nighttime leg muscle cramps
brentpaul33
Posts: 20 Member
Does anyone else have this problem? It happens at least twice a week and wakes me from a deep sleep. I have to get out of bed and stretch my legs and then it's fine. Although I can still feel the muscles in my leg tightened up throughout the whole day.
I sit most of my day at my job. However I usually make a point to get up every hour and walk around for a bit.
exercise consists of walking an hour a day.
It has been fairly humid here in the midwest and I have been drinking more water.
I am willing to try anything if it means I can have a few more nights of undisturbed sleep.
I sit most of my day at my job. However I usually make a point to get up every hour and walk around for a bit.
exercise consists of walking an hour a day.
It has been fairly humid here in the midwest and I have been drinking more water.
I am willing to try anything if it means I can have a few more nights of undisturbed sleep.
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Replies
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Try eating more bananas and drinking more water0
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There are some non-medical things you can try. The first is to put a bar of soap under your fitted sheet on your bed, at the foot of the bed. It sounds crazy, but I've tried it and it works. I don't know why. Another one I read about in the People's Pharmacy is to keep packets of yellow mustard in your nightstand and eat one of them when the cramps start up. Supposedly it works very quickly and efficiently.
You may also want to track your potassium here. It's very difficult to hit your required potassium amounts, and low potassium can cause leg cramps.0 -
Not just bananas...the point most people try to make when they say to eat more bananas is that you need more potassium. Look up foods that naturally contain high amounts of potassium or even look into supplements.
Also, make sure you're stretching well after your walks to help with muscle recovery. Also think about getting a foam roller to help ease muscle tension.
And of course if it continues, talk to your doctor.0 -
Does anyone else have this problem? It happens at least twice a week and wakes me from a deep sleep. I have to get out of bed and stretch my legs and then it's fine. Although I can still feel the muscles in my leg tightened up throughout the whole day.
I sit most of my day at my job. However I usually make a point to get up every hour and walk around for a bit.
exercise consists of walking an hour a day.
It has been fairly humid here in the midwest and I have been drinking more water.
I am willing to try anything if it means I can have a few more nights of undisturbed sleep.
I am having the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. It's been going on for about two weeks for me. I'm from the Midwest, leg cramping, and I can feel it throughout the day. I even went to the doctor yesterday and they don't know what it is. I'm going to try the potassium like someone else recommended because I can't do mustard packs!!!0 -
I get that sometimes too....drink more water for sure and add potassium. Make sure you stretch before bed (also before and after exercise)...0
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I found the bar of soap in my bed works better than anything. It does sound crazy, I agree, but you have nothing to lose by trying it.0
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I had the same problem for several months and was up 2-3 times a night having to walk around and massage my calves. I finally spoke to a friend who is a homeopathic doctor. He said that many people while loosing weight upset their mineral levels because of suddenly drinking more water and exercising more. He told me that the common thought is that its potassium shortage, but it's most likely magnesium (which most people rarely think of). he had me get 'chelated magnesium' tablets and take them for a month. They weren't cheap, but I noticed a difference within a couple of days. I tried to stop taking them when I noticed the improvement, but the cramps came back. I continued the treatment for a month and now 6 months later have only had it happen 2 or 3 times.0
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Potassium rich foods: white beans/pinto beans, spinach/kale, mushrooms, acorn squash, avocados, yogurt, salmon, peaches. I get these when I don't do ANY stretching and get a little dehydrated after some intense exercise in the heat. More water, more potassium, and stretch a bit before going to bed (helps me anyways!)0
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Oh gosh, I get cramps all the time and it drives me crazy. I will wake up in tears because they hurt so much. I started taking in more potassium and that has helped a lot. Also drinking BCAAS helps. And water! Drink water like you're a fish!0
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There are some non-medical things you can try. The first is to put a bar of soap under your fitted sheet on your bed, at the foot of the bed. It sounds crazy, but I've tried it and it works. I don't know why. Another one I read about in the People's Pharmacy is to keep packets of yellow mustard in your nightstand and eat one of them when the cramps start up. Supposedly it works very quickly and efficiently.
You may also want to track your potassium here. It's very difficult to hit your required potassium amounts, and low potassium can cause leg cramps.
Is there even a way to track potassium on MFP?
I don't think there is.
If there is, please enlighten us!0 -
I use magnesium tablets.
If it gets really bad, an epsom salts bath.
If you have a partner, a massage does wonders.
You have to take the magnesium daily, to keep the levels up in your body.
Also avoid soda pops.
It's a night mare, I get it a lot.
Especially since I started lifting :-/0 -
Oh gosh, I get cramps all the time and it drives me crazy. I will wake up in tears because they hurt so much. I started taking in more potassium and that has helped a lot. Also drinking BCAAS helps. And water! Drink water like you're a fish!
BCAA's like the pre-workout stuff?0 -
I have been getting leg cramps since I was in junior high. More potassium for sure but in the midst of one, try flexing your foot and pointing/pulling your toes towards your shin as far as possible. It helps release the musle cramp and I find my calf is less sore the next day if I do this.0
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If the same muscles keep cramping up, try stretching out ALL your muscles. I had a period last fall where my calves cramped up all the time despite stretching them frequently. I discovered that if I stretched them all out it helped my calves out immensely. Tight muscles can wreak havoc elsewhere, turns out my quads are what the problem really boiled down to with my calf cramps. Take 10-20 minutes after your walk to fully stretch out.0
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Does anyone else have this problem? It happens at least twice a week and wakes me from a deep sleep. I have to get out of bed and stretch my legs and then it's fine. Although I can still feel the muscles in my leg tightened up throughout the whole day.
I sit most of my day at my job. However I usually make a point to get up every hour and walk around for a bit.
exercise consists of walking an hour a day.
It has been fairly humid here in the midwest and I have been drinking more water.
I am willing to try anything if it means I can have a few more nights of undisturbed sleep.
I get them occassionally. Make sure you are hydrated (your pee is clear or pale yellow) and try to eat a banana or some other source of potassium. I find that when I do those things the cramps disappear...until I forget how much they hurt and do it again.0 -
Cramping doesn't really have anything to do with stretching. It's dehydration and electrolyte depletion.0
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There are some non-medical things you can try. The first is to put a bar of soap under your fitted sheet on your bed, at the foot of the bed. It sounds crazy, but I've tried it and it works. I don't know why. Another one I read about in the People's Pharmacy is to keep packets of yellow mustard in your nightstand and eat one of them when the cramps start up. Supposedly it works very quickly and efficiently.
You may also want to track your potassium here. It's very difficult to hit your required potassium amounts, and low potassium can cause leg cramps.
Is there even a way to track potassium on MFP?
I don't think there is.
If there is, please enlighten us!
There is.
Go to your food tab
Click settings
Select Potassium as a nutrient to track0 -
I know people will suggest bananas, and while bananas are great (422mg of potassium) you would be better served with a couple of foods that are high in potassium:
Baked Potatoes
Spinach
Beans - Pinto, soy, lima, kidney are all good
Yogert
fish - Salmon, Haliburt, Mackerel, tunafish (tunafish only has a 100mg but it should still help if you are deficient)
Avacados
Make sure you are also hydrated before bed.There are some non-medical things you can try. The first is to put a bar of soap under your fitted sheet on your bed, at the foot of the bed. It sounds crazy, but I've tried it and it works.
Might as well put lambs blood on your door to ward away bad spirits.I don't know why. Another one I read about in the People's Pharmacy is to keep packets of yellow mustard in your nightstand and eat one of them when the cramps start up. Supposedly it works very quickly and efficiently.
There is no potassium in yellow mustard. There is a very small amount of turmeric, but since we can't absorb it's active ingrediant curcumin easily, I don't see how this would help.
People's Pharmacy is a site full of quackery.You may also want to track your potassium here. It's very difficult to hit your required potassium amounts, and low potassium can cause leg cramps.
I don't know why you listed the real treatment last.0 -
Are you getting enough calcium and magnesium? Sodium? During the hot weather we sweat a lot more and lose electrolytes. Also when I get cramps, it usually responds to increased calcium and magnesium uptake.0
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Oh gosh, I get cramps all the time and it drives me crazy. I will wake up in tears because they hurt so much. I started taking in more potassium and that has helped a lot. Also drinking BCAAS helps. And water! Drink water like you're a fish!
BCAA's like the pre-workout stuff?
There are BCAAS in some preworkouts, but I just take plain BCAAS0 -
There are some non-medical things you can try. The first is to put a bar of soap under your fitted sheet on your bed, at the foot of the bed. It sounds crazy, but I've tried it and it works. I don't know why. Another one I read about in the People's Pharmacy is to keep packets of yellow mustard in your nightstand and eat one of them when the cramps start up. Supposedly it works very quickly and efficiently.
You may also want to track your potassium here. It's very difficult to hit your required potassium amounts, and low potassium can cause leg cramps.
Is there even a way to track potassium on MFP?
I don't think there is.
If there is, please enlighten us!
There is.
Go to your food tab
Click settings
Select Potassium as a nutrient to track
:-O
It kind of pisses me off that I didn't know that, like, several years ago.
Thanks for the tip.0 -
Wow I was not expecting this many replies.
Thanks everyone for the comments. I will give these things a try and report back.0 -
Quinine helps as well.0
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I tried drinking more water and doing more stretching.
I had really bad leg cramps 2 days in a row.
I did some research on foods with magnesium. So decided to snack on about a cup of peanuts and no cramps at all. It's either a coincidence or I am low on magnesium.0 -
consult your doctor0
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I used to be woken up from how intense the charlie horse pain I would get was...I upped my potassium levels and it went away.
I'd ask your doctor, though, if you've tried changing some dietary things already to no avail.0 -
If it is a charlie horse, when it is happening, push down with your heel and flex your toes up. Your natural inclination will be to do the opposite but that will make it worse.0
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