About 75 percent of all reported leg cramps occur at night.

Imagine yourself lying on the bed, and your lower leg begins to seize up. The pain is intense enough to make you want to scream. The pain does not let up, and the muscles in your body feel hard and tense. You feel paralyzed when you move your leg. Sound familiar? A study shows that around 60% of adults have experienced leg cramps at night. 

What are leg cramps?

Leg cramps, also known as "Charley Horse," are episodes of sudden, involuntary, shooting pain in your thighs, calf, or foot. Night cramps occur when muscles in the leg tighten involuntarily. The pain sometimes causes spasms or tightens uncontrollably. Although nighttime leg cramps are painful and disrupt your sleep, they are generally harmless, depending on how frequently you experience them and any other health issues associated with them.

What does a leg cramp feel like?

The sensation of a leg cramp is similar to clenching and contracting muscles tightened into knots. It can be severely discomfiting, painful, or even insufferable. Your muscles in the area might hurt for hours or days after the cramp goes away.

How to stop leg cramps at night?

Try stretching the affected muscle vigorously—for instance, flexing your foot upward will stretch your calf muscle. Move your leg around, massage it, or force yourself to walk. Utilizing a heating pad or warm bath may also be beneficial.

Unfortunately, no pills or infusions immediately ease a leg cramp while it's working out. However, some strategies can prevent the cramp from occurring in the first place (see the "Prevention" section for more information).

What causes severe leg cramps at night?

Most of the time, leg cramps at night are caused by muscle fatigue, prolonged sitting, or nerve problems. The risk of getting night cramps increases with age. Pregnant women are more likely to suffer from night cramps and back pain for an apparent reason (baby bump).

Why leg cramps occur at night?

Leg cramps occur at night when you are asleep or not very active. They might wake you up, make it harder for you to go back to sleep, and keep you awake all night with sore muscles. Leg cramps can occur daily, weekly, monthly, or even every night, depending on the individual. Nighttime leg issues can happen to anybody at any stage in life, but they happen most frequently to more established adults. At least once every two months, 33% of people over 60 will experience nighttime leg cramps. They will happen to nearly every adult over 50 at least once.

Furthermore, seven percent of children will. Leg cramps at night will affect approximately 40% of pregnant women. It is believed that the extra weight brought on by pregnancy strains the muscles.

How to stop leg cramps naturally? (Home remedies)

1. Warm sesame oil and massage your legs before sleeping. 

2. Ayurveda Compress for Effective Relief from Pain 

• Dry ginger powder ¼ cup
• Ajwain (Carom Seeds) ¼ cup
• Urad dal atta ½ cup
• Enough water to make a paste.

Apply warm compresses to the affected leg for 15 minutes before wiping with a warm damp cloth.

3. Ancient Ayurveda treatment for leg cramps at night: Pindswed

Instructions for Pindswed

• Mix one cup of ajwain powder and one cup of dry ginger powder. 
• Divide into two equal parts and bind with thick cotton cloths to make two equal-sized pouches.
• Heat one ball on a dry skillet or iron. 
• Apply this heated ball to the painful areas for at least twenty minutes and apply Painmukti Cream afterward.

Of the various kinds of Panchkarma therapy for different health concerns, pindswed improves the flexibility of joints and relieves arthritis, night cramps, swelling, sciatica, and spondylosis.

Takeaway:

About 75 percent of all reported leg cramps occur at night time. Leg cramps are episodes of sudden, involuntary, shooting pain in your thighs, calf, or foot. Most of the time, they are caused by muscle fatigue, prolonged sitting, or nerve problems. Leg cramps occur at night time when you are asleep or not very active. They might wake you up, make it harder for you to go back to sleep, and keep you awake all night. Leg cramps can occur daily, weekly, monthly, or even every night.

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Author of the Blog: DR RONAK NAIK

Expert Review By: Dr Smita Pankaj Naram

Co-Founder, Ayushakti Ayurved Pvt Ltd