Sudden night leg cramps occur when the muscles in your lower leg involuntarily contract and tighten (called a “spasm”), often without warning while you are sleeping.  Leg cramps at night are often confined to the calf muscles, but some people also feel their thigh or foot muscles cramping.   Night or nocturnal leg cramps in the calf are also known as Charley Horses.  These leg cramps do no permanent damage to your body, but they can be harmful from a psychological perspective.  Sudden night leg cramps cause severe pain in some cases and can greatly diminish the quality of sleep for some individuals.  Obviously, most people who experience leg cramps for the first time immediately want to know what causes leg cramps and how they can avoid or prevent night cramps in the future.

While there are many contributing factors to leg cramps, there are no fully known causes for night leg cramps.  These contributing factors include being overweight, certain diseases and medical conditions, being older and various changes in diet and exercise.  These contributing factors increase the chances of you getting sudden leg cramps at night, but they can’t be seen as an absolute predictor.

Here are some of the different factors which often cause leg cramps:

• Dehydration
• Kidney problems
• Muscle fatigue
• Certain medications
• Certain diseases
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Pregnancy
• Obesity
• Flat feet/fallen arches
• Restless leg syndrome (RLS)
• Sudden change in activity levels (walking, running)
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• Electrolyte imbalances

The simple fact is that night leg cramps are generally seen as an annoyance by most medical doctors rather than a serious issue.  But anyone who has experienced these severe and persistent leg cramps can attest, they are much worse than just an annoyance to be brushed aside.  As the medical community continues to increase it’s understanding of the musclar and skeletal systems in our bodies there is an increased chance of actually finding the causes of leg cramps and designing a drug or program to prevent them.