Leg Cramp Site

Many men and women who regularly suffer from leg cramps at night or even during the day often complain of having more muscle cramps in the colder weather of the winter than during the summer months. While cold weather can bring joint pain and other muscle aches, simply going for a walk in the snow probably isn’t going to make your legs cramp up on their own.

Hyland’s new leg cramp ointment may help prevent muscle spasms in cold weather.

That being said, there is some truth to the claim that people suffering more leg cramps during the winter months. When it’s cold and snowy outside your daily habits and actions are obviously different than during warmer weather. During the winter months you most likely spend more time indoors, get less exercise and do less walking and probably even drink less fluids because you may not feel as thirsty as you would on a hot summer’s day. You may also tend to eat more bread and carbohydrate-rich “comfort foods” instead of fresh fruits and vegetables that are high in potassium. Little habits like this can make a big difference in the number and intensity of the leg cramps you get during the day or night.

If you find your legs cramping up more during the winter months then there are definitely some things you can do to help prevent them. Here are some suggestions:

Walk and Stretch: Walking around your home, standing in place and doing general leg and calf muscle exercises are all good ways to keep the blood flowing to your leg muscles and keeping them from cramping. Try to do chores that require moving or try walking in place instead of sitting on the couch during your favorite TV show. This will not only keep your legs stretched and limber, but it will also burn off a few extra calories.

Hot Showers and Baths: Running hot water over your legs or taking a warm bath is another great way to relax your muscles to keep them from cramping up. While you admittedly can’t sit in the bathtub all day, you may want to consider taking a hot shower or bath before going to bed in an effort to calm and soothe your leg muscles for the long night ahead.

Watch Your Liquid Intake and Diet: It isn’t always easy during the winter months to get fresh vegetables or to eat as well as you might normally, but if you can get to a grocery store you might want to try stocking up on canned or frozen fruit that is high in potassium. And while hot chocolate before bed may taste good, it probably won’t help you avoid a Charley horse at 2AM. Instead, consider the muscle calming power of hot apple cider vinegar or even adding some warm honey to an herbal tea.

If you’re still finding that you’re getting Charley horses and night time cramps more in the winter months then you may want to consider moving to a slightly more medical solution such as using Hyland’s Leg Cramp Pills with Quinine or Hyland’s Leg Cramp Cream. Remember, it’s best to avoid taking any sort of medication until first consulting with your doctor.

While many people sufer from leg cramps at night, some others actually get more leg cramps at day, especially when they spend a lot of time sitting at a desk or working on their computer. While many of the causes of leg cramps are the same for leg cramp sufferers during the day or night, there are some different techniques you can use to prevent leg cramps while sitting at work all day.

Stay Hydrated: Office environments are often filled with stale, dry air, so your body naturally tends to dry out as well. Try keeping a bottle or glass of water at your desk at all times and take frequent sips of water from it. Ideally, you should be drinking three to four full large glasses of water or liquid per day. While it is true that coffee and tea contain caffeine that can serve as diuiretics, one or two cups won’t harm you.

Stand up and Walk Around at Regular Intervals: A lot of people become so absorbed in their work that they sit still for large period of time, unknowingly cutting off circulation to their legs and feet. To avoid this problem, try to schedule regular breaks where you stand up and either take a walk around the office, jog in place or at least stretch for a minute or two. If you find yourself forgetting to do this, try setting a regular alarm on your computer that goes off every 20 to 30 minutes, reminding you to stand up and take a short walk.

Move Your Legs At Your Desk: Even if you can’t get up on a regular basis, you can stretch your legs under your desk, massage your calves while you’re on the phone or reading something online or just do a little tap dance on your own. Anything you can do to keep your circulation flowing will help prevent your legs from cramping. Have your PC under your desk? Consider moving it so that you have more room to stretch and move your legs while you work.

Adjust Your Chair: The way you’re sitting could be contributing to cramping leg and calf muscles. Make sure your chair is not pushing against the back of your legs and cutting off circulation. You may also want to raise or lower your chair so that your legs are relaxed and comfortable when you’re sitting and not stretching to read the floor or cramped and bent in an uncomfortable position.

Stretch Your Lower Back: A lot of people slouch at their desk, which strains the lower back and core body muscles. This straining can contribute to cramping legs. You can try straightening your back or even using a small pillow to increase the lumbar support of your chair.

Upgrade Your Chair or Desk: It is obviously easier to adjust your existing chair and desk to be more ergonomically correct, but when that fails you may need to change your work environment in order to avoid leg cramps after long periods of sitting down. Some people swear by using yoga balls in place of a desk chair because it allows them to constantly move and bounce to keep the circulation flowing in their legs. You may want to try a different sort of desk arrangement or a higher or lower desktop. You can even make your own standing desk if you think sitting too long is causing your regular leg cramps.

Change Your Diet: There are lots of things you can do to prevent leg cramps and changing your diet to include more foods that are high in potassium. Failing that, you can try sipping apple cider vinegar and honey to avoid leg cramps.

Remember, leg cramps could be the sign of a more serious condition. If you are frequently having leg cramps even after trying some of these remedies then you may want to schedule an appointment with your doctor to see if there are other underlying causes to your leg and muscle cramping.

Many people suffer from leg cramps more during the summer months than during the winter months. They complain that their leg cramps are more frequent and less predictable when it is warmer outside than when it is cold. And while there is no single cause for leg cramps, there are some definite reasons for why you might suffer from more leg cramps in the summer.

Dehydration: This is one of the most common causes of all sorts of ailments during the summer months. When the temperature rises our bodies lose water and other minerals through sweat, which can quickly cause us to become dehydrated. That dehydration can lead to muscle cramping and leg cramps, but they don’t only have to occur at night. During the summer months athletes find that they will often have more leg cramps simply because they are burning so much energy and losing so much water through sweat that they can’t keep enough liquid in their bodies. If you feel a leg cramp or other muscle cramp coming on you can quickly drink some water or a specially designed sports drink (though those are often high in sugar). One tried and true way to hold off most muscle and leg cramps is to drink quinine water. The water will help with dehydration and the quinine will help calm down a cramping or twitchy calf muscle.

Electrolyte or Chemical Imbalance: When you are sweating in the heat of summer your body isn’t just losing water. It’s also losing vitamins, minerals and lots of vital elements. Again, sports drinks will help but you may want to also try eating some foods that are high in potassium or even taking a potassium supplement to prevent leg cramps in the summertime.

Over-Exertion:Obviously, most people enjoy spending more time outside in the summer than in the winter. Sometimes it’s easy to lost track of time when you’re outside enjoying sports or walking or whatever it you’re doing during the summer months. It’s hard to always know the signs of when you’ve “done too much” and given your body a reason to start clenching those leg muscles.

Even if you’re cool and in a swimming pool you can get serious leg cramps which can impede your ability to swim or stay safe. Monitoring your activity, paying attention to how you feel and keeping yourself hydrated are three ways to keep those summertime leg cramps at bay.