In fact, foot cramps are the most common when people participate in sports. However, many people are also prone to foot cramps when they sleep at night. Why? How to solve it? Here are the reasons why I recommend for you to have leg cramps at night. I hope I can help you.
1. Impact of external environment: cold stimulation, such as low room temperature at night in winter, too thin quilt or exposed feet when sleeping.
2. Excessive fatigue, serious lack of sleep and rest or excessive rest may lead to the accumulation of local acid metabolites in the body, which can cause muscle spasm. For example, if you walk or exercise too long during the day, you will get too tired and lack of rest next time, which will lead to the accumulation of lactic acid; If the rest is too long and the blood circulation in the body slows down, it will be the accumulation of carbon dioxide and so on.
3. The decrease of estrogen in elderly women leads to osteoporosis, which will lead to low blood calcium level and increase of muscle stress hormone, and spasm will occur.
4. Incorrect sleeping posture, such as lying on your back for a long time, the quilt will be pressed on your feet, or lying on your stomach for a long time, and letting your feet rest on the bed, will make some muscles of the lower leg absolutely relaxed for a long time, resulting in "passive contracture" of the muscles.
1. Rotation method: stand up and sit, straighten the cramped leg, hold the forefoot with your hand, and rotate the ankle outward. As long as the action is consistent and powerful, it can usually stop the sharp pain immediately.
2. Foot pulling method: take the sitting position, press the spastic calf muscles with one hand, grasp the toes with the other hand and pull the foot back. Bend the back of the foot, and then move the foot up and down to relieve the cramp.
3. Pressing method: there are hard and protruding muscle main roots on both sides of the popliteal fossa on the inner side of the knee joint, and the nerve root of the gastrocnemius head will be attached to it. Press here with your thumb, and the abnormally excited nerve will calm down, so as to stop cramping and eliminate pain.
4. Contralateral pressing method: hold the toe of the cramped leg with the hand on the opposite side of the cramped leg, pull it up, and press the palm on the same side on the knee of the cramped leg to help straighten the leg.
5. Massage method: use both hands alternately along the direction of the vein, and massage the calf muscles from bottom to top in turn. You can also roll and shake the calf muscles in the palm of your hand, or tap the muscles from the side. So as to relax the calf muscles and restore normal blood circulation.
Nocturnal cramps
Include cramps that occur in any static situation, such as when sleeping or sitting still. Such cramps often occur in the gastrocnemius and some small muscles of the foot. Some of these cramps are caused by the autonomic activity of neuromuscular muscles, which makes the patient's feet move.
Heat stroke cramp
This type of cramp is associated with dehydration and electrolyte imbalance in the body. This kind of cramp most often occurs in athletes, especially in hot weather. Typical heatstroke spasm occurs after working in a hot environment for one or two hours; Heatstroke spasm may occur even within 18 hours after the end of the activity, and the muscles may be abnormal for several days. Heatstroke spasms are more common in the large muscles of the palm, arm and leg. Sometimes some Female Sprinters also have heatstroke spasms on the abdominal wall.
At present, the real mechanism of cramp has not been determined. Most research results believe that muscle cramp is caused by the reduction of nerve or neuromuscular stress threshold, which suddenly increases the nerve action frequency of muscle, resulting in muscle tonic contraction.