If you have been woken up in the middle of the night by painful leg cramps, you might find this situation scary and confusing. The causes and treatments of nighttime leg cramps were discussed by two physicians in original interviews. Here’s what you need to know. Even though you might think it’s due to the position you’re sleeping in, there’s more to know about nighttime leg cramps. More commonly known as a charley horse, a nighttime leg cramp is when the muscles in a leg quickly tighten up. A charley horse is a sudden, painful and involuntary muscle spasm or cramp. While it usually happens in your leg, especially the calf, it can actually happen in any muscle. “Sometimes the cramps last a few minutes, but I have had patients whose leg cramps lasted longer than that,” said one doctor. A person can be woken up as a result of painful leg cramp symptoms, said Mike Sevilla, M.D., a family physician with Family Practice Center of Salem in Salem, Ohio. “Sometimes the cramps last a few minutes, but I have had patients whose leg cramps lasted longer than that,” he said.
Nighttime cramps become more common as people get older and unfortunately, can become more frequent, Sara Austin, M.D., an associate professor of neurology at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, told Fox News Digital. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. Most of the time, nighttime leg cramps just happen — but there are some causes, she said. “That’s the most common cause. We all get them sometimes,” she said. Hypothyroidism. If you experience frequent cramps, she said, your primary care doctor should test to make sure your thyroid hormone level is normal. Dehydration or very intense exercise. “Make sure if you sweat excessively or are dehydrated that you drink more fluids, preferably with some electrolytes,” she cautioned. Restless leg syndrome. “If you consistently feel like you wake up after being asleep for several hours and you feel symptoms in your leg — cramping, tingling, burning, aching — that are relieved by getting up and walking around, you might have restless leg syndrome,” Austin said.
Some neuromuscular diseases are associated with more frequent muscle cramps, but this is not common, said Dr. Austin. “They are very rare,” she said. There are also prescription medication options for nighttime leg cramps, “but patients should check with their family physician before considering prescription meds.” “But if you find that you are having two to three cramps every night for weeks to months, you should check in with a neurologist,” she advised. When leg cramps begin, start with a gentle stretching of the muscles, said Sevilla of the Family Practice Center of Salem. “In addition, what may help symptoms include massage of the area and application of a heating pad.” Also, he said, “consider over-the-counter pain medication like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.” For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
