Therapy
Self-care measures can usually treat muscle cramps. A healthcare provider can show you stretches that can reduce the chance of muscle cramps. Drinking plenty of fluids can also help prevent muscle cramps.
If you continue to have cramps that wake you from sleep, a caregiver may prescribe medications to relax your muscles or help you sleep.
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Lifestyle and home remedies
Reckon
Reckon
While holding onto a chair, hold one leg back, with your knee straight and your heel flat on the floor. Slowly bend your elbows and front knees and move your hips forward until you feel a stretch in your calf. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds. Change the leg position and repeat with your other leg.
If you have cramps, these actions may help:
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Stretching and massaging.Stretch the tense muscle and rub it gently. For calf cramps, keep your leg straight as you pull the top of your foot on the side that is tight toward your face. Also try to stand with your weight on your narrow leg and press firmly. This also helps to relieve cramps in the back of the thigh.
To get a hamstring cramp, try pulling the foot of that leg up toward your butt. Hold onto a chair to stabilize yourself.
- Apply heat or cold.Use a warm towel or heating pad on tense or tight muscles. Taking a warm bath or directing the stream of a hot shower onto the tense muscle can also help. Rubbing the sore muscle with ice can also relieve pain.
alternative medicine
Taking vitamin B complex and other vitamins can help manage leg cramps. Talk to your healthcare provider about what to take.
Preparing your appointment
Consult a healthcare provider if you regularly experience severe muscle cramps that do not improve with self-care.
Here is some information to help you prepare for your appointment.
What you can do
Make a list of:
- Your symptoms,including any complaints that seem unrelated to the reason for your appointment and when they started.
- Important personal information,including heavy burdens, recent life changes, and family medical history.
- All medications, vitamins and supplementsyou take, including doses.
- Questions to askYour provider.
For muscle cramps, questions to ask your provider may include:
- What is probably causing my cramps?
- Are there other possible causes?
- What tests do I need?
- What can I do about the cramp?
Please ask any other questions you may have.
What to expect from your doctor
Your provider will likely ask you questions, including:
- How often do you get cramps and how bad are they?
- What, if anything, do you do before you get cramps? Do cramps usually occur after exercise?
- Do you get cramps while you rest?
- Does stretching help your cramps?
- Do you have other complaints, such as muscle weakness or numbness?
- Have you noticed changes in your urine after exercise?
