007. Why do some people always have calf cramps?

Shanxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Orthopedics Hospital Hao Gang

What kind of feeling is calf cramp? It is said that it is difficult to move, very sour and refreshing, like an electric shock.

Then why on earth do some people always have leg cramps? Is it because they don't listen to their mother and lack calcium?

In fact, calf cramps are related to many factors and have little to do with calcium deficiency.

However, many people, especially pregnant women, will supplement calcium by themselves because their calves are prone to cramps. Many primary hospitals simply think that gastrocnemius spasm is a manifestation of calcium deficiency and guide patients to supplement calcium. In fact, there is no high-level research to confirm the relationship between calcium deficiency and gastrocnemius spasm! However, Baidu's search for "calf cramps" is all kinds of calcium supplementation knowledge and calcium tablet advertisements. So, where did this legend come from? Many people, even medical staff, confuse "gastrocnemius spasm" with "hypocalcemic convulsion"-hypocalcemic convulsion, also known as tetany (note, hands and feet). The clinical features of hypocalcemia convulsion do not include gastrocnemius spasm, but limb paresthesia, numbness of limbs, stiff hand-foot spasm, symmetrical wrist, metacarpophalangeal joint flexion, fingertip joint extension, thumb adduction, talon-like, foot extension, knee and hip flexion, and even systemic smooth muscle spasm, resulting in asthma and asphyxia.

"Leg cramp" is a descriptive statement of symptoms, and there are two main diseases that are prone to this symptom. One of them is familiar to everyone-gastrocnemius spasm, which is generally related to strenuous activity, cold stimulation and fatigue. Let's talk about it later; First of all, we must introduce another serious and unknown disease: restless leg syndrome!

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a central sensorimotor disorder mainly involving the lower leg. Its seriousness lies in the close correlation between restless legs syndrome and cerebral infarction, that is to say, people with restless legs syndrome are prone to cerebral infarction at some time!

Please pay attention! Restless leg syndrome is characterized by indescribable discomfort, tingling, swelling and numbness in the legs when sleeping or quiet at night, like insects crawling, and a strong desire to move the legs, which requires constant flapping, moving the legs or getting out of bed to alleviate the symptoms. -Many people will also describe this situation as "calf cramp".

This disease is not uncommon-in 2065438+05, the prevalence rate of restless legs syndrome in children and adolescents in China was 2. 19%, which increased with age, and the prevalence rate of women was significantly higher than that of men. In 20 16, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zheng Da counted 3874 pregnant women aged 18-40 again, and found that about 12.29% pregnant women had restless legs syndrome at least once a week. From 2065438 to 2005, the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University investigated 966 local elderly people, and found that the incidence of restless legs syndrome was 1.9 1% for males and 5.43% for females.

Many studies have confirmed a phenomenon, that is, restless leg syndrome widely exists in the population in China, and it has obvious characteristics of sleep disorder, migraine, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and has a strong tendency of family aggregation. The number of patients with restless leg syndrome is not high, which may be related to our habit of simply classifying it as "calf cramp" and the lack of popularization of relevant knowledge in China.

Therefore, if the so-called "calf cramp" phenomenon that happens to you meets some of the characteristics I mentioned above, I suggest you consult a neurologist for professional consultation. At present, restless leg syndrome has changed from a refractory disease to a disease with many effective treatment methods, treatment suggestions and approved drugs. A paper published by Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine on 20 15 confirmed that acupuncture treatment of traditional Chinese medicine has also achieved good results. So everyone knows it and values it, but don't be too afraid of it. At the end of the article, there are some relevant professional documents for interested friends to refer to. )

After talking about the heavy topic, the next thing is simple-gastrocnemius spasm, which is the real body of "calf cramp" that most people will have.

Gastrocnemius is the muscle located behind the calf, that is, the calf, which is what we often call cramp. Its main function is to bend the calf and stand on tiptoe, at the same time, it can stabilize the ankle and knee joint when standing and prevent the body from leaning forward.

Why does gastrocnemius spasm? Nothing more than the following five reasons:

1. Cold stimulus

Gastrocnemius muscle is affected by low temperature, and its excitability will increase, which is prone to tense contraction. For example, when swimming, the water temperature is low, and outdoor sports in winter are not warm enough. People who like to kick quilts when sleeping are more common.

2. strenuous exercise

During strenuous exercise, gastrocnemius muscle contracts rapidly and continuously, and the relaxation time is too short, which leads to uncoordinated and disproportionate alternation of contraction and relaxation, which will cause spasm. Especially those friends who have not moved for eight generations, have a whim and have no scientific warm-up are more common.

Especially during long-term strenuous exercise or high temperature season, a large amount of sweat makes the electrolyte in the human body lose a lot from sweat; Some friends are also eager to lose weight. In a short period of time, their weight dropped significantly, causing electrolyte imbalance in the body and low sodium chloride content, which increased the excitability of muscles and nerves.

3. Chronic fatigue

Gastrocnemius muscle is the most prone to fatigue when traveling long distances, climbing mountains and climbing mountains. Tired muscles will have a lot of lactic acid accumulation, causing convulsions. Therefore, when the body is tired, especially when the gastrocnemius muscle is tired, strenuous exercise or some sudden nervous and hard movements can easily cause muscle spasms. Therefore, calf cramps often occur in the second half of football matches.

4. Some special circumstances

For example, the incidence of gastrocnemius spasm in diabetic patients is much higher than that in other people, which is mainly related to the blood circulation disorder of lower limbs. There are also calf cramps caused by propylthiouracil, a drug for treating hyperthyroidism, and calf cramps caused by penicillin, and some patients with lumbar disc herniation have symptoms very close to ordinary calf cramps.

The next thing we should care about is that we always have cramps in our calves. What should we do besides what we said above? First of all, don't blindly supplement calcium, be alert to the possibility of restless leg syndrome, avoid cold stimulation, avoid unscientific strenuous activities and lose weight.

In the face of calf cramps, the most well-known method should be stretching the triceps surae. The specific method is as follows: reduce the distance from the instep to the front of the calf, that is, stretch the triceps of the calf. We also have this experience in our daily life. When the calf cramps, we often hook the instep up for a while, and the pain will be relieved soon.

Chinese medicine also has many unique methods, such as Chengshan point, which is the bladder meridian of the foot sun, located in the middle of the back side of the calf. In the dead of night, when it's no good every day, or when it's no good, you can massage and stimulate this acupoint yourself, which also has good results.

This paper mainly refers to the literature.

1. Epidemiological study of restless legs syndrome in children and adolescents in China. Neuroscience.

2. The prevalence and risk factors of restless legs syndrome in China and Shanghai rural communities. Public library of science no.1.

3. Restless leg syndrome and pregnancy or childbirth complications in China: a representative survey. Sleep medicine.

4. Evaluation of the activity of acupuncture in the treatment of restless legs syndrome. Complementary alternative medicine based on Evid.

5. Epidemiological status of restless legs syndrome in the elderly. China Journal of Gerontology, 2065438+24, 2005.