Have you ever jumped out of bed with an intense cramp in your leg or foot? Nighttime leg cramps occur suddenly and are extremely painful. Pain can be sharp and last for a few seconds or several minutes. These cramps lead to substantial sleep disturbances.
Nighttime cramps occur in almost 50% of older adults. Medications are prescribed to treat people with severe leg cramps. However, the effectiveness of these medications is mixed and many have serious side effects. Thankfully, there is a series of proven home stretching exercises that alleviate nighttime leg cramps.
Causes and Treatment of Leg Cramps
Leg cramps are sustained involuntary muscle contractions of your calf, hamstrings, or foot muscles. We don’t fully understand what causes these painful leg cramps. Experts believe an abnormal activity of nerves is the most widely accepted cause. The abnormal firing of nerves is due to medications (diuretics and steroids to name a few), physical inactivity, and age-related changes in your nerves, muscles, and tendons. People with other health problems like thyroid disorders, high blood pressure, and neurological diseases are more at risk.
Medications and supplements are commonly used to decrease the activity of your excited nerves to reduce leg cramping. Quinine is moderately effective in reducing the frequency and intensity of cramps. However, its use comes with the potential for serious and sometimes life-threatening side effects, especially in women. Other medications have been used to treat leg cramps such as magnesium, Vitamin B, calcium, and Vitamin E. However, none of these appears to be effective.
Proven Stretches for Leg Cramps
The combination of physical inactivity and age-related changes in your nerves, muscles, and tendons predispose you to cramps at night. Regular daily physical activity, such as a walking program, will increase lower leg blood flow to your nerves, muscles, and tendons.
Stretching exercises at night calm your excitable nerves and lengthen your shortened muscles and tendons. A 2012 study of 80 adults over the age of 55, showed significant improvements in the severity and frequency of nighttime cramps after performing nightly stretches before bed. The following 3 videos show stretches that are easily performed in 10 minutes or less before settling in for the night.
Standing Calf Stretch
Stand facing a wall with your elbows straight and both hands on the wall at chest level. Place one leg forward with your knee bent, and the other leg back with your knee straight. Place both feet in full contact with the floor. Keep your back heel in contact with the floor and lean towards the wall.
Hold the stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds and as long as 30 seconds. Perform 2 to 3 stretches on each leg immediately before bed each night.
Standing Hamstring Stretch
Face a chair that is placed against a wall. Place one heel on the chair with your knee fully straight. Hold on to something for balance. Bend at the waist so that your trunk tilts forward, keeping your back straight.
Hold the stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds and as long as 30 seconds. Perform 2 to 3 stretches on each leg immediately before bed each night.
Seated Hamstring Stretch
This stretch is similar to the standing version. Not everyone will need to perform both. To perform the sitting version sit on the side of your bed with one leg extended in front. Keep your other foot on the floor. Bend at the waist so that your trunk tilts forward, keeping your back straight.
Hold the stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds and as long as 30 seconds. Perform 2 to 3 stretches on each leg immediately before bed each night.
See Your Physical Therapist for More Help with Leg Cramps
Nighttime leg cramps can be miserable. They severely disturb your sleep leaving you with little energy to do things during the day. Regular nighttime stretching will alleviate much of the distress. To achieve the best results, stretching must be done each night. Infrequent or random stretching will do little good.
Give these 3 stretches a shot for at least 6 weeks and see how things are going. If you want more help give us a call. Our physical therapists will help you find the right stretches for you and supplement these with massage and other manual therapy treatments. You don’t have to keep suffering from nighttime leg cramps.
