Muscle cramps put a damper on any post-workout glow or the runner’s high. Painful muscle tightening and involuntary muscle contractions can happen suddenly, and we find ourselves looking for some relief. Not all cramps emerge after a workout. Recently, I was sitting on my one leg on the couch for a while, and when I got up, I had serious muscle cramps in my ankle and lower leg. In this case, I just waited it out and massaged my ankle and calf until it started to feel better, but other times, cramps can be more painful and linger longer.
The most common are muscle cramps in the legs and feet. Let’s look at the best ways to stop muscle cramps fast so you can get relief as soon as possible.
What are muscle cramps?
Muscle cramps or spasms happen when your muscles involuntarily contract and can’t relax. These tense, contracted muscles can tighten into a knot, and the muscles can hurt or feel sore for hours, even after the cramp goes away. Sometimes, the motor nerves of your peripheral nervous system misfire and trigger abnormal muscle contractions. When a cramp is happening, the affected muscle fires at a much higher rate compared to when you’re consciously moving a muscle on your own.
Muscle cramps are common and they typically don’t last more than several minutes. Whether it’s a leg cramp when you’ve been walking around a lot or a charley horse at night when you’re trying to get comfortable, in most cases, they’re nothing to be concerned about. Muscle cramps range from mild to severe and can occur in several muscle groups or one single muscle, pretty much anywhere in your body. You might even see your muscles twitching.
What are the most common types of muscle cramps?
Some of the most common types are:
- Back spasms
- Arm spasms
- Charley horses and leg cramps
- Abdomen cramps
- Ribcage cramps
- Neck spasms
They can happen when you’re walking, sitting, sleeping, or exercising. Some people tend to get them more than others when they exercise.
Who’s more likely to get muscle cramps?
Muscle cramps can happen to anyone, but they’re more commonly seen in:
- Athletes
- Infants
- Pregnant women
- People who have obesity
- People over age 65
Nighttime muscle cramps
Most cramps occur during or after exercise, when your muscles are relaxed at night, or when you’ve been resting for a while. In my case, I had a pretty uncomfortable muscle cramp after sandwiching my leg between my butt and the couch for a while.
Nocturnal cramps are those that happen at night, and they seem to become more common with aging. According to the Cleveland Clinic, 33% of people over 60 will experience a leg cramp at least once every two months, and around three out of four reported leg cramps occur at night. Tendons also naturally shorten with aging.
What causes muscle cramps?
Putting extra weight on the muscles with weight gain or pregnancy increases the risk of muscle cramps. An electrolyte imbalance or dehydration could cause cramps that seem to come along with exercise or because your muscles are out of shape. Medications like diuretics, statins, and some anti-inflammatories can also heighten your risk of muscle cramps. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy can result in nerve damage that leads to leg cramps.
The most common causes of muscle cramps include:
- Not enough stretching
- Exercising in severe heat, which might also be called heat cramps
- Overexercising or overusing your muscles, resulting in a buildup of lactic acid and muscle fatigue.
- Exercising without warming up properly
- Dehydration
- Electrolyte imbalance and a lack of minerals like magnesium, calcium, and potassium
- Sitting for too long or sitting improperly, like my smushed ankle
- Working or standing on concrete floors for a long time
- Stress
- Part of your leg isn’t getting enough blood
- Being in cold temperatures constricts your blood vessels
Healthcare providers like Dr. Matthew Harb, M.D., recognize the impact of stress and dehydration when it comes to causing muscle cramps. Other knowledgeable health experts and doctors, like Dr. Berg, are sharing the importance of minerals like magnesium and calcium to treat cramping in the legs and feet.
Underlying medical conditions
In some cases, muscle cramps can be a sign of an underlying condition, such as a hormonal disorder, peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, kidney failure, or a neurological condition affecting your brain, such as Parkinson’s disease. If you have chronic muscle cramps that come along with symptoms like weakness, poor coordination, numbness, vision issues, and pain, it’s best to visit your healthcare provider to rule out any underlying neurological conditions, such as dystonia. Dystonia occurs due to faulty signaling from the brain, and most cases of dystonia are treatable.
Reduced blood flow to the legs might play a role, such as a narrowing of the arteries to the legs due to atherosclerosis. Spine problems that compress nerves in the back are another possible medical cause.
When should you see a healthcare provider about muscle cramps?
You should see your healthcare provider if:
- Your muscle spasms are significantly painful
- You have swelling or numbness in the muscle
- You have skin changes
- Your cramps are keeping you up at night and negatively impacting your sleep quality
- You suspect an underlying condition
- You have other symptoms
Your healthcare provider can conduct testing and discuss treatment methods.
How to stop muscle cramps
To stop a muscle cramp quickly, you can gently stretch it to your tolerance in the opposing direction of the cramp to help relax the muscle. If it’s a leg cramp, try gently stretching and straightening your leg and flexing it by pulling your toes toward your shin. You can loop a band or blanket around your toes instead, if you can’t reach your toes. Another way to stretch your leg is by pulling your foot up behind you toward your butt.
Here are some other methods to try:
- Apply heat or ice.
- Massage the area with your hands or a roller.
- If it’s a leg cramp, stand and put weight on the cramping leg.
- Drink fluids and try to stay hydrated to help with dehydration cramps.
- Wiggle your leg.
- Elevate your leg.
- Do yoga moves, such as child’s pose, to diminish back muscle cramps.
- Take a warm, soothing Epsom salt bath — Epsom salt baths are rich in magnesium, which absorbs through your skin and helps relax muscles
If you have muscle soreness after the cramp subsides, you might decide to take an Epsom salt bath or take an over-the-counter pain reliever like acetaminophen.
Your healthcare provider can show you helpful, specific stretches. In some cases, if the cramps are getting in the way of your sleep or they’re occurring more severely or frequently, a healthcare provider might recommend medications like muscle relaxers as a short-term solution.
What about potassium and other minerals?
There isn’t enough scientific evidence specifically on muscle cramps and potassium, but plenty of people claim that eating a potassium-rich food or taking a potassium-rich supplement or electrolyte powder is helpful for muscle cramps. I find eating a banana, stretching, massaging, drinking coconut water, and taking an Epsom salt bath to be effective for soothing most of my muscle cramps.
Research shows coconut water has significantly more potassium than most sports drinks; you could call it a potassium powerhouse. You can try eating a banana or avocado, drinking the popular pickle juice, or mixing an electrolyte powder containing potassium into your drink to see if it works for you. These are healthy foods, and there are proven benefits of taking electrolytes, though, personally, I only like pickles in small doses, so I’ll probably skip the pickle juice.
Potassium is an essential mineral your body can’t produce, so you must get it from your diet. It has several important functions in your body, including helping muscles contract, regulating fluid and mineral balance, and helping to maintain normal blood pressure. Calcium and magnesium supplements and vitamin B complex might also be helpful.
How to prevent muscle cramps
To prevent muscle cramps from happening, try the following tips:
- Make sure you stretch and warm up your muscles before exercise.
- Perform static stretches before bed.
- Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated.
- Drink electrolyte drinks and consume a healthier, mineral-rich diet if you’re low in electrolytes.
- Exercise and stretch regularly to help keep your muscles stronger and more flexible.
- Avoid overexercising and always use proper form.
- Avoid carb crashes by not consuming too many processed carbs and sugary food and drinks that spike your blood sugar. What goes up must come down, and sometimes, those carb crashes come along with muscle cramps. Consume healthier carbs, protein, and fiber to give you energy for your workouts.
- Avoid exercising in extreme temperatures, especially severe heat.
- Wear the right athletic shoes and clothes.
- Consult with your healthcare provider and avoid or limit medications that cause muscle spasms as a side effect.
- Maintain a healthy body weight.
The importance of mineral-rich foods
Your diet plays a big role in how your body functions. Consuming mineral-packed foods high in potassium, magnesium, and calcium could reduce those cramps, such as:
- Sweet potatoes
- Bananas
- Beans
- Leafy greens
- Avocado
- Milk
- Oranges
- Nuts and seeds
- Tomatoes
- Liver
FAQs
What is your body lacking when you have leg cramps?
If you have leg cramps, your body could be lacking in important minerals, typically potassium, calcium, and magnesium. It’s worth looking at your diet or considering an electrolyte drink. Some medications for high blood pressure can increase urination, which could lower mineral levels.
Why does pickle juice stop cramps?
It’s not just the potassium, and researchers are still drawing conclusions about why pickle juice can be effective for treating muscle cramps. Some studies reveal pickle juice can help relieve muscle cramps, and researchers theorize this is because the vinegar in the liquid makes contact with the back of the throat and triggers muscular reflexes that shut down the misfiring of neurons in muscles throughout your body. More studies are needed to determine exactly why pickle juice works for so many people.
The natural vinegar and salts need to be present, and pasteurization doesn’t seem to impact the effectiveness. In the studies, researchers used around 1 milliliter per kilogram of body weight, which was around 2 to 3 fluid ounces for the average participant.
What’s the difference between leg cramps and restless legs syndrome?
Restless leg syndrome, or RLS, is different from having leg cramps at night. RLS is a nervous system disorder involving an overpowering urge to move your legs, typically in the evening or nighttime. It’s considered a sleep disorder that usually occurs or worsens when resting. People with RLS have other symptoms, such as a pulling, tugging, throbbing, itching, aching, or burning sensation in the legs. If you have questions or concerns about RLS, it’s best to consult with your healthcare provider.
