretch.
Here you would with the hand passive the Toes to the body draw on and the Heel of body stretch away.
You should stay in this position for a few minutes. The cramp will resolve relatively quickly. Another option would be to focus on the Feet to ask and stamping hard on the floor with the affected leg. Due to the vibrations, the cramped ones loosen up Muscles in the calf area.

The hardened one can be tried manually Musculature to loosen in the calf area. Here you can use your index and middle finger in circular motions Press on the hardened muscle to manually release the tension.

A treatment attempt with a Heat application can also be tried. If no measures help, a rarer vascular change in the area of ​​the calf muscles should be excluded. Some Circulatory disorders can also be the cause of nocturnal calf cramps. A Ultrasound examination can then become necessary.

Leg cramps during pregnancy

Leg cramps in the pregnancy mostly have the same causes as in non-pregnant people.
It is very common Electrolyte balance confused, i.e. that either calcium or magnesium are present in insufficient quantity.
Often times, this imbalance comes from not drinking enough.

In the case of pregnant women, the slowly increasing weight also leads to overloading or incorrect loading of the legs.
Again, this can be the cause of everything nocturnal calf cramps lie.

Preventive should be on a sufficient amount of water to drink Be careful of non-demineralized water (i.e. no tap water if possible).
Massages and Warm wrap on the legs can also help prevent cramps at night.
On regular exercise should be strictly observed.
The Circling the feet e.g. lying on your back can also help prevent calf cramps.
If no measure works, a doctor should be consulted.

Symptoms

The first symptoms a calf cramp Sudden shooting pain in the calf area.
Moderate to severe pain in the calf area can occur within a few seconds. Often at night, those affected startle in pain.

Another common symptom is that muscular induration in the area of ​​the calf muscles. She is ultimately responsible for causing the severe pain in the area.

The third symptom, which is usually not quite as pronounced, is that Restriction of movement to mention.
The usual movements can no longer be performed normally in the muscle areas of the calf, which can be very cramped. In this case, that would be most of all Foot extension and diffraction.
It would be difficult to stand on tiptoe.

Nevertheless, this is exactly what should be attempted in order to loosen the corresponding cramp.
Because of the severe pain, most patients also feel excruciating restlessness.
Most begin to move quickly and briskly, or to massage the calf

diagnosis

The diagnosis of a calf cramp is a visual diagnosis.
Since cramps usually occur at home and often at night, the doctor who is consulted later can usually no longer judge whether it was really a cramp or rather a pulling pain caused by e.g. Reduced blood flow in the Lower leg is caused, arises.

Neurological measuring instruments that check muscle function do give indications night cramps are difficult, however.
In the case of frequent calf cramps described by patients, however, a diagnosis can be started by the doctor.
This is primarily aimed at a laboratory examination and a detailed patient survey as well as some physical exams from.

in the blood should Calcium, potassium and sodium such as magnesium and the Creatine kinase value to be determined. If this is increased, this indicates increased muscle cell decline.
A pronounced one Magnesium deficiency can also too Muscle spasms to lead.

The health survey relates primarily to those carried out sports, and corresponding training and a corresponding Overtraining.

In the physical exam the patient should be asked to stand on their toes and the calf muscles should be looked at and felt.
A severely hardened muscle tone indicates a recent cramp or recurring calf cramps.

Treatment measures

If a calf cramp occurs either suddenly during the day or at night, the condition must be reversed as quickly as possible and the calf cramp resolved.
There are several ways to do this. Since with a calf cramp the Musculature is in a completely non-physiological position, normal and accustomed muscle movement is usually not possible.
You can still do it to bring the leg into its usual movementthe calf cramp usually resolves as a result.

A successful measure in case the cramp occurs during the night is get up and run around or kicking the affected leg heavily.
The Tremorswho are concerned about muscle continue upwards, loosen the corresponding muscles. Here, too, there is usually a rapid improvement in the symptoms. Even if themselves the affected stand on tiptoe, the calf muscles mostly loosen suddenly and the cramp disappears.
In any case, you can support while lying down or standing massage hardened muscles. The aim is to loosen the hardened muscles and bring them back into their normal, accustomed position.

A simple exercise often described for relieving leg cramps quickly is that To pull your toes towards your body and the Heel away from the body.
This position should a few seconds being held. The affected person soon notices the loosening of the muscle.

A second exercise is to put the affected leg back, similar to one Sprinter in the starting position and to try the Heel of the affected leg to the floor bring to. This position should also a few seconds be held before the cramp will probably resolve quickly.

If these measures do not help, one can also be tried Hot water bottle on the affected leg to lay. Due to the warmth, the corresponding muscle is supplied with more blood and the hardening is quickly loosened. The typical sore muscles-like symptoms that occur after a calf cramp can also be associated with a Hot water bottle be treated or with a Pain gel. Various active ingredients are available here, such as Ibuprofen (doc ointment) or also Diclo-Gel (Diclofenac) on. The application can be done several times a day. An improvement can be expected after 2 days at the latest.

prophylaxis

Around Preventing leg cramps, one needs to know the exact causes of calf cramps. If the causes are unknown, general measures should be followed, which usually work very well.

• Avoid overloading: Loads should be adapted to the individual training status. This applies both to completely untrained people and to competitive athletes. Even those who are well trained can exceed the maximum performance limit. In this case, muscle spasms occur in almost all cases, which make it necessary to take an immediate break. The muscles should definitely be warmed up before sporting activity.
  The muscles should also be stretched with slightly elastic movements.
• Observe hydration: With or without exercise, it is very important that the body is supplied with an adequate amount of fluids. This is the only way to protect the body from dehydration and prevent a calf cramp. It should also be noted that mineral water is not drunk from tap water. Tap water only has a very small amount of minerals, which are also immensely important for the body. Normal mineral water with a balanced mineral content is important if you want to prevent leg cramps.
• It should also be ensured that the body is supplied with sufficient magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is one of the most common causes of calf cramps.

Preventive measures

Sometimes the cause of night leg cramps lies in one Electrolyte imbalance. These include in addition to sodium also Calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Magnesium is most likely to be responsible for calf cramps.
It ensures that the so-called Actin and myosin heads (Zipper principle) works without any problems. If there is a lack of magnesium it can cause problems in particular nocturnal Convulsions come when the muscles come to rest.

You can usually get through a magnesium deficiency one-sided unhealthy diet with little fruit and vegetables. Even if too little is drunk during the day or when drinking too much tap water. Tap water has a greatly reduced magnesium content compared to mineral water.

Adults need around 400 mg of magnesium per day. Foods that are considered special containing magnesium are valid Corn, millet, Edible bran, Beans and Soybeans.