Cramps are sudden contractions, briefly, the pain on the muscle or muscle group.
Cause
- Cramping is a frequent among healthy people, especially during or after hard exercise. Middle-aged parents and usually experience mild cramping after exercise or during rest. Some people experience leg cramps during sleep. These painful cramps usually affect the calf muscles and feet, causing foot and toes curled inward.
- Cramps may be caused by insufficient blood flow to the muscles. For example, they can occur after eating, when blood flow to the digestive tract, especially compared to that to the muscles. Low electrolyte levels in the blood, such as potassium, can also cause cramps. Low potassium levels can result from the use of some diuretics or from dehydration.
- Not known exactly how the cramps can arise. Some say because the accumulation of lactic acid, there is mention poor blood supply compared with demand as a starter, some are blaming fluid and electrolyte imbalance.
Prevention
In order not affected by muscle cramps, or at least not attacked for the umpteenth time, you should do:
- adequate heating prior to exercise or certain activities involving the muscle. Then do not forget cooling down afterwards.
- Drink more fluids, especially those containing electrolytes, while exercising.
- mild-intensity exercises first, then gradually more severe.
- if you have to sit a long time (using the pelvic muscles) or write long (using a finger muscle), after a long interspersed should cooling down and stretching.
Treatment
even though muscle cramps to go away, but the following actions need to be done to relieve symptoms:
- stretched muscle cramps.
- Massage on muscle cramps.
- Warm water compresses.
- Drink lots of fluids to replace fluids and electrolytes lost.
Most drugs prescribed to relieve cramps (including quinine sulfate, magnesium carbonate, and benzodiazepines such as diazepam) are not proven effective and can cause side effects. Calcium supplements are appropriate at all, but they are also not proven effective. Mexiletine sometimes help but have a lot of side effects.