SLEEP ALL NIGHT » How to Prevent Night Cramps http://www.masteryoursleep.com sleep problems and solutions Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:59:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 Preventing Leg Cramps http://www.masteryoursleep.com/preventing-leg-cramps/ http://www.masteryoursleep.com/preventing-leg-cramps/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:16:33 +0000 Sleep Master http://www.masteryoursleep.com/?p=1220 How can you prevent leg cramps?

Use these tips to help prevent night time leg cramps:

  • Drink a lot of water, preferably tea, and other fluids during the day.
  • Try to avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine. These drinks can make you loosing water in your body
  • Eat healthy foods, especially if you are pregnant, which are rich in potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
  • Stretch your muscles and ligaments on a regular intervals.
  • As it shown below, spend several minutes stretching your leg muscles before going to bed.

Stretching exercises

Stretches are the most important technique for preventing muscles cramps and, most importantly, from any other damage related to tearing ligaments or muscles. The following set of stretching exercises have been widely adopted by hundreds of thousands of people, children and adults, who engaged in playing tennis. Several advices are most recommended by tennis couches:

·         Do all stretches gradually and slowly.

·         Do not rush: as tennis players say, “Nice and Easy”.

·         Do not push or bounce the stretch.

·         You should feel a stretch, not a pain.

·         Breathe normally while you are stretching and do not hold your breath.

·         Each stretch should takes 20 to 30 seconds.

Note: for better understanding these exercises, every muscle has a description from Wikipedia.org

calfstreaching1

Calf muscles stretch

·         Place your hands on a wall for support. You can also do this with your hands on the back of a chair, a tab, or a table, or a post.

·         Step back with one of your legs press your heel into the floor.

·         Push your hips forward and bending your other leg slightly. You will feel the stretch in your straight calf.

·         Hold the stretch 20 to 30 seconds.

·         Repeat several times for each leg.

 Latissimus muscles stretch 

·         Stand with your back straight and your feet apart at the width of shoulder. You also can do this stretch while sitting down on a chair if you have a problem to stay steady on your feet

·         Hold your hands together and your arms above your head.

·         Lean straight over toward your left side. Keep your lower body straight. You should feel the stretch along your right side.

·         Hold 20 to 30 seconds, then switch sides.

·         Repeat several times for each side

 latissmusstretch

 

tricepsstretch

Triceps muscles stretch

·         Stand with your back straight and your feet apart at the width of shoulder. You also can do this stretch while sitting down on a chair if you have a problem to stay steady on your feet.

·         Bring your right elbow straight up and bend your arm.

·         Hold your right elbow with your left hand, and press your right elbow toward your head with lightly. You should feel the stretch along the back of your arm.

·         Hold 20 to 30 seconds, then switch elbows.

·         Repeat several times for each arm.

 

Quadriceps muscles stretch

quadricepsstretch1 

·         Lie on your side while supporting your head with another hand.

·         Bend your upper leg back and grip your ankle with your free hand.

·         Pull your foot toward your buttocks. You will feel the stretch in the front of your thigh.

·         Hold the stretch 20 to 30 seconds.

·         Repeat several times for each leg.

 

 

groinstretch

Groin muscles stretch

·         Hold your both soles of your feet together while sitting down  on the floor.

·         Grip your ankles and slowly pull your legs toward you.

·         Press your knees toward the floor with your elbows. You will feel the stretch in your inner thighs.

·         Hold 20 to 30 seconds.

·         Repeat several times.

 

Hamstring muscles stretch

hamstingstrech 

·         While you lie down on the floor, extend your right leg with your toes pointing up. Support your back with rolled towel if you feel uncomfortable

·         Bend your right knee. And gently pull your right leg toward your head as you straighten that knee. You should feel a gentle stretch down the back of your right leg.

·         Hold the stretch 20 to 30 seconds.

·        Repeat several times for each leg.

 

If you are taking medicines that have side-effect, which causes leg cramps, your doctor should prescribe different medicines.

If it happens that your leg cramps bother you for some time, you should ask your doctor to prescribe medicines that calm leg nerves or relax leg muscles.

What to do if night time leg cramps keep coming back?

Discuss this issue with your doctor if you have leg cramps that keep coming back more often than not, severe, or occur in other muscles of your body. It could be the symptoms of another problem.

 

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