How to treat calf muscle cramps

For people who exercise regularly, it is common to get injured or suffer muscle spasms during exercise. Muscle cramp is a more formal term. In fact, it is what people often call cramps. Most of them are caused by not warming up properly before exercise and engaging in strenuous exercise without moving the body. After a muscle spasm, don't panic and stay calm to avoid secondary injury.

1. Pulling

Sit down, straighten the cramped lower limb, bend the trunk forward, hold the front of the foot with both hands, and slowly and continuously pull it toward the side of the trunk until the cramp is relieved. When helped by others, the patient lies on his back, lifts the affected limb to a vertical position, straightens the knee joint, and uses his hands to continuously press down on the forefoot of the patient. Do not use force when stretching to avoid muscle damage.

2. Acupoint stimulation

You can use your fingers to press the Weizhong point (the center point of the depression behind the knee), Chengjin point (the highest point of the posterior calf muscle), Chengshan point (the bifurcation of the posterior calf muscle), etc.

3. Local massage

Rubbing your calves quickly with both hands, or massaging or tapping your calf muscles with your hands, can help relieve muscle spasms.

4. Hot compress

If the above methods fail to completely relieve the symptoms, you can instead use a hot towel or hot water bottle to apply to the calf, which can effectively promote blood circulation in the muscles and relieve spasms.

5. Diet

To prevent calf cramps, you should eat more calcium-containing foods and try to avoid high-sugar and caffeinated foods in your diet, because high sugar and caffeine affect calcium absorption.