How to avoid Muscle Cramps, the most common muscle ache symptoms!

Muscle Cramps can occur even at rest & in sleep!

See a Doctor if Muscle Cramps occur too frequently!

Don’t wait until we feel thirsty to start drinking,

as thirst is a sign that we have already become dehydrated!

Study all about body’s pains in order to manage them properly.

Muscle aches:

Aches affecting one or more muscles, muscle aches are caused by either: excessive exercise, muscle injury, muscle strain, muscle metabolism disorders, and last but not least is caused by an infection [many infections cause muscle aches and pains, like titany].

Various muscle ache symptoms:

muscle weakness, muscle fatique, muscle pain, muscle cramps, muscle aches, muscle atrophy, muscle stiffness, loss of muscle control, or many other types.

Muscle cramp:

image from thorntonross.com & fitsugar.com for illustration only.

Many muscles are attached to more than two bones by tendons, muscles are arranged opposite each other, such as the muscles in the shin of our leg allow us to bend our ankle upward, while the calf muscle allows us to bend our ankle downward, muscle cramps can happen while you play tennis or golf, bowl, swim or do any exercise, it can also happen while you sit, walk or even just sleep, sometimes the slightest movement that shortens a muscle can trigger a cramp, some people are pre-disposed to muscle cramps and get them regularly with any physical exertion, those at greatest risk for cramps include infants and young children, people over the age of 50, and those who are ill, overweight, overexert during work or exercise, or take drugs or certain medications.

What is spasm:

when we use the muscle that can voluntarily be controlled, such our arms and our legs, they contract and relax as we move our limbs, a muscle that in-voluntarily contracts is called spasm, if the spasm is forceful and sustained, it become a cramp, cramp is a sudden contraction of the muscles which is accompanied by a knotting pain, usually occurs in the calf muscles, which become hard and tense, painful cramp is out of control muscle contraction, locking the muscle in a very painful spasm, which can often last for several minutes, or a lot longer, so that a muscle cramp is defined as an in-voluntarily and forcibly contracted muscle that does not relax, the cramp may involve a part of a muscle or the entire muscle, or several muscles that act together, such as those that flex / bend adjacent finger, sometime cramps involve the simultaneous contraction of many muscles that ordinarily move body parts in opposite directions, cramps are common in adult and become increasingly frequent with aging, particularly common in people over 50, any muscle that are under our voluntarily control can cramp.

Muscle cramps are common in athletics, excessive sweating is associated with cramps, most endurance athletes like marathon runners, swimmers, soccer players and cricketers have had a cramp at some time in their career, a muscle cramp is basically a skeletal muscle in spasm and refusing to relax, the muscles of the calf, and the back and front of the thigh are the most commonly affected, muscles of the hand, forearm, back, neck and abdomen can also be affected, overuse of muscles causes the local build up of waste products [lactic acid], depletion of oxygen and the loss of energy substrates, these conditions are ripe for a spasm to take place, and once that begins, the nerves keep stimulating the muscles to contract, exercising in hot weather, excessive sweat loss, dehydration, participation in endurance athletics can cause cramps, an athlete coming off a period of inactivity is more likely to experience spasms, some cramps are not related to exercise at all but may be the symptom of an underlying disease.

Rest cramps / night cramps / nocturnal cramps: cramp that occur at rest during the night after turning or stretching during sleep, rest cramps / night cramps / nocturnal cramps can be very disruptive of sleep and otherwise quite disturbing, they sometime re-occur frequently, many time a night, or many night each week, rest cramps are very painful, the actual cause of night cramps are unknown, sometime to be initiated by making a movement that shortens the muscle, which then cramps, like pointing the toe down while lying in bed, which shortens the calf muscle.

The mechanism of Muscle Cramp:

Inside every muscle are hundreds of muscle fibres and each of these contain muscle filaments, these slide past each other when the muscle is relaxed, when the muscle needs to generate force, in order to walk, run or kick, the filaments lock together and the muscle contracts, a signal is given to the muscle and it is washed with a Sodium salt solution, the filaments then need to unlock and relax before contracting again, in this case the filaments are washed with a calcium solution, relaxing the fibres as you propel forwards, muscle fibres are therefore in a continuous cycle of contraction and relaxation.

Causes of Muscle Cramps:

Why cramps occur are still mystery, although they are obvious that fatigued muscles are more likely to cramp, cramp can occur even in sleep, cramp can be caused by any one of a number of factors such as:

1. Poor blood circulation to the legs: which results in inadequate oxygen to the muscle tissue, can cause severe pain, this commonly occurs in the calf muscles, the front and back of the thigh muscles.
2. Tiredness / inadequate stretching and muscle fatigue: muscles are bundles of fibres that contract and expand to produce movement, a regular program of stretching lengthens muscle fibres so they can contract and tighten more vigorously when we exercise, when our body is poorly conditioned, less of warming up, we are more likely to experience muscle fatigue, which when coupled with over-exertion depletes a muscle’s oxygen supply, leading to build up of waste product [lactic acid] and spasms, this can then lead to cramps as the muscle fibres cease to contract and expand effectively.
3. Contractures: contractures result when the muscle are unable to relax, the constant spasms are cause by a depletion of ATP / adenosine triphosphate[*], an energy chemical within the cells, this will prevent the muscle fiber relaxation, the nerves are inactive in this form of muscle spasm.
4. Certain medicines: chronic volume depletion of body fluid from Diurectis that promote urination together with poorly fluid intake may cause cramps.
5. Sodium depletion: loss of sodium, the most abundant chemical constituent of body fluids outside the cell, is usually a function of dehydration, and causes cramps, electrolyte disturbance may cause cramp and tetany of muscles [tetanic cramp], particularly hypokalaemia [a low level of potassium] and hypocalcaemia/ hypocalcemia [a low level of calcium], this disturbance arises as the body loses large amounts of fluid through sweat, this fluid is composed mostly of water and table salt [NaCl], the loss of osmotically active particles outside muscle cells leads to a disturbance of the osmotic balance and swelling of muscle cells as these contain more osmotically active particles, this causes the calcium pump between the muscle lumen and sarcoplasmic reticulum to short circuit and the calcium ions remain bound to the troponin and the muscle contraction is continued, this may occur when the lactic acid is high in the cells.
6. Low Blood Potassium: low potassium level occasionally cause muscle cramps, low potassium is associated with muscle weakness.
7. Low Blood Calcium [hypocalcaemia / hypocalcemia], Magnesium: low blood levels of calcium or magnesium directly increase the excitability of both the nerve endings and the muscle they stimulate, this may cause spontaneous true cramps experienced by many people, includes women during pregnancy, low levels of calcium and magnesium are common in normal pregnancy, unless these minerals are supplemented to the diet, diuretic can also decrease calcium and magnesium levels in body fluid, so does with vomiting, vitamin deficiency can cause inadequate calcium absorption, poor function of the parathyroid gland can decrease the calcium level in body fluid, low calcium and magnesium increases the activity of nerve tissue non specifically causes tetanic cramps, low blood calcium causes not only spasm of the muscle of the hands and wrists, but also a sensation of numbness and tingling around the mouth and other areas.

Hypocalcaemia/ hypocalcemia [low blood calcium level] is an electrolyte imbalance and is indicated by a low level of calcium in the blood, the normal adult value for calcium is 4.5 5.5 mEq/L, calcium is important for healthy bones and teeth, as well as for normal muscle and nerve function, normal blood calcium levels are maintained through the actions of parathyroid hormone (PTH), your kidneys and intestines.

8. Dehydration: sport and either vigorous activities / exercise can cause excessive fluid loss from perspiration, a chemical imbalance in the muscle occurred, makes it suddenly contract, this kind of hydration causes cramps, these cramps are more likely in warm weather and can be early sign of heat stroke, the calf muscles are the most frequently affected during or after exercise, don’t wait until you feel thirsty to start drinking, as thirst is a sign that you have already become dehydrated, drinking plenty of water before, during and after exercise will help prevent cramp.
9. Body fluid shifts: unusual distribution of body fluid, such as cirrhosis of the liver, with fluid in the abdomen cavity, artificial kidney treatment such as hemodialysis makes a relatively frequent complication of the rapid body fluid changes can also cause cramps.
10. Vitamin deficiencies can cause muscle cramps:
    Several vitamin deficiency states may directly or indirectly lead to muscle cramps, these include deficiencies of thiamine [Vitamin B1], pantothenic acid [Vitamin B5], and pyridoxine [Vitamin B6], the role of deficiency of these vitamins in causing cramps are unknown.
11. Tetany: in tetany [causes by neuro tetany toxin], all of the nerve cells in the body are activated, they stimulate the muscle, this reaction causes spasms or cramps throughout the body, tetanic cramps can also cause by hyperactivities of other nerve functions in addition to muscle stimulation.

Preventing from Muscle Cramps:

• Avoid exerting in hot weather, wear cotton fabrics, drink water and electrolyte-rich fluids at regular intervals during exercise, stretch before exercise, stretch after a workout as well, most cramps tend to occur towards the end of a workout.

• Stretch your calf muscles, stand about two feet away from a wall, keeping your heels flat and your legs straight, lean towards the wall as you support yourself with your hands, hold for 10 to 15 seconds and repeat ten times.
• Massage your calves by rubbing from the ankle upwards, five minutes on each leg, massage can use over-the-counter massage creams, muscular creams, warming up balms, liniment oils and the like, that will help to improve the blood flow and feel comfortable warm enough.
• Use an electric blanket on cold winter nights. This can keep the calf muscles warm and pain free.
• Sleep on your side with knees bent and a pillow between them.
• Take regular exercise, walking, swimming and cycling are excellent.
• Yoga is also a good way of learning to relax and stretch your muscles.

Optional actions to cure Muscle Cramps:

1. Warming up and gently stretching your muscles before exercise helps to avoid cramp, it is also a good idea to warm down after completing any exercise programmed by doing five to ten minutes of stretching exercises.

1. Streching exercise: hold each stretch briefly for a few seconds, then release, never stretch to the point of pain.

• Hamstring Muscle Stretch: sit with one leg folded in and the other leg straight out, foot upright with toes and ankles relaxed, lean forward slightly and touch your foot of your straightened leg, repeat with your opposite leg.
• Calf Muscle Stretch: start with a standing lunge with both your feet pointed forward, then straighten your rear leg out behind you, repeat with your opposite leg.
• Quadriceps Muscle Stretch: while standing, hold the top of your foot with your opposite hand and gently pull your heel towards your buttocks, repeat with your opposite leg.

2. Medication: take Calcium gluconate to help correct any calcium deficiency, Cholecalciferol, a form of Vitamin D, also called Vitamin D3 or Calciol [**] to aid calcium absorption and Nicotinic acid to improve poor peripheral circulation.
   
3. Stop the activity that caused the cramp: holding the cramped muscle in a stretched position will stop the spasm soon, if the muscle feels sore and tender, apply an ice pack, if it feels tense and tight, a warm heated soft cloth put on a sore place on the affected area of the body to soothe pain and reduce swelling,, most cramps are benign, however, if they occur too frequently, see a doctor to search for underlying causes of the condition.
4. Alternatively, when you are having an attack of cramp, rubbing the muscle vigorously, can apply pain reliever creams, liniment oils, muscular balms and the like, that will help to reduce the pains, and stretching it gently will help bring relief, you may also find it useful to place a hot wet towel over the area affected as soon as the cramp has eased, or while it is still easing, repeat this every five minutes, for about four or five times in total, and then gently move the affected muscle, by walking or stretching.

[*] Adenosine-5’-triphosphate (ATP)

Adenosine-5'-triphosphate [ATP] is a multifunctional nucleotide, and plays an important role in cell biology as a coenzyme that is the “molecular unit of currency” of intracellular energy transfer. In this role, ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism. It is produced as an energy source during the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration and consumed by many enzymes and a multitude of cellular processes including biosynthetic reactions, motility and cell division. ATP is made from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or adenosine monophosphate (AMP), and its use in metabolism converts it back into these precursors. ATP is therefore continuously recycled in organisms, with the human body turning over its own weight in ATP each day.

[**] Cholecalciferol / Vitamin D3 / Calciol

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