Natural Beauty Skin Care

Nourish your Skin & Save Money

  • Home
  • Beauty Tips
  • Natural Remedies
  • Life Hacks
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Beauty and Style / Home Remedies for Leg Cramps

Home Remedies for Leg Cramps

08/17/2014 by Calleigh

3 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Leg cramps, usually, aren’t a serious problem, but they do cause a lot of pain. When you have them during the night while in bed, you surely, want to get rid of them.

Also known as a Charley horse, leg cramps are characterized by sudden pain or tightness in the voluntary muscles of the leg.

These muscles are mainly the muscles in the area of the calf, hamstring, or quadriceps, and though the cramp usually only lasts a couple of seconds, it can take several minutes for the muscles to relax. When the muscles relax the pain of the cramp subsides.

home-remedies-1

Causes of Leg Cramps

Leg cramps are caused by muscles in the leg suddenly and forcefully contracting. Researchers believe this sudden forceful contraction is caused by the hyperexcitability of the nerve controlling the muscle.

What causes this hyper excitability is unknown. However, there are some things that are contributing factors to leg cramping, even if they do not directly cause the cramping. These contributing factors include:

  • Dehydration: Substantial loss of body fluid can lead to muscle contractions.
  • Heavy exercising: Heavy activity results in an increased loss of body fluid, thus leading to dehydration and muscle contractions.
  • Muscle fatigue: Strenuous activity fatigues muscles, which increases the chance of leg cramping.
  • Injury: Torn muscles, shin splints, tendinitis, and stress factors may cause cramping as the body attempts to avoid further injury by cramping the muscles around the injury and decreasing the range of motion of the injured body part.
  • Mineral deficiency: Deficiency of calcium, potassium and magnesium can cause over excitability of the nerves of the muscle.
  • Poor blood circulation: Associated with leg cramping, and with night leg cramping in particular.
  • High weight: Heavier individuals are at greater risk of muscle fatigue and poor blood circulation, which may lead to muscle cramping.
  • Medication side effects: Some medications may cause muscle cramping. Side effects of all medication should be discussed with a doctor or pharmacist.
  • Position of Feet: Night cramps, in particular, may be influenced by the position the feet are in during sleep. Toes pointing down cause the calf muscle to shorten, thus resulting in cramping if this position is held for too long.



Home Remedies for Leg Cramps

1. Yellow prepared mustard.

Mustard and pickle juice have acetic acid, which helps produce acetylcholine, a stimulant for your leg muscles. Take a spoonful of mustard or a few ounces of pickle juice to help prevent leg cramps.


2. Apple cider vinegar is rich in potassium.

Mix one teaspoon of honey and two teaspoons (10 ml) of vinegar in a glass of warm water and drink this mixture.


3. Apply pressure.

Press the middle of the cramp with your fist or your thumb until it hurts. Hold the pressure for about fifteen seconds. Usually the cramp will release.


4. Stretching.

Sometimes the easiest way to do this is by walking, if you can, especially if the cramp is in the thigh. If the cramp is in the calf, press the foot upward, either with your hand or by pressing it against the floor.



5. Pinching your upper lip.

Halfway between the top of the lip and the nose is a trigger point. You need to squeeze this area between thumb and forefinger for about thirty seconds. Although gramma never heard of trigger points, she swore that this would relieve the leg cramp at least half the time.


6. Sit in a tub of warm water.

A warm bath will help relax the muscles and relieve the cramping.


7. Prevent leg cramps with bananas and potatoes.

If you have leg cramps often, Grandmother advised to eat bananas and potatoes daily to avoid them. We now know that low potassium levels can cause leg cramps, and bananas and potatoes are high in potassium.

Filed Under: Beauty and Style, Body Care, Bright Ideas, Natural Remedies, Women Interest, Women's Health

« DIY Beauty: Milk Treatment for Dry Skin
9 Benefits of Honey Water You Never Knew »

Related Post

fat cutter drink

Comments

  1. Irene says

    05/05/2015 at 11:52 pm

    Thank you.

  2. Irene says

    05/05/2015 at 11:51 pm

    Thank you for this timely advice. The weather is getting warmer.

  3. wendy mcneil says

    04/12/2015 at 4:55 pm

    just a note that one day as i was laying on the couch the muscle in my ankle formed into a ball….the pain was excruciating and i couldnt walk….just then my 9 year old grandson came over and put a bag of frozen peas and put it on my ankle…relief was immediate within seconds i had no pain and i could walk…i love that grandson of mine

  4. molly says

    01/31/2015 at 5:03 pm

    What do you do when cramp is up front of leg sorry to ask this xx

Search

Recent Post

  • Enjoy Shiny, Strong Hair with a DIY Gelatin Hair Mask
  • Best Detox Colon Cleanse for Weight Loss Using Only 2 Ingredients
  • Homemade DIY Makeup Primer
  • DIY Body Wrap – Lose up to 1 Inch Overnight
  • Getting Perfect Skin with Oil Cleansing: A How-To Guide

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT