Why do my calves keep cramping?

Leg cramps are very common in daily life, especially after strenuous exercise. When your legs cramp, you dare not move and you will feel very severe pain. However, this symptom does not last long and you will recover by slowly moving around. It's normal to have cramps occasionally, but some people experience cramps frequently. So, why do calves always cramp? Let’s take a look at the reasons below.

①Cold stimulation. Such as exercising in a cold environment in winter. Insufficient warm-up exercises or lower water temperature during swimming in summer can easily cause leg cramps. If you don't cover yourself with a blanket when you sleep at night, your calf muscles will be stimulated by the cold. The spasms would be so painful that they would wake people up. ② Muscles contract too quickly and continuously. During strenuous exercise. The whole body is in a state of tension and the leg muscles contract too quickly. If the relaxation time is too short, the local metabolic product lactic acid will increase, and muscle contraction and relaxation will be difficult to coordinate, thus causing calf muscle cramps. ③Excessive sweating. Long exercise time. You exercise a lot, sweat a lot, and don't replenish salt in time. A large amount of fluid and electrolytes are lost from the body. Accumulation of metabolic waste. Poor local blood circulation in muscles can also lead to cramps. ④Excessive fatigue. The calf muscles are most likely to become fatigued when traveling long distances, climbing mountains, or ascending high places. Because every time I climb high. The whole body weight is supported by one foot. The strength required for the muscles of this leg to lift the foot will be six times the human body weight. When it is fatigued to a certain extent, cramps will occur. ⑤ Calcium deficiency. During muscle contraction. Calcium ions play an important role. When the calcium ion concentration in the blood is too low, muscles become easily excited and cramp. Teenagers grow and develop rapidly and are easily deficient in calcium, which is why they often suffer from leg cramps. ⑥Bad sleeping posture. For example, lying on your back for a long time with the quilt pressing on your feet, or lying on your stomach for a long time with your feet resting on the bed, certain calf muscles are forced to be in an absolutely relaxed state for a long time, causing "passive contracture" of the muscles. ⑦ Frequent occurrence may be related to vascular disease.

To prevent leg and foot cramps, you should pay attention to the following points: 1. Keep warm and prevent local muscles from getting cold. 2. Pay attention to your sleeping posture. 3. Do not walk or exercise for too long. 4. Strengthen physical exercise. When exercising, you should do sufficient warm-up exercises to make the body move. This will improve the blood circulation in the lower limbs. When you participate in various intense sports or competitions, you can avoid leg cramps. 5. Supplement some vitamin E if necessary. 6. Appropriate calcium supplementation. Foods containing lactic acid and amino acids, such as dairy products and lean meat, can promote the dissolution of calcium salts and help absorption. Simply supplementing calcium cannot promote calcium absorption. Calcium tablets with vitamin D should be supplemented, and more sun exposure should be given. Long-term use of diuretics will cause excessive loss of blood calcium, and the drugs should be discontinued under the guidance of a doctor. For those with liver and kidney diseases, the focus is on treating the primary disease. Therefore, if leg cramps are caused by low blood calcium, we must clarify the real cause behind the low calcium and then carry out targeted treatment, rather than simply supplementing calcium. 7. Avoid smoking, drinking and spicy food during the illness.