Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.
Nightly leg cramps can be awful.
Sommer said, “I’ve been speaking to a couple other patients, I’ve been complaining about the same thing, and I feel like it’s, it’s been really hot, and we’re a little bit more dehydrated. So I’m thinking, that’s why.’
What are some of the causes of the nightly leg cramps?
Sommer said, “There are multiple culprits. So this is brought to you by Women’s Health and Harvard Health, I found these two articles about leg cramps. They are pretty popular. So dehydration, not enough fluids leads to poor blood flow and an electrolyte imbalance. So if you’re not drinking enough water, keeping yourself hydrated, your legs can cramp up. Poor circulation from vascular disease, is another culprit. Muscle fatigue, so too much exercise or standing, like if you stand for long periods of time, it can create muscle fatigue. And then at night, when your muscles are trying to rest, they go into spasm. Pregnancy changes, weight gain and hormones. I remember having them when I was pregnant too. I used to get them as a kid often, and my dad used to say it was because I was growing.”
Medication side effects is another possible cause of leg cramps.
Sommer said, “If you’re on a diuretic, which means that you tend to hold too much fluid, so you need to get rid of that excess water. It’s a medication. That can delete your electrolytes, which could increase your risk for muscle cramps. So is statins. Those are the medications for cholesterol. They’re known to cause muscle cramps as well.”
Can magnesium, potassium and B vitamins help ward off leg cramps?
Sommer said, “Usually people say, eat a banana when you have leg cramps. If you remember growing up, you need a banana. That’s why bananas are high in potassium. Sometimes, if you can’t grab a banana and there’s something that’s high in magnesium or potassium, that’ll help as well.”
Why is a leg cramp called a Charley horse?
Sommer said, “This was interesting. It popped up when I was looking at this. Why do we call it a Charley horse? So it dates back to the 1880s and there is a story amongst American baseball players. There was an old horse named Charley in the Chicago ballpark, and he used to limp around. And when a player cramped up and limped like a horse, the teammates nicknamed him Charley horse. So it’s struck. I mean, that’s like almost 150 years ago.”
What can you do when you get a leg cramp in the middle of the night?
Sommer said, “Stretch it out, stand up, press your heel down, flex your toes up. Now, I know it says to do that, and sometimes you do that and it makes it worse. I’ve tried that, but massaging it gently, it usually occurs in your calf. If you massage the back of your calf, it will relax it. You can apply heat or a warm towel, a heating pad to help loosen everything up. Sometime you have lingering soreness, so cold compresses can help as well. And here’s a quirky trick that they say to do – take a shot of pickle juice or mustard. It has sodium and acetic acid, and that can sometimes help with muscle cramps.”
Keeping your sheets loose can help, too.
Sommer said, “I didn’t know it either, I guess you can trap your toes or people that like to wrap themselves up tight in a blanket when you’re sleeping, you could probably cut off circulation, like to your toe or something, it can trigger a cramp.”
How else can you prevent leg cramps?
Sommer said, “The biggie is stay hydrated, especially down here, it’s been really hot, so you need to drink water all day. Coconut water and electrolyte drinks are good, but coconut water does have a lot of electrolytes. So you we have a lot of coconut trees down here. So if you can find all natural coconut water, I know coconut water in the store can be expensive, but I think it’s worth the price instead of waking up in the middle of the night with a leg cramp.”
Can stretching before bed help?
Sommer said, “Yeah, stretching your calf and hamstring, if you do some light stretching before bed, because a lot of times when you go to bed and you’re really tired, your muscles feel tight and achy. So given a little stretch before bed can help prevent those ugly nighttime cramps. Make sure you move your body, avoid long periods of sitting. Of course, they recommend walking, swimming, cycling to keep your circulation strong. Make sure you’re getting enough vegetables or enough foods that have potassium magnesium, such as leafy green vegetables, bananas, nuts, seeds, they all supply magnesium, potassium and B vitamins. You can always talk about supplements. I know they have magnesium and potassium over the counter. Of course, if you’re on lots of different medications or you have different health problems, just run that by your doctor. But you can supplement with vitamins. There’s a bazillion down the vitamin aisle. If you’re on any of those medications, like a diuretic or a statin, you need to let your doctor know if you’re getting cramping and it’s coming more often. When you’re on a diuretic and you have cramping, it could mean a lot of times those diuretics, they deplete your electrolytes. So you need to tell your health care provider to make sure your potassium is not running too low, and they don’t have to give you a supplement with that.”
Trying a different position to sleep could help.
Sommer said, “Try not to be bent or twisted or have your feet in a cramped position, or, like we said, tied up in your sheets.”
When should you actually see a doctor if you have a concern about leg cramps?
Sommer said, “If they’re frequent, like we talked about severe, or if they are accompanied by numbness, tingling, if you notice discoloration or swelling in your lower extremities, you need to see the doctor. There could be something else going on, like with circulation.”
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