Definition:
A cramp is a muscle spasm. Leg cramps are mostly caused by calcium deficiency, cold and local neurovascular compression.
The principle of muscle twitching:
High fever, epilepsy, tetanus, rabies, calcium deficiency and so on. Can cause cramps, both systemic and local, such as gastrocnemius (commonly known as calf) cramps, which are often caused by strenuous exercise or work fatigue or Gaskin's violent twisting, and often appear when lying down or sleeping.
Common causes of leg and leg cramps:
Bad sleeping posture, such as lying on your back for a long time, makes the quilt press on the foot surface, or prone for a long time, makes the foot surface close to the bed, forcing some muscles of the calf to be in an absolute relaxed state for a long time, resulting in "passive contracture" of the muscles.
Fatigue, sleep, lack of rest or excessive rest lead to the accumulation of local acid metabolites, which can all cause muscle spasms. Too long walking or exercise time, excessive fatigue of lower limbs or insufficient rest and sleep will lead to lactic acid accumulation. Sleep rest time is too long, blood circulation slows down and carbon dioxide accumulates.
The cold stimulation of the external environment, such as the low room temperature in winter nights, the quilt covered when sleeping is too thin or the legs and feet are exposed.
Clinical manifestations:
1. generalized tonic convulsion: rigidity of muscles, wave-like convulsion, kyphosis (head backward, calf cramp)
The whole body is arched backward), the eyes are turned up or staring, and the mind is not clear.
2. Localized twitching: only local muscle twitching, such as only one limb twitching, or facial muscle twitching, or finger and toe twitching, or eye movement, nystagmus, blinking, staring, etc. Most of them are insane. The above convulsions can last for several seconds or minutes, and in severe cases, they can last for several minutes or recur. Those who have convulsions for more than 30 minutes are called convulsions.
3. Hyperfebrile convulsion: It is mainly seen in children from 6 months to 4 years old, and convulsions occur during high fever. The onset of febrile convulsion is short, and consciousness recovers quickly after convulsion, which mostly occurs in the early stage of fever. In a fever, there is often only one convulsion, which can rule out brain diseases and other serious diseases, and the EEG is normal after a week of fever. [2]
Prevention methods:
1. Wear comfortable shoes. Flat feet and other structural problems make some people particularly prone to leg cramps.
2. Loosen the bedding. Many people like to cover the quilt tightly when they sleep. But especially when lying on your back, the quilt may press your feet, making the gastrocnemius and plantar muscles tense. Tight muscles are prone to spasms. Just pull the bedding loose.
3. stretch your muscles. Stretching gastrocnemius and foot muscles before going to bed can help prevent cramps. The method of stretching is the same as stretching gastrocnemius and foot muscles when leg cramps occur. You can also put the front of your foot on the first step of the stair step, and slowly press your heel down to make it lower than the step position.
4. Exercise regularly to prevent muscle fatigue. Make full preparations before exercise and stretch the muscles of legs, waist, back, neck and arms. We should not rush to increase the amount of exercise, but should follow the principle of 10% per week. People who cramp at night should pay special attention to keep warm. Try to stretch their muscles before going to bed, especially those that are prone to cramps.
5. Pregnant women should always change their body posture, exercise every 1 hour 1 time, wash their feet and calves with warm water before going to bed, and supplement nutrients including calcium according to the special needs of the body.
6. Drink plenty of water. If you usually have a lot of activities (including walking, gardening and housework), you need to replenish fluids to avoid dehydration, but don't overdo it. A large amount of liquid will dilute the concentration of sodium in the blood, which may lead to various problems, including muscle spasms. How much water you should drink depends on your activities and the food you eat. Because the stimulation of thirst will weaken with age, we may forget to drink enough water when we are old.
Prevention and treatment of cramps caused by hypocalcemia, the main methods:
Choose fresh food with high calcium content, which is beneficial to the nutritional balance, such as milk. Drinking a glass of milk before going to bed has obvious curative effect. Eating soy products or kelp can also supplement calcium; Adding bone calcium powder and calcium bicarbonate. In food; Take calcium-containing drugs under the guidance of a doctor, such as calcium gluconate tablets, calcium matrix, calcium lactate, etc. At the same time, pay attention to eat more foods containing vitamin D. Cramps in calves are usually caused by calcium loss, which leads to osteoporosis. There are many reasons for calcium loss, and losing weight is the number one culprit. Many women refuse all foods related to fat in the process of losing weight. As everyone knows, while reducing fat, it will also weaken bones. In addition, smoking, drinking, drinking strong tea or coffee will all cause calcium loss. Don't be superstitious about drugs when supplementing calcium. The calcium supplement effect of exercise is more effective than medicine. The most effective way to supplement calcium is aerobic exercise combined with strength exercise. In addition, increasing the intake of dairy products in the diet can also easily supplement calcium.
Vitamin D is the carrier of calcium ions absorbed by human body, so it is best to take some calcium supplement products containing vitamin D to supplement calcium.
However, incomplete leg cramps are calcium deficiency, and leg cramps in middle-aged and elderly people are likely to suffer from arteriosclerosis obliterans of lower limbs.
Rescue method:
In case of sudden body cramp, stop the cramp and call a doctor immediately. Generally speaking, cramps are not immediately life-threatening, so there is no need to be overly alarmed.
(a) Emergency measures taken before the doctor arrives
The correct treatment steps are as follows: 1, massage the cramp area. 2. Carefully stretch the muscles that stretch the cramps to keep them stretched. 3. Hot compress the cramp area with a towel.
Treatment of gastrocnemius spasm;
(1) When the gastrocnemius suddenly feels pain or cramp during strenuous exercise, you should immediately grasp your thumb and slowly straighten your legs, and then massage after the pain disappears.
(2) Handling of cramps during swimming:
Finger-palm cramp: hold your hand into a fist, then open it hard, then make a fist quickly, and so on, and swing your palm hard to the back of your hand.
Upper arm cramp: hold your hand in a fist and bend your elbow as much as possible, then straighten it hard, and so on.
Leg or toe cramp: Hold the toe of the cramped leg with the hand opposite to the cramped leg, and pull it up hard. At the same time, press the knee of the cramped leg with the palm of the same side to help straighten the calf.
Leg cramp: bend the cramped thigh at right angles to the body and bend the knee joint, then hold the calf with both hands, make it stick to the thigh with force, make a vibration action, then straighten forward, and so on.
(3) If gastrocnemius spasm occurs in the middle of the night, you can press your toes with the wall and straighten your legs until the pain and spasm are relieved, and then massage.
(2) family first aid:
1, immediately put the child flat on the bed and lie on the side, prevent vomit from inhaling into the trachea, untie the collar and belt, reduce and avoid unnecessary stimulation, and don't hold the sick child tightly!
2. Wrap the toothbrush handle or stainless steel spoon handle or chopsticks with gauze or cloth, handkerchief, etc. , and put it between the child's upper and lower molars (the back big teeth) to prevent the tongue from being bitten when cramping. Never put your finger in it to avoid biting!
3, to prevent the child from falling off the bed when cramping, someone should watch!
4, keep the respiratory tract unobstructed, and suck out the secretions of the mouth, throat and throat!
5. When needling or pinching people, the needles or fingers should be clean, and local bleeding should not get stuck, so as to avoid infection, and ten fingertips should be needled (Xuan Shi point)!
6. When you have a high fever, try to lower your body temperature. You can use cold water or 33% white wine to wipe the bath. You can also put ice packs on your head, neck, armpits and groin, and apply cold towels on your forehead!
7. After the cramp stops, send it to the hospital for further rescue. If the cramp lasts for a long time and cannot be stopped at home, you should call an ambulance immediately and take it to the hospital with the help of a doctor!
8. Children with a history of febrile convulsions in the past should have a small number of commonly used anticonvulsants at home, such as diazepam and Lumina, so as to use them urgently when they suddenly have convulsions!
(3) self-help methods for leg cramps:
1. Toe movement. Take off your shoes and stand well (to prevent falling, you can hold a table, chair or other fixture).
Touch the ground with your toes and try to raise your heels as high as possible. 10 seconds later, put them down, and then rest for a few seconds before continuing. Repeat this for 10 to 15 minutes, 1 time in the morning and evening. With the rotation of ankle joint, the effect is better. Regular toe exercise can stimulate the peripheral acupoints of the foot, promote blood circulation, raise skin temperature, enhance muscle strength, relieve calf spasm, and have a good exercise effect on lower limb muscles and knee joints.
2. Soak your feet before going to bed. Soak your feet with hot water of about 40 degrees Celsius before going to bed every day (it is advisable to soak your ankles). When the water cools, pour in hot water to keep the water temperature. The soaking time is 15 to 20 minutes. Soaking feet with hot water before going to bed can promote peripheral blood circulation, relax muscles and promote blood circulation, and relieve spasm.
In addition, drinking water before going to bed can also relax nerves, relax muscles and reduce cramps.
Five small ways to prevent cramps:
◆ 1. Exercise regularly to prevent muscle fatigue. Make full preparations before exercise and stretch the muscles of legs, waist, back, neck and arms. We should not rush to increase the amount of exercise, but should follow the principle of 10% per week.
◆2. Drink water often, don't wait until you are thirsty. When you sweat a lot, you should supplement nutritious sports drinks.
◆3. Pay attention to a balanced diet, especially to supplement various necessary nutrients from the diet. For example, drinking milk and soybean milk can supplement calcium; Eating fruits and vegetables can supplement various trace elements.
◆4. Pregnant women should always change their body posture and exercise every 1 hour 1 time. Before going to bed, they can wash their feet and calves with warm water and supplement nutrients including calcium according to their special needs.
People who cramp at night should pay special attention to keep warm. Try to stretch your muscles before going to bed, especially the muscle parts that are prone to cramps.
Ways to relieve calf cramps:
① Change lying to sitting, straighten the cramped leg, hold the forefoot with both hands, and rotate the ankle joint of the cramped leg outward. When rotating, the movements should be coherent, and one rotation should be completed in one breath, without stopping halfway. When rotating, if it is the left leg, press it counterclockwise; For the right leg, press clockwise. It should be noted that when rotating, the feet are pulled outward, and then folded in the direction of thighs, with special force, and the soles of the feet are tilted to the maximum.
② Use your thumb to grope for the hard and prominent muscle roots on both sides of the posterior cranial fossa of your knee, and then press hard, the excited nerves will calm down, the cramps will stop and the severe pain will disappear. In addition, the ginger is mashed, the calf is rubbed with residue and juice, and then fully massaged, and the effect is also ideal.
③ It is located on the inner side of the sole, and the big toe of the foot extends downward to the top of the sole joint. Touch something with particles by hand, and massage at fixed points can relieve cramps.
④ When cramping, you can also quickly pinch Hegu (the gap between the first metacarpal bone and the second metacarpal bone) and Renzhong (the middle of the upper lip). After kneading for 20 ~ 30 seconds, the pain is relieved and the muscles are relaxed, and the effective rate can reach 90%. If you use a hot towel and massage with your hands, the effect will be better.