Why do toes cramp?

Cramps are a common phenomenon that people experience in normal times, but the manifestations are different. Most of them manifest as leg cramps, but there are also some facial cramps caused by facial paralysis, which is relatively rare. However, some patients will experience toe cramps, which usually occur at night. During the attack, patients are often awakened by pain, and may not get better for a long time. If this happens frequently, it will greatly affect the patient's sleep quality and may even cause insomnia. If this is the case, it is necessary to find the cause of the disease and treat it accordingly.

The scientific name for cramps is muscle spasm, which is a spontaneous tonic contraction of muscles. Muscle cramps most commonly occur in the calves and toes. The pain is unbearable when they occur, especially in the middle of the night when cramps often wake people up in pain. The pain cannot be relieved for a long time and it affects sleep.

The most common causes of leg cramps are:

① Cold stimulation from the external environment, such as low room temperature at night in winter, using a quilt that is too thin during sleep, or exposing legs and feet outside the quilt.

② Fatigue, lack of sleep, rest or excessive rest can lead to the accumulation of local acidic metabolic products, which can cause muscle spasms. Walking or exercising for too long, which causes excessive fatigue in the lower limbs, or lack of rest and sleep, can cause lactic acid accumulation. Sleeping and resting too much or too long can slow down blood circulation and cause carbon dioxide accumulation.

③ Decreased estrogen levels and osteoporosis in elderly women can cause low blood calcium levels, increased muscle irritability, and frequent cramps.

④ Bad sleeping posture, such as 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 against the bed, forcing certain calf muscles to be in an absolutely relaxed state for a long time, causing "passive contracture" of the muscles.

Taking the following different countermeasures according to different causes can quickly relieve spasms and relieve pain. When cramps occur, just do the opposite, that is, bend your toes in the direction opposite to the force and persist for more than 1 to 2 minutes, and the effect will be achieved. Specifically, if the muscles in the back of the calf cramp, you can bend your foot so that the sole of your foot is lifted up, and at the same time try to straighten your knee joint; when the muscles in the front of the calf cramp, you can press down on the sole of your foot and bend your toes forcefully.