Are you familiar with leg cramps that happen at night while you sleep?
They can wake you up and they mostly happen at night. Leg cramps mostly appear in the calf, but they can also appear in the feet and in the thighs.
The muscular pain usually lasts from several seconds to several minutes. Once the pain has gone away the pain can stay for the rest of the night, or even during the whole next day. Leg cramps are typical both for men and women, but are more frequent in people over 50.
Leg cramps that appear at night differ from restless leg syndrome
Leg cramps that appear at night as well as restless leg syndrome mostly appear during sleep and that’s the only similar thing Some other differences include:
- Restless leg syndrome is more painful and the legs are more sensible
- Restless leg syndrome does not cause cramps
- Moving your legs will help you relieve the restless leg syndrome unlike when you have cramps. Ten you must stretch your legs instead of moving them.
- When you have restless leg syndrome, you feel like you want to move your legs whereas while you experience cramps, you feel like you want to avoid movement
CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS OF LEG CRAMPS THAT APPEAR DURING THE NIGHT
It is still not clear exactly what causes leg cramps at night, but here are some possible causes:
- sitting for too long
- sitting down in an incorrect position
- too much effort on the leg muscles
- being on your feet for too long or standing on concrete for too long
Nevertheless, leg cramps can sometimes be the result of some medical conditions, including:
- Dehydration
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alcoholism
- Pregnancy
- Structural disorders (like flat feet, for example)
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Endocrine disorders (like diabetes, for example)
- Use of diuretics, statins, beta agonists Health.
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