AAAA!!! The pain. You are sleeping peacefully when you wake up with a “Charley Horse” in your leg. Almost everyone experiences a cramp at some time in their life. The truth is cramps are common in adults and become increasingly frequent with age. Why does this happen? Leg cramps may happen for several reasons: lack of fluids, injury, muscle strain, or staying in the same position for a long period of time. Other common causes include:
- Pregnancy
- Diabetes
- Decreased potassium level
- Neuromuscular disorders, ex: Parkinson’s disease
- Certain medications
- Alcohol and excess caffeine use
Intense exercise can make muscle cramping occur. There are ways to prevent this from happening. One way is to perform the activity at a lower intensity and for a shorter duration. Also stretching the muscle groups that are prone to cramping.
Help! I got a cramp during my aerobics class tonight. How do I make it go away?
- Walking on it
- Massaging it
- Straightening your leg and flexing your foot toward your knee until you feel the calf muscles stretch
- Applying a cold pack
- Taking a hot bath
- Drink water. You need to be properly hydrated.
So this doesn’t happen again make sure you are doing the following:
- Get enough Potassium: Many produce items like fruits and vegetables are loaded with potassium. Many blood pressure meds waste potassium and can contribute to muscle cramps. Check with your doc or pharmacist to see if you need to take a potassium supplement.
- Get enough Magnesium: Make sure to get your muscle-relaxing foods like oatmeal, almonds, halibut, bran muffins, pumpkin seeds, barley, buckwheat flour, low-fat vanilla yogurt, trail mix, garbanzo beans, lima beans, soybeans, and spinach!
Do you have any tips that you’ve found that help keep muscle cramps at bay? If so, I want to hear about them. Tweet me @sassygirlfit or my facebook page Sassy Girl Fitness on.fb.me/1ch9fEy
