Night Cramps

For many of us, getting a good night’s sleep can be hard. In reality, there are many causes that contribute to poor sleep. Of these, night cramps are a common cause for night leg pain. Night cramps are are intense, painful muscle contractions. They can affect the foot, calf, or both. Leg cramps disrupt sleep and can adversely affect daytime functionality. Unfortunately, some people suffer from night cramps frequently. If that is the case, they can be very disruptive.

Why do I have Night Cramps?

There is no one reason for night cramps. Some reasons are serious. Examples include neurological conditions, kidney disorders and medication side-effects. Other reasons are more common. For instance, tight muscles or dehydration. Let’s go one by one. Remember, while often there is no serious medical illness causing these cramps, sometimes there is. Be vigilant and always consult with your doctor.

Tight Muscles

No one stretches. Not really… That’s just a fact. But tight muscles are common. In fact, our muscles get tighter as we age. So, many older people have tight muscles. A tight muscle might ache at night. But, a tight muscle might also seize up at night and cramps.

Dehydration

As we age, drinking before going to bed becomes tricky. On the one hand, we realize that we should stay hydrated. But, on the other hand, many older people have medical conditions that cause peeing. So, many older people avoid drinking water before going to bed. They just don’t want to have to get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom.

But, here’s the problem. Dehydration can cause the muscles to be excited. This can cause them to “fire” without reason and this can lead to muscle cramps at night.

Electrolyte Imbalance

Science knows less about electrolytes in our muscles and blood stream than you would think. You probably have seen commercials for sports drinks promising to replenish your electrolytes. The weird thing about them is that the timeline just does not work. It just takes too long for electrolytes we eat or drink to reach the blood stream and then to enter the cells that actually need them. But, on the other hand, one can’t argue with facts. The fact is that replenishing electrolytes works.

Muscle Injury

An injured muscle will often ache. Many people will feel the pain more during the night, when there are fewer distractions.

Excessive Physical Activity

Physical activity puts strain on the muscles. Even without proper injury, strenuous exercise will cause micro-tears in the muscles. These tears are actually good for muscle growth. But this does not mean that they don’t hurt. Also, it is common for the pain to happen a few hours after the end of the activity. So, nighttime leg pain after activity is common. Another problem associated with these injuries are cramps. We all know that a muscle that we overworked, might seize up. Again, this can happen more at night.

Nerve Disease and Night Cramps

People with some nerve disease will have night cramps. For instance, muscle spasticity is known to be present in severe multiple sclerosis. Other conditions known as spastic conditions will cause cramps.

Medication Side Effects

Many medications can cause cramps. The most well known are statins. Statins and muscle pain are a well known combination. However, there are other medications that one should suspect. For instance, water pills. A water pill can cause electrolyte imbalance and dehydration. And you already know that these two are causes for nocturnal leg cramps. Another example are steroids. Steroids can cause muscle weakness on their own. But, they can also be implicated in muscle cramps, because they can cause low potassium levels.

Lack of Blood Flow

Perhaps the most dangerous cause for night cramps is lack of blood flow. Lack of blood flow is also called ischemia. It can be sudden, or acute. But, it is usually chronic. This is known as critical limb ischemia.

People who have severe lack of blood flow to the legs can have more pain during the night. This is called rest pain. While rest pain and cramping are not the same, telling them apart can be confusing.

Night Cramps Treatment

Preventing Night Cramps

Some people suffer from frequent cramps at night. If that is the case, preventing the cramps is key.

Tonic Water

Perhaps the most famous way to prevent night cramps is the substance quinine. Quinine is present in tonic water. So, simple tonic water you can buy at your local supermarket may be a good way to prevent the cramps from occurring.

Despite it’s benefit, quinine is not approved for night cramps. This is because it has potential toxicity that can affect the heart and the platelets. Tonic water, on the other hand, can be bought at your local supermarket. But still, be careful, and consult with your doctor.

Importantly, quinine does not treat cramps once they happened. You are supposed to use it to prevent the cramps from happening. If you are already suffering from a painful cramp, there are other things you can do. Keep reading.

Stretching Exercises

Like we wrote above, no one stretches. But stretching exercises can improve muscle tightness. And if muscles are less tight, they may cramp less frequently too. Perhaps the most useful stretching exercises are for the calves. Still, you should know that data to support stretches are sparse.

Hydration

Not everyone can optimize their hydration. For instance, some people have heart and kidney conditions that make it hard. Other people take water pills and other medications that affect fluids and electrolytes in their body. But, if you don’t have these and other problems, you should think about improving your hydration, especially before going to bed. While you may need to get up to pee, it may still be better than a rude awakening from a painful night cramp.

Splints

Some people suffer from foot or calf cramps without an apparent reason. Theoretically, placing the leg in a splint that will passively stretch the calf during the night should prevent the cramps. No one has studied this approach, but it makes sense.

Medication to Prevent Night Cramps

Three groups of medication have low-level data support to prevent night cramps. These are calcium channel blockers such as Verapamil, B vitamins and vitamin E. Patients with kidney disease who require dialysis may develop night crams. Some of these patients will have lower levels of vitamin C. But vitamin C supplementation may not be safe for all of these patients.

Home Remedies to Stop Night Cramps

Prevention is one thing. But, once a cramp happens, making it go away quickly is key. Fortunately, there are some home remedies for cramps. Here are a few.

Pickle Juice

We know. It seems super low-tech. Also, we understand that for some of you drinking pickle juice is just too disgusting. But, there are scientific studies out there that have proven that pickle juice can stop a cramp very quickly once it starts. No one really knows how it works. But, it does.

Stretching for Night Leg Cramps

Stretching is good to prevent cramps, but it can also stop a cramp once it started. Of course, stretching a cramped muscle is not easy. But if you succeed, that very well may do the trick.

Step On It!

Finally, stepping on the other leg can stop a cramp. This works especially well, if you are also able to stretch the leg that has the cramp.

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