Calf cramps when sleeping at night

Many people experience intermittent cramps in their calves while sleeping at night. This type of cramp is a spasm that can affect a person's sleep quality and even wake them up from their dreams. When this happens, people usually feel extreme pain. At this time, if you have learned some relevant treatment measures, you can actually relieve the pain caused by this cramp to a great extent.

Calf muscle cramps:

The scientific name for cramps is muscle spasm, which is a spontaneous tonic contraction of muscles. Generally speaking, an attack can last for several seconds or tens of seconds. Muscle cramps most commonly occur in the calves and toes and can be extremely painful, especially in the middle of the night. Calf cramps in the middle of the night often wake people up in pain, and the pain cannot be relieved for a long time, affecting sleep. The simplest way is to lift your big toe upwards and stretch your legs straight when an attack occurs.

Causes

Nocturnal calf cramps are associated with

(1) Fatigue: Fatigue is caused by excessive leg exercise or excessive force during the day. The muscle tension at night is not improved, and excessive metabolic products cannot be metabolized in time. Its stimulation can cause calf cramps.

(2) Cold: When sleeping at night, cold feet and legs can cause leg muscle cramps.

(3) Hypocalcemia: When hypocalcemia occurs in the body, the excitation threshold of the neuromuscular junction is lowered, and the neuromuscular junction can be excited even at a stimulation intensity lower than normal, which can easily cause abnormal contraction and cause calf cramps. This condition is more common in pregnant women and the elderly who are calcium deficient.

(4) Blood flow factors: For patients with varicose veins or deep vein thrombosis in the legs, if they maintain a certain posture for a long time while sleeping, the leg veins will be compressed and blood flow will be blocked, causing blood stasis. When the blood stasis reaches a certain level, it will cause leg muscle spasms.

Identify the condition

1. Calf cramps: Calf cramps, which people in the north usually call calf cramps. Because the contraction or relaxation of leg muscles during activity will cause the blood vessels to be squeezed, the blood circulation in the legs will be accelerated, so that metabolic products can be carried away in time. However, due to various factors, metabolic products may accumulate. When they reach a certain level, they will strongly stimulate the muscles to contract, thereby causing calf cramps.

2. Calf muscle cramps after walking: Calf muscle cramps after walking are a common condition. It is mostly caused by walking or running for too long and excessive fatigue of the lower limb muscles.

When sleeping, discomfort or pain in the calves affects normal sleep. While the cramps persist, the pain can be very uncomfortable. Cramps usually go away on their own within a few minutes, but in severe cases they can cause persistent pain.