Cramp

I’m sure most of us have suffered from some sort of cramp from time to time. For some people this can be a regular occurrence.

Have you ever been fast asleep one minute then find yourself leaping 6 foot out of  bed having to slam your foot down to the floor in a desperate attempt to stop cramp in it’s tracks?  Sounds familiar?

This rather unpleasant sensation is basically an involuntary (non-conscious) contraction of one or more muscles. This is usually a harmless but incredibly painful experience and can happen to many different muscles. One of the most common muscles to be effected is the calf.

Cramp itself usually only lasts a few minutes but the muscle can be tender  up to 24 hours after. Even high heels can be a contributing factor due to the amount of strain they put upon the calf and the Achilles tendon.

Cramp doesn’t just affect people who are active in sport, in fact people who are less active are just as prone to cramp due to the muscle being in a fixed position causing it to become short (tight).

There is still not a specific cause of cramp but listed below are a few things that may increase the likelihood:

• Lack of sodium
• Muscular fatigue
• Over stretching
• Dehydration
• Injury
• Muscle strain
• Inadequate blood supply to muscles
• Low blood levels of electrolytes, such as potassium
• Not stretching enough
• Overexertion
• The wrong shoes
• Prolonged periods of sitting

The latest thing out there which claims to prevent those pesky nighttime cramps from occurring is in the form of a bar of soap……….yep soap!

Call it what you will, a prevention or a placebo effect, there have been some very positive results.

The idea is to place a thin bar of soap under your sheet in close proximity to the cramping muscle. I know it’s hard to believe and the actual reasoning as to how it can help is not known but quite a lot of people say it does the trick!

Check this method out online for more information, I’m not pulling your leg, honest!

 

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