Leg Cramps and Its Causes

A muscle cramp is involuntary that sustained tightening of one or more of your muscles. It can sometimes result in intense pain and an inability to use the affected muscles. Leg Cramps are very powerful contractions of the muscles in which pain occurs in lower leg. Night leg cramps often occur just as you're falling asleep or just as you're waking up. The other leg cramps occurs after exercise especially if you are dehydrated, overtired or overheated.

Leg cramps usually aren't serious, but in rare cases, they can be symptoms of intermittent claudicating which is a form of atherosclerosis that causes inadequate blood supply to the legs.

Some of the causes of leg cramps are mentioned below:

Our body needs some elements to balance, if there is a chemical imbalance such as magnesium and potassium in the body, it can cause leg cramps. If a person breaks a bone, the muscles surrounding the area will sometimes spasm as a means of protecting it. This is the body's clever way of immobilizing the bone and stabilizing it. In pregnant women, leg cramps often arise due to changes in the calcium metabolism. In this case, sometimes a doctor will start the patient on a course of calcium supplements if the pain is significant. Calcium deficiency can be an issue for people other than pregnant women and can be the cause of their cramps too.

Home remedies for leg cramps are mentioned below:

Minor cramps can often be prevented by drinking enough water and stretching before and after exercise. The remedies may help prevent and relieve leg cramps, according to some health professionals. You can use a warm towel or heating pad to get relieve from pain. You can also drink 15 grams of fresh bathu juice daily with an empty stomach also don't add salt and sugar to it.

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Fractures, Bone Pain, Foot Or Leg Cramp Treatment

Fractures, bone pain, foot or leg cramp during post menopause can also be referred to as Osteoporosis. Bone strength slowly decreases and causes the skeletal system to become more fragile. Bone density represents about 70 percent of the bone's strength. When osteoporosis exists, the bone become porous, giving the body a greater chance to have fractures, bone pain, foot or leg cramps.

Post menopause is the final phase of the transition of your body caused by hormone levels changing with your age. Most women over the age of 50 should consider having a test done that measures the density of your bones.

Considering having a bone density test done by a physician is a diagnostic test that will measure the amount of minerals left in your bones allowing the doctor to determine whether or not osteoporosis has set in.

These tests have been debated as to whether or not your physician has enough evidence to administer the proper medication to treat these symptoms. The testing is very valuable because it will give your doctor the proper information to administer hormone, and/or drug treatment.

There is a number of prescription drugs used to treat these symptoms. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is one way to treat these symptoms. Replacement hormones consist of synthetic estrogen, and or, progestin. These hormones replace a woman's depleting hormones allowing the body to be relieved of the symptoms of menopause. These replacement hormones, if taken up to five years after menopause begins can stop the effects of osteoporosis. It is estimated that HRT can give a 50 to 80 percent decrease in vertebral fractures, and a 23 percent decrease in non-vertebral fractures if taken with a five year use. There are side effects to HRT which include bloating, nausea, breast tenderness, vaginal bleeding, fluid retention, weight gain, depression, and a possible increase of migraine headaches.

Herbs have also been used to treat osteoporosis such as Vitex, also known as chaste berry. This herb is known to even out hot flashes, mood swings, and restore vaginal lubrication.

The symptoms of fractures, bone pain, foot or leg cramps are feelings of power surges throughout the body, and can be very uncomfortable.

Along with the hormone/drug treatment, there are also natural ways to fight fractures, bone pain, foot or leg crams during post menopause.

By drinking milk, eating calcium rich foods, such as broccoli, deep green leaf lettuces like kale, and taking calcium supplements. Doctors recommend that you take 1,500 mg., along with magnesium because it will work with your body to help you absorb the calcium better. Foods to avoid during this time are caffeine, including chocolate, alcohol, and spicy foods. You can also increase your diet with foods like soy tofu, and soy products because they are rich in isflavones. By utilizing these mediums you can delay the natural causes of fractures, bone pain, foot or leg cramps, during post menopause because when you lose bone density, you can not get it back.

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