Muscles are one of the most important parts of our body that help us move easily, pick up and move different objects, and move different parts of our body. Our body muscles are constantly contracting and relaxing; For example, when we want to pick up an object from the wall, the forearm muscle expands and the back muscle contracts. After finishing the activity, the muscles return to their normal state and there is no problem. Now if this contraction and cramping in the muscle remains, the person will clearly feel and touch the problem of stiffness in the muscle and will face problems when performing his movements.
Muscle cramp means an involuntary and abnormal movement in one or more muscles that usually happens suddenly. Muscle cramps are associated with pain and limited movement.
Sometimes we may experience muscle cramps due to too much pressure on the muscles, in which case, we will definitely experience severe pain and we will not be able to do our daily tasks easily. If you have a muscle cramp, by touching the muscle in question, you will feel its tightness completely and you will know that your muscle has a spasm or muscle cramp.
Now what is the cause of body muscle cramps?
Many people experience muscle cramps after a heavy workout at the gym, overexerting the muscles, or after waking up. If you take a look at people's opinions about muscle cramps on ni ni site, you will realize how high the probability of spasms in the neck, shoulder, shoulder, leg, etc. is and how it affects people's lives.
Sometimes, muscle cramps are short and momentary and resolve on their own. But sometimes it happens that muscle cramps last for more than a few days and it affects the person.
It is important to know that muscle cramping is not a very serious problem, but it is a kind of warning that the muscles of the body are weak, and you should strengthen them by using appropriate exercises or with the help of physical therapy sessions so that you don't have this problem again.
Now that you are familiar with the problem of muscle cramps, we want to introduce you to some of the most common types of muscle cramps so that you can learn more about each of them.
Muscle cramps are divided into the following categories:
1- Sports muscle cramps:
In the various sports that exist, we perform various movements and are constantly moving. Sometimes, different sports movements put a lot of pressure on our muscles. In this case, due to the pressure applied to the muscles, the muscles of different parts, especially the legs, experience cramps and spasms, which are accompanied by a lot of pain.
Sports spasm is not only due to the pressure on the muscles and sometimes it also happens due to excessive fatigue or heatstroke; This type of muscle spasm usually occurs only in the leg, and the possibility of having muscle spasm in the upper parts of the body such as the arms is very low.
2- Nocturnal muscle cramps:
This type of muscle spasm usually happens after a tiring day, and the only difference with the previous one is that it can happen without exercise.
The important thing you should know is that nighttime muscle cramps mostly occur in the arch of the foot and may be severe or mild due to the level of body fatigue.
3- Menstrual muscle spasm:
When women are in their menstrual period, their uterus experiences various contractions, which are exactly the same as muscle spasms and cause severe pain for these people.
This pain occurs due to the contraction caused by the death of the cells of the uterine wall, and its intensity is high in the first days of the period.
4- Nervous muscle cramps:
Another type of muscle spasm that is more common in children is nerve spasm. This problem usually happens due to the disconnection of the brain with the desired muscle. This problem also affects some adults.
In this case, when your brain sends an order to the desired muscle, the order does not reach the muscle, and this ultimately leads to neuromuscular cramping.
5- Dystonia or widespread nervous spasm:
Dystonia is another type of neuromuscular spasm, which is much more severe than the previous one and is associated with the possibility of problems such as twisting the leg and returning the leg.
This type of muscle spasm is very important and should be taken seriously so that it does not cause more severe damage to the body and the person can easily deal with it.
6- Short and frequent muscle spasm:
There is another type of muscle spasm that you may experience briefly and frequently, which is called fasciculation. This type of spasm usually occurs in healthy people without problems and is very mild. Fasciculation will not cause a particular problem for a person.
Things like eyelid jump, hiccups, etc. are of the same type of muscle cramps and do not pose any particular danger to the body. Of course, we must say that in some people, fasciculation occurs in a severe and malignant manner, in which case this problem must be treated quickly.
7- Muscle spasm caused by nervous disorder:
There is another type of muscle cramp that usually occurs due to the presence of several nerve disorders in the body and may come and go very quickly. Of course, we must say that this type of spasm, which is also called myoclonus, is very intense and is associated with a lot of pain.
8- Rhythmic spasm:
The next spasm that may happen to some people and is usually confused with the previous type is called Clonus. This type of spasm occurs in different parts of the body due to the stretch reflex and is associated with a lot of pain.
This type of spasm is usually considered a symptom of a stroke or other spinal cord injury.
9- Vibrating muscle cramps:
One of the types of muscle cramps that we all have definitely experienced is tremors. Tremors may occur due to various reasons such as fear, intense exercise, shivering due to cold, etc. Tremor cramps usually occur when we want to use certain muscles, but cannot do so easily.
This type of spasm is the mildest type of muscle spasm that does not cause any special problem and will be completely resolved by leaving that space or environment. This type of spasm may also be caused by stress, which usually resolves when the stress factor is removed.
10- Muscle tremors or myokymia:
This type of muscle spasm occurs in healthy people and is caused by excessive fatigue of a muscle. In this case, the desired muscle becomes wavy or you feel the vibration in the same specific muscle. The intensity of muscle tremors may be severe or mild, based on the level of fatigue and other factors.
If the intensity of muscle tremors is high, to treat this problem, you should see a specialist doctor so that the person's treatment can start faster.
11- point muscle cramp:
The last type of muscle cramp is point cramp. People who do not use their body properly face this problem. In this case, a certain part of a muscle will contract, as a result of which you will experience a lot of pain.
One of the most common types of this type of spasm is back spasm, which occurs due to overwork, fatigue and incorrect use of the back muscles.
If this type of cramping is severe, you can use muscle relaxants and special medicines to solve this problem and release your muscles.
What are the most common causes of muscle cramps?
In the previous parts, we examined together what muscle spasm is and then we examined the types of muscle cramps so that you can get to know more about the types of muscle cramps and have more information about each one.
Now we want to examine some of the most common causes of muscle spasms so that you can get familiar with these causes and in case of spasms, you can easily find and fix the cause of muscle spasms.
1- Excessive use of muscles:
As we said in different types of cramps, one of the most important causes of spasm is muscle fatigue. When you overwork your muscles, the energy of the muscles will be depleted and they won't have enough strength to continue working, and this will cause you to have spasms or cramps.
2- New physical activity:
Another common cause of muscle cramps is doing new sports. Sometimes there may be certain movements that your body is not familiar with and performing such movements, especially in large numbers, can cause muscle cramps. Performing sudden movements such as turning the head and... are among the main causes of neck stiffness.
3- Vascular narrowing:
Another common cause of muscle spasm is vascular narrowing. A specialist doctor diagnoses the problem of vascular narrowing by examining the person, examining the tests and the intensity of the pulses. Arteriosclerosis is one of the main causes of leg cramps and leg cramps. In case of narrowing of blood vessels, you should follow up on this issue so that you can treat it quickly and prevent more serious problems.
4- Chronic neck pain:
Chronic neck pain causes cramps in the neck and back muscles, which is associated with great pain and inability to move the neck.
5- Chronic back pain:
Chronic back pain also causes back muscle weakness and back muscle spasms. Sometimes back muscle cramps are so severe that you cannot do your daily activities.
6- Nervous disorders:
Sometimes, nervous disorders cause muscle cramps, in which case you should see a specialist doctor and try to fix your problem.
7- Increasing age:
When people age, their muscles may gradually become weaker and weaker and as a result, muscle cramps occur. Of course, this problem usually happens to people who have less physical activity.
8- Hypothyroidism:
As we said in previous cases, narrowing of blood vessels can cause muscle spasm. Hypothyroidism is also a problem related to blood vessels and may cause spasms.
9- Pregnancy:
If you have experienced pregnancy or have seen pregnant people up close, you have definitely noticed that these people sometimes experience strong contractions, which are completely normal during pregnancy.
10- Accumulation of extra substances in the muscles:
There are various substances in our body that are eliminated due to various activities such as exercise and working with muscles, and we can continue our lives with complete health.
But sometimes, these substances may remain in the muscles and as a result cause muscle dysfunction and muscle cramps.
11- Body obesity:
Obesity is one of the issues harmful to human health. One of the disadvantages of obesity is muscle cramps. Sometimes, heavy weight puts a lot of pressure on the muscles and leads to muscle cramps.
12- Kidney disease:
Diseases related to kidney failure and... are also another reason for muscle cramps, as a result of which, the muscles of the abdominal area may become cramped and you may experience a lot of pain in this area.
13- Dehydration:
Another reason for muscle cramps is dehydration. When the body faces dehydration, the balance of electrolytes and minerals in the body is disturbed and the body becomes dehydrated. Dehydration and fatigue are one of the main causes of muscle cramps after exercise and intense physical activity.
Now let's get to know the symptoms of muscle cramps.
Symptoms of muscle cramps
Generally, there are three types of muscles in our body: smooth muscles, cardiac muscles and skeletal muscles.
Skeletal muscle or skeletal muscle refers to the muscles that are attached to the bones of the body and when moving the arms, legs and breathing, these muscles contract voluntarily. Skeletal muscles are visible. For example, you can touch your thigh muscles with your hand and see your arm muscles in front of the mirror.
Contraction in skeletal muscles occurs due to excessive stretching of muscles or putting too much pressure on the muscles. Severe pain during muscle contraction is one of the symptoms of skeletal muscle cramps. Most of the time, this spasm is also accompanied by swelling and stiffness in the muscle. If you experience muscle spasms after exercise, it is likely that one of your skeletal muscles is experiencing spasms.
Another type of muscle is smooth muscle. Smooth muscles are present in the internal organs of the body, such as the stomach, intestine, digestive system, and the walls of blood vessels. Smooth muscle movements are involuntary and usually do not have obvious motor signs. In the case of a smooth muscle spasm, a person feels a sharp pain that starts and stops. Smooth muscle spasm is associated with nausea and tendency to vomit.
To treat severe muscle cramps, it is best to see a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor to treat the problem faster. It is better to know that you can prevent muscle cramps by following certain tips.
Method Prevention of muscle cramps
Therefore, if you are one of the people who get muscle cramps a lot, we recommend that you study this section more seriously and get to know effective ways to prevent muscle cramps.
To prevent muscle cramps, observe the following:
1- Drinking enough water:
Muscles and joints of our body need enough water to function well and without problems. If you are one of the people who do not consume at least 2 liters of water per day, you will suffer from muscle cramps.
Of course, you should know that 2 liters per day is for people who have normal activities, and if you are an athlete, this amount should be at least doubled to provide enough water to your muscles.
2- performing stretching movements:
Our muscles are such that the more we use them, the more powerful they become. Therefore, one of the simple ways that you can do is to do stretching exercises regularly so that your muscles are strengthened and less cramped.
Especially if your work is such that you have little activity, doing stretching exercises and light sports activities will be very useful for you and help you have healthier muscles.
3- Weight loss:
As we said in the causes of muscle cramps, obesity is also one of the important reasons for muscle cramps and puts a lot of pressure on your muscles. Therefore, if you are a person who is overweight, you can reduce your weight starting today by paying attention to your nutrition and doing simple activities such as walking.
4- Reducing the consumption of caffeinated and alcoholic beverages:
Using alcohol has many harms to our body, which are not hidden from anyone. So if you use such drinks, try to reduce them and leave them gradually to have healthier muscles.
Also, consume caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee in moderation and avoid consuming them excessively so that you can ensure the health of your muscles.
5- Avoiding exercise in very hot weather:
Heat is one of the important reasons for muscle cramps and when you do sports or intense activities in very hot weather, the possibility of getting muscle cramps is very high. Most people who walk or run briskly throughout the day experience leg muscle spasms at least once. In hot weather, the body sweats more and the body gets tired and dehydrated faster.
So try to give more importance to your body in this field and avoid intense activities in hot weather as much as possible.
6- Using the right chair:
Perhaps few people take the ergonomics of the chair they use seriously, but you should know that this issue has a great impact on the health of your back and body and greatly reduces the possibility of muscle cramps.
Therefore, our recommendation is that you must use the right desk and chair for your work so that you can guarantee your body's health and less muscle and joint problems.
7- Warming up and cooling down before and after exercise:
One of the important points that causes severe muscle spasm in athletes is neglecting the warm-up and cool-down process before and after exercise. When you want to start your exercise, you must warm up your body and muscles by using proper exercise movements so that your body is ready for heavy exercise.
Also, after you finish your exercise, you should do a cooling down for the whole body with appropriate movements so that the body muscles return to their original state and you can continue with normal activities.
This is the most common cause of muscle cramps for athletes. Usually, beginner athletes have this problem because they don't know the importance of warming up and cooling down.
8- Having a proper diet:
To have a proper diet, eat foods that are healthy and you can supply the minerals and vitamins your body needs from them. You should get enough vitamins, minerals and protein to your body daily to have a healthy and strong body.
Therefore, our advice is that if you do not have a proper diet, be sure to visit a nutritionist and try to get a proper diet plan that will help your body to be more healthy.
for What should we eat for muscle cramps?
As we explained, a healthy diet is very important. For this reason, many people have the question of what to eat for muscle pain? Eating sources rich in magnesium, potassium, and calcium help in rapid muscle recovery and treatment of muscle spasms. The following foods are among the best foods to relieve muscle cramps:
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- Water
- Banana
- Pickling water
- Avocado
- beans and lentils
- Sweet potato
- Nuts
- Salmon
- Watermelon
- melon and cantaloupe
- milk
- Vegetables
- Tomato juice
- Orange juice
- olive oil
The best vitamins to relieve muscle cramps
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- Vitamin B1 deficiency leads to pain and muscle cramps. Therefore, take B1 supplement to regulate your body's nervous system. Vitamin B12 also helps regulate the body's nervous system and produce red blood cells.
- Magnesium supplement is one of the best vitamins for relieving muscle cramps, which helps improve sleep, treat muscle cramps, and treat migraines.
- Consumption of vitamin D also helps to relieve muscle cramps. Therefore, to treat muscle cramps, take vitamins B1, B12, magnesium, potassium and vitamin D daily.
Leg cramps are a painful and unpleasant problem that leads to walking disorders. Leg cramps mostly affect the leg muscles. Among the causes of leg cramps are things such as bad sitting and sleeping posture, dehydration, heavy exercise, pregnancy, kidney failure, kidney hyperactivity and hypoactivity, diabetes, alcohol consumption, restless leg syndrome, muscle fatigue, and arthritis.
If you constantly have leg muscle spasms during sleep, you should know that this problem occurs due to body fatigue and nervous problems.
What vitamin deficiency causes leg cramps in sleep?
Vitamin B1 and B12 deficiency leads to muscle cramps in the lower body, especially the legs.
How is leg muscle cramp treated?
If the thigh muscles are cramped, methods such as muscle relaxant drugs, exercises for stretching the thigh muscles, massage, cold and heat therapy, and painkillers can be used to treat leg muscle cramps.
Treatment of muscle cramps after bodybuilding
When you go to the gym and do different sports movements, muscle fibers are microscopically torn and over time, the body begins to repair them to increase muscle density and muscle strength. Muscle pain after exercise is caused by pressure on body muscles and disappears over time.
To relieve muscle cramps after bodybuilding, it is better to take a warm bath and reduce the pain of body muscles with massage. Also, by doing stretching movements, sleeping well, consuming water and simple carbohydrates, help reduce pain and muscle cramps after bodybuilding.
To treat muscle cramps, it is better to see a doctor specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Physical medicine is one of the most popular branches of medicine in Iran. A physical medicine specialist is well acquainted with the musculoskeletal system of the body and can quickly treat problems related to bones and muscles.
Physical medicine specialist treats all musculoskeletal injuries and muscle spasms by providing sports exercises, adjusting joints, manual therapies, injecting methods, drug therapy and other physical methods.
One of the best doctors specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation is Dr. Anna Avamehr, who is a member of the Iranian-American Physical Medicine Association and treats all types of problems related to the spine, joints and muscles of the body with non-surgical methods.
Fortunately, muscle cramps are among the problems that can be treated and can be easily solved with the help of a doctor.
In the following, you will learn about effective methods for treating body muscle cramps.
To treat muscle cramps in the early stages, you can use home and simple methods. If muscle spasms persist, you should consult a physical medicine specialist and refrain from doing arbitrary work so as not to cause injuries such as muscle tears. In the following, you will get to know the ways to treat muscle cramps.
Attention: To avoid possible risks and consequences, please do not do anything arbitrarily without consulting a specialist doctor.
What to do to treat muscle cramps at home?
- Resting the body and stopping intense activities
- Massaging muscles and muscles
- Warming up the muscles with the help of hot water bags
- Do gentle stretching movements
- Consumption of magnesium supplement
Familiar with 4 effective methods for treating muscle cramps
If you go to a doctor specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, he will perform one of the following 4 methods for you to get rid of muscle spasms, so that you can see the spasms getting rid of your body muscles sooner.
1- Stretching exercises to treat muscle cramps
One of the best ways to treat muscle spasms is to do stretching exercises. The specialist doctor will determine the best stretching exercises for you according to the target area and the surrounding muscles. For example, to relieve leg cramps, performing movements such as stretching the muscles of the back of the leg, raising the heel, stretching the soleus muscle, stretching with a towel, and stretching the back of the leg on an incline are very effective.
Movements such as side plank, hamstring muscle stretching with the help of the wall, bridge movement and groin stretching can also be performed to treat thigh muscle cramps.
To treat neck muscle spasms, you can also perform movements such as chest stretch, chin bend, shoulder press, cobra movement, neck muscle stretch, and head rotation stretch.
Usually these stretching exercises are done with the help of a specialist doctor to properly affect the target muscles and treat any spasms and cramps.
Another effective method for treating muscle cramps is injecting drugs and anesthetics into the contracted muscles.
2- injection to the sensitive points of the muscles
First of all, it is better to get familiar with the concept of sensitive points or muscle trigger points. Muscle trigger points or Trigger Point are called tight muscle knots. Trigger points are very sensitive and constantly exhibit contractile behaviors and activity. These points remain contracted during muscle rest. The trigger points of the muscles of the body are known. One of the best ways to treat spasms and muscle cramps is to inject medicine into these sensitive points in the muscle.
By injecting into the sensitive points of the muscles, the desired muscle will be relaxed and any pain and spasm will be removed. In this method, anesthetics and steroids are used to inject into the muscle. The injection should be done by a specialist doctor so that the drugs reach exactly the painful points of the muscle. In some cases, the injection into the muscle should be repeated to eliminate spasm of large muscles.
Injection into the muscle should only be done by a specialist doctor who knows how to do this work completely and has passed special training courses for this work.
Did you know that dry needling therapy can also treat muscle cramps? Read the rest of this article to learn how to treat muscle cramps with the help of dry needling.
3- Treatment of muscle cramps with dry needling
Dry needling is a new method that increases blood circulation, reduces pain and relieves muscle spasms. Dry needling is one of the new physiotherapy techniques that must be performed by a doctor specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
In this method, very fine needles are inserted into painful muscles. The body's immune system is activated to respond to this pain and the target muscle reacts. The muscle reaction breaks the cycle of pain and relaxes the muscle; As a result, muscle cramps are eliminated. In most cases, dry needling is inserted into muscle trigger points (tender points) to release muscle knots and eliminate involuntary muscle contractions.
Note that acupuncture is different from dry needling. In acupuncture, fine needles are inserted into different parts of the body to affect the desired parts in the body; But in the dry needling technique, fine needles enter the painful muscle directly.
4- Drug therapy to relieve muscle cramps
In some cases, to treat muscle spasms in the back and other parts of the body, the doctor prescribes muscle relaxants such as metacarbamol, carisoprodol, metaxalone, tizanidine, baclofen, cyclobenzaprine, and chlorzoxazone. Many people consider baclofen to be the best pill for muscle cramps that helps improve muscle activity.
If you are looking for a shot to relieve muscle cramps, you can inject a shot of metacarbamol. This ampoule is mostly prescribed to relieve neck stiffness and acute back pain.
Rapid treatment of muscle cramps with Dr. Avamehr
If you are currently dealing with the problem of muscle cramps and would like to get rid of this annoying problem as soon as possible, it is better to make an appointment with a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist as soon as possible and see a specialist for your muscle spasm treatment.
Dr. Ana Avamehr, having a lot of experience and expertise, is one of the best doctors for the treatment of muscle cramps in the body, who treats any cramps and spasms in your muscles by performing methods such as providing exercise, injecting into sensitive muscle points, dry needling treatment, and prescribing medicine.
If you take a look at the patient comments on the Nobt.ir site, you will realize how accurate the doctor's diagnosis is and how he quickly treats problems such as hip pain, right side pain, shoulder pain, back pain, leg pain, leg cramps, neck pain, lumbar disc, knee pain and...
You can also quickly book your appointment at Dr. Avamehr's clinic and be seen by this doctor spine specialist so that you can get rid of pain and movement restriction sooner.
