Muscle spasms and cramps are often harmless but can accompany serious medical conditions. Learn about spasms and cramps in this medical video.
Supplement the diet with calcium & magnesium
Stretch your muscles regularly
Seek medical attention
Stay properly hydrated
Dr. Stallworth is board certified in rehabilitation and phsycial medicine. She graduated from Baylor College of Medicine and finished her residency at Baylor. Dr. Stallworth is known for being a superb and compassionate physician that believes in not only health of the body of the mind as well. She currently serves on the board of Centennial Medical Center and is a former board member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She now resides with her family in middle Tennessee.
DR. CATHERINE STALLWORTH: Hi. I am Dr. Cathy Stallworth, and I would like to explain to you a little bit about muscle spasm, why it occurs and what you can do about it. A muscle spasm is simply an involuntary contraction of the muscle. So here I've drawn a picture of--this is obviously a very blown-up picture of a muscle. These are the small little muscle fibers. There are sensory nerves that send stimuli in the muscles. That can be a stretch. It can be what we call a noxious stimulus. Something that's painful that goes to the spinal cord to what we call an alpha motor neuron that comes back and tells the muscle to contract. So it is your body's natural reaction that--if for instance, the muscle is stretched particularly if it is stretched rapidly to protect the body, the immediate response is to draw the muscle back. The same thing happens when the muscle is sensing some type of a noxious stimulus or pain; the natural inclination of the body in order to protect the body is for the muscle to again contract. Another reason why muscle spasms can occur is fatigue. What happens when a muscle contracts is there are these small fibers in the muscle, and they are called actin and myosin and they're linked together. As they link together, they use calcium to link them together and they slide across each other, shortening the muscle. When people develop fatigue, they can not have the energy for the muscle to release. A muscle spasm is a contraction, and a muscle cramp is really a muscle spasm that is painful. If you think you may have a reason to have depleted calcium or magnesium, maybe you are training athletically and you think you may be using up some of these electrolytes, supplement with calcium and magnesium and maybe even some potassium. The other thing that's very important is to stretch. An example of a very simple calf stretch that you can do is just press your hands against the wall, step one foot forward and press the back heel down, stretching through the calf. If both legs are cramping, you can actually step both feet back and lean into the wall. You can have something simple like a belt or a towel. If you are lying in bed feeling a cramp, wrap the belt or towel around the leg and stretch. Most cramping is self-limited. If you have muscle spasms or cramps that continue, it could be indicative of something more serious such as a neurologic disorder like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease and I would definitely recommend that you seek the services of a competent physician.
