Leg cramps can occur suddenly – often during exercise or at night. One cause may be magnesium deficiency – but that is not the only cause. Learn more.
Leg cramps occur when some or all of the muscles in the lower leg contract abruptly, painfully and without our intentional involvement. The affected areas harden noticeably. After a few seconds to minutes, the cramp ends. However, painful after-cramps can often still be felt.
You are abruptly awoken from your pleasant slumbers: Your lower leg is painful and noticeably hardened. The reason why we are attacked by leg cramps at night has not yet been conclusively clarified. Researchers suspect that a drop in magnesium levels could be behind the phenomenon, which below a certain “low level” tends to favour muscle cramps. Also the cooling of the lower leg during sleep (e.g. if it protrudes from the duvet) as well as an attempt of the muscle to reduce permanent stress are discussed in this context.
Leg cramps are also not unknown to athletes. Like a car driving in the fast lane, athletes are also subject to "excess consumption" when it comes to micronutrients. If the supply falls by the wayside at full gas, the muscles tense up in the face of the supply bottlenecks.
A fluid and electrolyte imbalance is just as serious as muscular strain. Sweating during training and heavy physical work can cause the body to lose up to one litre of fluid per hour. At the same time, plenty of electrolytes – minerals dissolved in bodily fluids such as potassium, calcium or magnesium – are also lost through the sweat. These losses can ultimately end in impaired muscle function and uncontrollable muscle spasms.
Occasional leg cramps are no cause for concern. Although the cramps are extremely unpleasant, they are usually harmless. Only in a few cases are they symptomatic of a more serious disease. Doctors divide leg cramps into three categories, depending on the cause:
Paraphysiological calf cramps occur occasionally – e.g. during pregnancy or after physical exertion or running – and are usually based on an imbalance in the electrolyte and water balance.
Idiopathic cramps occur without recognisable causes. Even nocturnal leg cramps often fall into this category.
These cramps can occur in the course of certain diseases – often in the area of the muscles, nerves, hormones or metabolism. Convulsions triggered by medications or poisoning also fall into this section.
If you are suddenly laid low by a calf cramp, you have to find a cause. It doesn’t take long before you hit on magnesium. This is not surprising, since our grandmothers were already clued up on the typical magnesium deficiency symptom of "calf cramps".
In fact, from a scientific point of view, this connection is not so far-fetched, after all, magnesium ensures that our muscles relax after tension and the excitability of the nerve cells is down-regulated. However, if the mineral is missing, its counterpart calcium gains dominance and the tendency for leg muscle cramps increases.
Athletes, people under stress, pregnant women and breastfeeding women should pay particular attention to their magnesium balance. People who regularly consume alcohol, take certain medications (e.g. stomach acid blockers), eat an unbalanced diet or suffer from certain intestinal diseases are also more likely to suffer from a magnesium deficiency.
It is generally well known that a magnesium deficiency can lead to leg cramps. The fact that other electrolyte disorders, severe water loss as well as illnesses and medications can also increase the tendency to cramps is less well known.
If our body lacks water, our electrolyte balance can also be out of balance. As a result, our nerves can send uncontrolled impulses, which in turn can lead to muscle cramps.
Dehydration may occur, for example, in the course of gastrointestinal infections, severe sweating, inflammatory bowel diseases or diabetes insipidus. Medications such as diuretics can also dry out our body.
Not only magnesium deficiency, but also other mineral deficiencies, such as potassium, sodium or calcium, can lead to an impaired function of the muscle fibres. These deficits can be attributed to different causes. In addition to malnutrition, certain diseases (e.g. diarrhoea, intestinal and kidney diseases) and medications can also be affect our electrolyte supply.
Mineral deficiencies can be a breeding ground for leg cramps. Those who know their mineral balance can react to supply bottlenecks and preempt any muscle cramps.
The Basic micronutrient test, which can be carried out in the Biogena PLAZA, not only illuminates your mineral levels using modern whole blood diagnostics, it also investigates the state of many of your other micronutrients. This also makes this premium check a top-class addition to your annual health care.
If you are training hard and beyond your limits, the upshot can be muscle cramps. The same applies to people who decide to reach for their trainers after a long hiatus. Severe sweating results in the loss of important electrolytes. As a result, the muscles may be under-supplied and their proper function may be impaired.
That is why you are always well advised to prevent muscle overload by adapting your sports training to your own performance and starting slowly, especially after longer breaks.
Thank goodness that painful leg cramps are rarely associated with illnesses. However, a number of internal diseases can lead to disorders in the metabolic, electrolyte, water or hormone balance and cause muscle cramps (e.g. diabetes mellitus, kidney diseases, hypothyroidism). Leg deformities, arthrosis, circulatory disorders and neurological diseases can also trigger leg cramps.
Leg cramps can also be caused by prescription drugs. Cramp-inducing side effects are primarily attributed to the following medications:
Acute leg cramps can overpower even the fittest. In order to fight an acute seizure, immediate action is required. How to stop leg cramps immediately:
During cramps of the calves and the rear thigh muscles, pulling the toes towards the shins while simultaneously stepping off the heels has proven effective. If, on the other hand, the front thigh muscles are cramping, pull the affected leg towards your bottom whilst holding the foot.
In addition to stretching, gentle massaging of the affected muscle areas can also have a pain-relieving effect – the spasms are relaxed and the muscles are better supplied with blood.
Grandma’s box of tricks also contains other tried-and-tested home remedies for muscle cramps. These gentle methods include:
In 2010, a US research team came up with a somewhat unusual recommendation for leg cramps. According to the researchers, the liquid in which pickles are stored reduces the time of the seizures in sports-associated muscle cramps by almost half (after 85 seconds on average). The study authors defined one millilitre of cucumber water per kilogram of body weight as the ideal dosage.
Experts believe the acid taste is responsible for this extraordinary effect, which may reduce the activity of certain nerve cells (alpha-motoneurons) and thus have an antispasmodic effect (Miller K.C. et al. 2010).
In order not to be the victim of calf cramps at all, certain measures can be taken to prevent the following:
Occasional leg cramps are generally harmless. However, if these muscle cramps occur more frequently, become persistent cal cramps and cannot be dealt with through simple measures and if unusual areas of the body are affected, then a doctor should be consulted. Also unusual concomitant symptoms such as tingling, numbness, paralysis and movement restrictions should be brought to the attention of a physician.
You don’t need to suffer painful leg cramps in silence! There are simple ways of dealing with them. A laboratory diagnostic blood analysis can offer perfect protective help, by detecting potential disorders in the mineral balance and, if necessary, provide assistance in the restoration of the electrolyte balance.
