Involuntary twitching of calf muscles

In life, many people have experienced involuntary twitching of their calf muscles. In fact, in medicine this is a muscle spasm, also known as cramps. There are generally many reasons for muscle cramps, such as: excessive fatigue, severe calcium deficiency, alternating hot and cold, strenuous exercise, etc. Therefore, we must prescribe the right medicine to better relieve the problem of cramps. The editor will explain in detail the pathology of calf cramps and how to prevent them.

The scientific name for cramps is muscle spasm, which refers to the sudden, involuntary rigid contraction of muscles, which can cause muscle stiffness and unbearable pain. Common leg cramps are actually calf muscle spasms, which manifest as calf muscles such as the gastrocnemius suddenly becoming very hard and unbearably painful, which can last from a few seconds to tens of seconds. Common causes include cold stimulation, continuous and rapid muscle contraction, excessive sweating, excessive fatigue and calcium deficiency.

How to Prevent Leg Cramps

Treat the underlying disorder

For example, epileptic patients need to take medication as prescribed by their doctors. If they suddenly stop taking the medication, even for 1 to 2 days, it will cause epileptic seizures. For example, children are prone to cramps when they have a high fever, so timely fever reduction can prevent cramps; tetanus can cause cramps, so tetanus vaccine should be given to prevent tetanus; rabies can cause cramps, so it is important to prevent dog bites, and if bitten by a dog, go to the hospital for treatment immediately; livestock with rabies should be killed immediately; calcium deficiency can cause cramps, so children should supplement calcium (eat more calcium-containing foods, take calcium gluconate, calcium tablets, etc. when necessary), and at the same time get more sun exposure and take cod liver oil, etc.

Ankle rotation

Sit up instead of lying down, straighten the cramped leg, hold the front of your foot tightly with your hand, endure the severe pain, and rotate the ankle joint of the cramped leg outward. The severe pain will stop immediately. The movements should be continuous when rotating, and you should complete one circle in one breath without pausing in between. When rotating, if it is the left leg, swing it counterclockwise; if it is the right leg, swing it clockwise: If someone helps, because the treatment is face to face, the treatment direction is exactly opposite, and the rotation direction of the foot joint remains unchanged. The key is to pull the foot outward, then fold it toward the thigh and rotate it a circle. Use force when rotating, and lift the sole of the foot as far as possible.

If you get cramps while swimming, using the above method to relieve pain will be somewhat difficult in terms of operation. Therefore, the method to treat cramps while swimming is still to use your hands to pull the big toe towards the body. When pulling your big toe, straighten your thigh as far forward as possible while pushing your heel forward.

Do enough warm-up exercises

To prevent gastrocnemius cramps, do adequate warm-up exercises before strenuous exercise or swimming. When cramps occur, press the gastrocnemius nerve root. On both sides of the popliteal fossa on the inner side of the knee joint (or below the knee fossa), there is a place which is the attachment point of the gastrocnemius head, and the nerve root trunk leading to the gastrocnemius muscle is here. When your calf cramps, use your thumb to feel for the main root of the hard and protruding muscles on both sides of the fossa, and then press this area forcefully. The director's excited nerves will calm down, the cramps will stop, and the severe pain will disappear. The above two methods are very effective.

Be mindful of your diet

The diet should include fresh foods that are high in calcium and beneficial to nutritional balance, such as milk. Drinking a glass of milk before going to bed has obvious therapeutic effects. Eating soy products or kelp can also supplement calcium. Add appropriate amounts of bone calcium powder, calcium bicarbonate, etc. to food. At the same time, pay attention to eating more foods containing vitamin D, because vitamin D is the carrier of calcium ions absorbed by the human body, and supplementing vitamin D can assist in the absorption of calcium. Calf cramps are usually caused by osteoporosis due to calcium loss. There are many reasons for calcium loss, and weight loss is the number one culprit. Many women avoid all fat-related foods during their weight loss process. Little do people know that while losing fat, they also weaken their bones. In addition, smoking, drinking, and drinking strong tea or coffee can cause calcium loss. When it comes to calcium supplementation, don't be superstitious about drugs. Exercise is more effective in supplementing calcium than drugs. The most effective exercise method to supplement calcium is aerobic exercise combined with strength training. In addition, increasing the intake of dairy products in the diet can also easily supplement calcium. You can also supplement some vitamin E if necessary.

However, leg cramps are not necessarily caused by calcium deficiency. Leg cramps in middle-aged and elderly people may be caused by lower limb arteriosclerosis and occlusive disease.

Play sports

We should strengthen physical exercise and do sufficient warm-up exercises before exercising to make the body move. This will help the blood circulation in the lower limbs to be smooth, and you can avoid leg cramps when participating in various intense sports or competitions.