Cramps are very painful sensations caused by contraction or over-shortening of muscles. Cramps can also be caused by cold temperatures, overexertion, illness or poisoning—particularly, poisoning in the stomach , which is referred to as colic if it fits particular characteristics. In any case, most people have an occasional leg cramp, the most common type. Cramps are extremely common. Almost everyone (one estimate is about 95%) experiences a cramp at some time in their life. Cramps are common in adults and become increasingly frequent with aging.

However, children also experience cramps. There are four major types of skeletal muscle cramps. These include "true" cramps, tetany, contractures and dystonic cramps. Additionally, leg cramps are most common in older people: About 1 in 3 people over the age of 60, and about half of people over the age of 80 have regular leg cramps. About 4 in 10 people who have leg cramps have at least three per week. They occur every day in some cases. Cramp pain typically lasts a few minutes.

Muscle Cramp Treatment

Muscle Cramp Home Remedies

• Drink a hot cup of coffee or tea right after you get the cramp , then try to sit and relax for a few minutes.

• Increase your potassium intake and drink a lot of water.

• The alternate answer to potassium intake lies in pickle juice. When your muscles cramp up, it can may require sodium instead of potassium. A deficiency of sodium usually can also cause the phenomenon of cramping.

Pickle juice is loaded with sodium and therefore will help to dispel some of—if not all of—your cramps. Just drain some pickle juice and drink 1 cup.

• Place a warm towel or heating pad on the sore muscle; it helps in reducing the pain.

• Drink chamomile and peppermint tea for stomach cramps.

• Take a hot bath. The hot water relaxes muscles, including those of the uterus (for women), relieving you of cramps.

• Red wines soothes cramps every time.

• Drink comfrey tea and alfalfa to alleviate muscle cramps.

• Eat a banana for potassium and drink a glass of water for ensured hydration.

• Massage lobelia extract on affected area.

• A drink or two of cranberry juice will work.

• Avoid alcohol.

• False unicorn is mostly taken as a tincture, 2-5ml three times per day. You can consume dried root 1-2 grams thrice daily.

• Rub one tablespoon of Aloe Vera gel with two pinches of black pepper thrice a day.

Basic Muscle Cramp Removal Methods

• To get rid of leg cramps, rub the area gently for immediate relief. Put your legs out in front of you and flex your foot toward the ceiling, slowly, to gently stretch the calf muscle. Elongate your leg to get the most from the stretch.

• You can also keep leg pain from occurring in the first place by gently yet thoroughly stretching before exercise. Before beginning any exercise routine, consult your doctor.

• Remember that proper diet is an important step to avoiding muscle cramps. Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. This will help flush toxins from your body. Furthermore, limit sports drink consumption because they contain sodium which can aggravate cramping in some people. Also, foods high in calcium like low-fat milk, yogurt and cheeses have been known to help.

• In addition, you can try gentle massage, replenishing electrolytes and eating foods rich in potassium such as bananas, grapes and oranges.

• You might want to take an aspirin during cramp attacks, then apply some muscle cream. Be careful, though; do not over-apply the muscle cream. More to the point, don't wrap the area after you apply the muscle cream, that will lead to a fatal muscle cream overdose. In addition, the muscle therapy soak from the Romancing the Soap website is a viable cramp solution as well.

• Going back to the sodium argument—are you getting enough salt in your diet? If you live in a particularly hot place, you must increase your salt intake. You body's salt content may have dropped due to continuous sodium loss from excessive perspiration. The same suggestion applies when you play sports.

• Muscle cramps are often a sign of poor circulation. Try massaging the calf or your entire leg; if it becomes a persistent problem, go to the doctors to seek advice. You can also order special socks at night to help with muscle cramps.

• Make sure that you do a proper warm up before you partake in any exercise and cool down afterwards. Not enough people bother with warm ups, which is such a shame; practicing warm up procedures will definitely cut down on the number of sports related injuries if observed properly.

Muscle Cramp Products and Supplements

• CRAMPEX is a particularly excellent cramp medication; two tablets at night, and you should be as right as rain before you know it.

• Studies show that the nutrient Carnitine is essential for muscular health. Although you can get it from foods, you would have to eat a lot of red meat, which isn't healthy. Check your local health food store for the tablets and follow the instructions.

• Black cohosh is another medicine used for relieving menstrual cramps. The recommended amount is 20-40 mg twice per day and to be continued for six months.

• In future workouts, try to work a sports drink like Gatorade or Powerade into your rehydration schedule because they contain the necessary electrolytes to prevent muscle cramping from even starting in most cases. But, as mentioned above, drink them in moderation.

• Apply methyl salicylate—the ingredient found in liniments like BenGay, Icy Hot and Tiger Balm—on the affected area, but don't overdo it, because there have been various reports of athletes getting killed because of muscle creams overdose.

• When high calcium levels is suspected but no resources are available to measure cellular calcium levels (serum calcium cannot be used for that purpose), an acidifying approach such as taking a very large amount of Vitamin C for a few days may be implemented. If the muscle spasms or cramps get worse, then your calcium is likely on the low side, and you need to increase your dietary intake of calcium.

If the muscle cramps or spasms improve, then calcium is likely too high and requires co-factors to make it more available by supplementing either Magnesium, a phosphorus source such as Lecithin, a higher daily intake of Vitamin C or an increase in protein intake.

Provided there are no neurological or neurodegenerative causes—such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke or spinal cord injury—extra calcium is usually the solution for muscle spasms or muscle cramps in many nocturnal cases.

• Consuming foods or beverages containing lactic acid is another acidifying strategy to reduce muscle cramps when working out, despite the buildup of lactic acid in muscle tissue during strenuous exercise being actually a common cause of muscle spasms or cramps. This happens from insufficient oxygen not being able to oxidize lactic acid, which would otherwise get rid of it from muscle.

• Inosine and creatin supplements help reduce the buildup of lactic acid in muscle. As exercise tolerance increases from repeated training, it takes increasingly longer before lactic acid is produced in muscle, so there is less of a chance of muscle cramps to develop. Lactic acid is found in a number of foods and beverages, and it is also commercially added to increase their acidity (olives, sauerkraut, cheese, beer, soft drinks, pickles and so on). Lactic acid-containing drinks can serve as a valuable fluid replacement for athletes before, during and after competitive training and exercise.

• Briefly exercising one's toes or taking a short walk usually provides relief and resolves the problem. If poor circulation causes muscle cramps, Vitamin E might be a good choice for its blood-thinning and vasodilating properties. Gingko biloba also provides a blood-thinning effect and may be considered.

In any case, now that you know most everything there is to know about muscle cramps, your bodily health will be safe once again. Just remember to make use of these tips and information before it's too late.

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