In orthopedic clinics, patients often complain that they wake up in the middle of the night or in the early morning. The reason is that the calf muscles are involuntarily sputum, commonly known as cramps. The muscle spasm usually lasts for a few seconds to several minutes, making the muscles stiff and causing ischemia and hypoxia. Causes severe pain. Even if you stretch your muscles to relieve symptoms, you will often cramp again immediately, seriously affecting sleep and quality of life.
In addition to the calf muscles, it sometimes affects the muscles of the feet. Usually, the patients are all elderly adults, and any age may occur. Among the adults over 50, two out of every three have had nighttime leg cramps, and the elderly and pregnant women are more common; About half of the patients will come to see a doctor within one month after the attack, which is very troublesome.
The risk factors and countermeasures that cause cramps in the middle of the night are briefly described as follows:
1. Temperature: low body temperature is prone to muscle spasm; during nighttime sleep, sometimes the legs or feet are exposed, and the legs and feet are not particularly warmed, so that the local temperature is lowered and muscle spasm is easily caused.
Countermeasure: Before going to bed, you can do warm water bath in the feet and legs, improve blood circulation, and then put on the scorpion to go to bed, pay attention to local warmth, especially when the weather is cold and the air is very strong, it can effectively reduce muscle spasm. If you are blowing cold air or electric fans in the summer, do not directly face the body or the legs and ankles. This method is usually the most effective and straightforward.
2. Muscle overwork: When muscles are tired, lactic acid metabolites are accumulated, making the muscles easy to lick, even if the muscles contract slightly, it may lead to continuous and strong cramps. This situation often causes muscle spasms during the day.
Countermeasures: Usually pay attention to the amount of muscle activity, strengthen physical exercise and muscle strength exercise, enhance muscle strength, should warm up before and after exercise, and do and slow down, reduce muscle overwork.
3. Electrolyte imbalance: The body loses too much salt due to sweating, causing electrolyte imbalance, or low blood calcium, which tends to cause muscle cramps. This is the most frequently questioned item for patients in general, and they are often It is required to check electrolytes, but this situation is more common in labor, long-term use of chronic diseases, pregnant women, and elderly people with unbalanced nutrition. Most people are less likely to occur, and there is less sweating in the middle of the night.
Countermeasures: Pay attention to the supplement of electrolytes and water during the daytime exercise, and pay attention to supplement calcium, vitamin D3 and magnesium, etc., to reduce the risk. In this case, muscle spasm is often caused during the day, but most people are less likely to suffer from calcium deficiency.
4. Flow circulatory disorder: When the peripheral arterial or venous blood circulation is poor, the muscles will be hypoxic, which is prone to cramps; the limbs are inactive for a long time after falling asleep, or the limbs are flexed for too long, hindering circulation and aggravating muscle hypoxia. Will increase the risk of cramping.
Countermeasures: Pay attention to health care to improve circulation on weekdays; pay attention to diet, reduce the risk of arteriosclerosis, and patients with leg varices should seek medical advice promptly and pay attention to the posture during sleep.
5. Secondary diseases: such as muscle disease, neurological disease, hemodialysis, specific drugs (such as diuretics, etc.).
Countermeasure: Consult a physician for appropriate diagnosis and treatment for various potential diseases.
When muscle spasm occurs, you can use muscle stretching exercise, press the cramping part, and stretch the calf muscles as much as possible to ease the symptoms. However, you should pay attention to massage the muscles, improve muscle tension, keep warm, improve blood circulation, and reduce the occurrence of midnight. The risk of leg cramps.
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