Leg cramps at night are painful, sudden involuntary contraction of the muscles in your calf and sometimes the feet. As many as 70 percent of elderly people have experienced nighttime leg cramps at least once in their life, according to Tufts...
A nocturnal leg cramp, also called a charley horse, typically occurs at night or while you are resting or asleep. Improper bicycling technique and poor exercise habits can lead to these types of cramps. Because they can be extremely painful and...
Night leg cramps typically affect the calves, although the feet and thighs may be plagued with the sudden and severe pain brought on by the cramps. The Mayo Clinic reports that most of the time, night legs cramps happen for no reason and pass as...
Leg cramps --sudden spasms most often occurring in the lower legs -- are extremely painful and debilitating if they wake the sufferer night after night. Legs cramps tend to worsen as you age. Medications, dehydration, diseases such as cirrhosis...
Leg cramps and restless legs syndrome can contribute to a loss off sleep for many people. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, an estimated 10 percent of Americans suffer from restless leg syndrome. Numerous...
Caffeine is a drug found naturally in tea and coffee that stimulates the nervous system and can lead to feeling anxious and irritable. In 2000, experts linked caffeine to joint diseases, and people who consume more than 400 mg a day are at risk of...
Night leg cramps typically occur in the calf muscles but can develop in the thighs and feet as well. Although their cause is unknown, these cramps have been associated with dehydration, improper sitting for long lengths of time and muscle...
If you suffer from leg cramps in the middle of the night, you are not alone. Involuntary muscle spasms frequently occur in your calves when you have overworked your muscles, are low in certain vitamins and minerals, or become dehydrated. Including...
Leg cramps, painful contractions of the lower leg muscles and feet, often wake sufferers from a sound sleep. Leg cramps occur more frequently in older people and pregnant women. Nocturnal leg cramps, leg cramps that occur during the night, often...
When the pain jolts you from your sleep, you leap out of bed, frantically stretching and rubbing your leg in an effort to loosen up the muscle. You go back to sleep only to have it happen again a couple of hours later. The broken sleep takes its...
Nighttime leg cramps are sudden, often painful spasms of the leg muscles, lasting a few seconds to a few minutes. Causes of nighttime leg cramps are not well understood, but certain nutritional deficiencies, medical conditions and medications have...
While leg cramps are not usually a sign of a serious disease, they can disrupt your sleep. They occur when the muscles in the legs or feet contract and spasm. There is currently no single known cause of leg cramps while sleeping, however there are...
If you've ever woken up in the middle of the night with a painful, tense muscle in your leg, you have experienced a leg cramp. Leg cramps are contractions that occur involuntarily in the muscles of the calf, thigh or toes. In most cases, leg...
Regardless of when cramping in the legs occurs, the contributing factors are usually the same. Cramping can develop during intense exercise but may also occur in the middle of the night, waking you up to muscle spasms that can be very painful. It...
Leg cramps can be painful, and you're at an increased risk of getting them if you suffer from some nutritional deficiencies, but that's not the only cause of leg cramps, or even the most likely one. Leg cramps can occur in any muscle of the leg,...
According to the PubMed Health, quinine, whose brand name is Qualaquin, belongs to a class of medications known as anti-malarials. Anti-malarials are drugs used to treat malaria. Quinine may also be used to treat other conditions as determined by...
Muscle cramps are sudden, painful contractions that occur for a variety of reasons. They are more prominent in the elderly and can result from overuse or under use, injury or dehydration. The Mayo Clinic notes that often leg cramps occur for no...
Cramping is defined by painful, involuntarily contractions of muscles in your body. Cramping due to exercise typically occurs at night and occurrence increases with age. People most often experience legs cramps in the calves and thighs, and while...
Leg cramps are painful contractions of the leg muscles; the incidence of leg cramps increases with age. Often there is no official cause for the leg spasms; however, there are conditions or medications that can cause them. If the leg cramps become...
Leg cramps while sleeping, also called nocturnal leg cramps, mostly affect the muscles of the calf, although they can occur in any of the muscles of the leg and may also spread down to the feet. These cramps typically wake the sleeper and can...
Pregnancy brings with it many joys, but it can also bring a variety of associated pains. Even a completely healthy pregnancy sends the body through an array of rapid changes that can leave the body aching and the mom-to-be in search of relief.
Many of the aches and pains women experience during pregnancy are related to changes in their bodies and changes in their hormone levels. Of course, not every discomfort a woman experiences during pregnancy is due to the pregnancy, but pregnancy...
New York University Langone Medical Center defines leg cramps that occur during sleep, also called nocturnal leg cramps, as sudden contractions in the foot and lower leg muscles. These leg cramps can awaken patients when they sleep and can last...
Leg cramps can cause severe pain, and even though they generally only last for a few minutes, the soreness from them occasionally lingers for hours. Many people experience leg cramps at night, and those cramps can be extreme enough to wake you...
You use muscles in your feet and calves all the time in daily life, whether you're consciously aware of it or not. Your feet and calves help support your body during activities like standing, walking and climbing stairs and can become even more...
Leg cramps -- which are uncontrollable muscle contractions -- can occur at night, at rest or after exercising and can be extremely painful. These cramps can be caused by dehydration, certain medications or electrolyte imbalances. Most muscle...
Many people experience those agonizing leg and foot cramps that jolt you awake and can ruin restful sleep. While exact causes are unknown, the muscle spasms often are triggered when people contract their calf muscles while turning over in their...
Leg cramps often come out of nowhere. You could be lying down or in the middle of stretch and all of a sudden a muscle in your leg seizes up and cramps. Cramps are painful and are usually a rare occurrence. However, for some, they are a daily or...
Cramps are involuntary contractions, or spasms, of a single muscle or group of muscles. Feet and legs cramps occur most commonly during the night, during times of rest or following vigorous activity. They develop suddenly and may last as long as...
