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Cramps in Calf at Night- Causes and Remedies

Diposting oleh Unknown Rabu, 20 Juni 2012 0 komentar


Calf Pain at Night
In the middle of night when you are sleeping and its not more than an hour or so that you fell asleep, you suddenly feel a severe cramp in your calf or calves. You realize that you are half awake and sometimes moaning in pain! These are the charlie horses cramps or the cramps in calf at night. If you have been in this situation once or for multiple times, you are aware of how painful these nocturnal calf cramps can be! There are many causes of leg calf cramps at night beginning from your lifestyle, the food that you eat which can be deficient in certain minerals to certain diseases as well as medicines that you regularly take for your diseases! Why do you have calf pain at night and what can you do to get rid of these calf pain and cramps? Let's explore!


What are Nocturnal Calf Cramps?


As the term itself says, nocturnal calf cramps are the nighttime leg cramps felt in calves- the back part of the legs situated right below your knees. They are sudden spasms, or tightening of muscles in the calf. In fact, they are more serious condition than spasms because the calf pain at night is a sudden, uncontrolled contraction of a muscle. Calf pain at night often occur just when you are falling asleep or waking up and they can last a few seconds to a few minutes.

What Causes Cramps in calf at Night?


While doctors are still not sure about the exact causes of leg cramps at night, there are many reasons stated by them on the basis of patients who sometimes have fluid imbalance or a vitamin deficiency in their bodies. Some studies, however, link nocturnal calf cramps with increased electrical activity in the affected leg muscles, but doctors still don't know what causes nocturnal leg cramps. In some cases, calf cramps at night may be caused by a fluid imbalance or a vitamin deficiency. Apart from these main speculative causes of calves cramps, there are many other causes cited as responsible for these cramps at night.

Overused and strained calf muscle. You might have tried a new exercise or overdone some of the exercises that strain your calf muscles.

Injury to Achilles Tendonitis tendon. Pain due to some injury to Achilles tendon which joins the calf muscles with the heel might also intensify your calf cramps at night. This type of leg pain often will extend itself to the heels where the Achilles tendon is situated.

Occurance of Varicose Veins. If you keep yourself standing for most of the time in the day, you might develop varicose veins- a condition when your veins in calf get wider and enlarged. This is due to the unusual accumulation of blood in the veins that fail to travel back to heart.

High cholesterol leevels. If you suffer from high cholesterol levels, it might lead to clogging of the arteries due to cholesterol deposition in them. This, in turn, affects the blood supply to the calf leading to pain and cramps. You must therefore know How to Control Cholesterol

Increased blood sugar levels.If you are diabetic, there can be yet another cause for your calf cramps at night- high blood sugar levels that damage the peripheral nerve known as diabetic neuropathy. Use this Checklist for Diabetes which talks about best diet for insulin dependent persons.

Knee pain and knee joint inflammation.If you suffer from arthritis or knee pain that causes inflammation in the knee joint, it is quite possible for you to have calf pain at night. Read about these Knee Pain ManagementDo's & Don'ts 

Other causes of calf cramps at night may include sleep disorders; dehydration; deficiency of potassium, calcium, and other minerals; excessive body weight; sitting for a long time during the day; keeping your legs in awkward positions when you sleep; consuming certain medicines like diuretics for urine problems, statins, steroids or birth control pills; diseases like thyroid and kidney problems.

Remedies for Nocturnal Calf Cramps


You must first identify as to what causes your calf pains at night! If its is high cholesterol or blood sugar then you must take steps to treat these conditions. However, when you wake up due to cramps in calves at night, to get immediate relief, stretch out your leg or legs and stay in that position for sometime (about 10-15 minutes). You can gently massage your calves with your fingers too. Stretching of legs are a must for people who experience calf pain – either at night or anytime. So, how to do stretches for calf muscles?

Here's how you can do stretching exercise to get relief from your calf cramps at night.
  • Lay down on your back and extend both your legs.
  • Take a rolled up towel and wrap it around the ball of your foot.
  • Keeping your leg straight, pull your toes towards yourself. You will feel the stretch at the back of your legs.
  • Take your foot up and then down keeping your leg straight. Repeat this without stopping. You should not hold the stretch. Keep doing this for about 2 minutes.
  • Repeat the entire process with the other leg.
See this Calf Pain Rehab Video to get idea about how to stretch calf muscles to get relief from calf strain.


You can also do a simple calf stretching exercise daily for three times. 
  • You have to stand against a wall with your hands placed at wall infront of your chest. 
  • Keep one of your leg at a distance of one feet from the wall. 
  • Keep the other leg at a distance of two to three feet from the wall (see image below). 
  • Take it far from wall till you feel a stretch in your leg. 
  • Hold for 1-2 minutes in this position. 
  • Repeat with the other leg.

If you get calf cramps at night, almost every night, you should consult your physician to identify the cause. If its a badly pulled calf muscle, it would need treatment which include medicines and physical therapy with deep tissue massage and gentle stretching exercises. If its an injury involving severe rupture in your calf muscles, you might have to go for a surgery too. Varicose veins can be treated with compression bandage and crtain exercises.

Other things that you can do to get relief from your night calf cramps include the following
  • Have optimum sleep.
  • Drink enough water.
  • If overweight, lose weight
  • If having medicines that cause your leg pain, see your doctor and resolve either by asking for alternative medicines or other ways suggested by your physician.
  • Quit smoking as it constricts the blood vessels giving you more cramps.
  • Follow a healthy lifestyle and have healthy foods rich in potassium. Bananas, grapes, beans, apricots, dates, raisins, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, oranges, grapefruits, potatoes, corn, saltwater fish like tuna, all are good sources of potassium and other required minerals. Diabetics should avoid bananas, they can have coconut water instead.
  • Do regular calf muscle exercises so that your calf muscles get strong and flexible.
If you do regular calf muscle exercises and pay attention to a balanced diet, you can get rid of the cramps in calves at night. If this doesn't work, you must see your doctor to get relief from your calf cramps at night!

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Home Remedies for Stomach Ache, Upset Stomach

Diposting oleh Unknown Jumat, 02 Maret 2012 0 komentar

Stomach Ache
Upset stomach is a cause of concern because you cannot just neglect it. Stomach ache or pain accompanied with cramps  make you so uncomfortable that you cannot pay attention to your work at hand neither can you sleep or sit quietly. So, you must get rid of stomach ache and other problems related to upset stomach. Here are some quick and easy home remedies for upset stomach. Whenever, there is a problem related to any stomach ailment, you will have pain in stomach. Sometimes you might experience flatulence or you might even experience difficulty in passing gas which again results into stomach ache and cramps. At other times, you might feel that your stomach is bloating and sometimes you might suffer from indigestion leading to an upset stomach and stomach pain. Home remedies for stomach pain given here work for all these types of stomach problems including stomach ache, flatulence, indigestion, bloating etc.

Easy Home Remedies for Stomach Ache & Other Problems

Stone Apple Remedy for Stomach Pain

Bael fruit (stone apple) is one of the very good remedies for all kinds of upset stomach problems. Take a ripe stone apple and after peeling it (discard the hard cover of bael fruit) take out the matter inside and let it dry. After it completely dries, ground it to make powder and store. Have a spoon full of this powder everyday for treating upset stomach.

Black Salt Remedy for Stomach Ache

If you are suffering from indigestion, mix ¼ spoon of black salt powder with 1 spoon of hot water and have it before meals.

Ginger Remedy for Stomach Pain

Take 1-2 pieces (¼ inches) of fresh ginger and sprinkle salt on them. Chew this salted ginger to get rid of such stomach problems as bloating, constipation, flatulence etc.

Coriander Remedy for Stomach Ache

If you have loose motions and need to go to toilet every time after a meal, chew few leaves of fresh coriander. Coriander leaves is beneficial to treat weak liver.

Isabgol Remedy for Stomach Pain

Have one spoon Isabgol husk (Psyllium) daily in the morning and evening. Have it either with water or milk. This is a good home remedy for constipation and related stomach ailments.

Asafetida Remedy for Stomach Pain

Take equal amounts of asafetida (hing), black peeper, dry ginger (sonth), carrom seeds (ajwain), rock salt (sendha namak),  white cumin seeds (safed jeera), black cumin seeds (kala jeera or kalaunji). Take ghee (clarified butter) in a pan and roast hing (asafetida) in it for a couple of minutes. Let it cool. Mix all the spices and ground and make powder of this mixture. Store it in a airtight container. Before meals, have a little of this powder. This is a very good remedy for all types of stomach problems like stomach ache, flatulence, bloating, indigestion etc.

If you are unable to pass gas or suffer from flatulence, bloating etc. you can take asafetida and mix it with some water to make a paste like mixture. Rub this mixture around the navel for a few minutes. You will instantly get relief from stomach ache and other problems related to upset stomach.

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Osteoarthritis Overview and Knee Pain Management Do's & Don'ts

Diposting oleh Unknown Jumat, 03 Februari 2012 0 komentar


Are you experiencing morning stiffness in knees and knee joint pain through the day which is relieved only when you rest? If you are also missing your morning walks and other favorite activities that require using your knees like outdoor sports, shopping, going out etc, you might be suffering from osteoarthritis knee pain. It is thus the right time to know about the options for treatment for osteoarthritis knee pain as well as knee pain management to get relief from the torturous situation!

Get an overview of Osteoarthritis facts. Know what is Osteoarthritis (OA), what are the symptoms, causes, risk factors and treatment for osteoarthritis? Knee joint pain relief is of utmost importance for doing even routine works. Thus, know about knee pain management – some do's and don'ts for those suffering from osteoarthritis!


What is Osteoarthritis?

When the breakdown of joint fluid and cartilages occur, it leads to the condition called osteoarthritis. Cartilages are the slippery tissues that cover and protect the ends of bones in the joints, including knee joints. Its breakdown affects the mobility of joints causing joint pain, stiffness and loss of movement.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis can occur in any joint of the body. Most often OA occurs in hands, knees, hips and spine. The very common warning signs of OA are stiffness and/or swelling as well as tenderness in one or more joints. Yet another sign of osteoarthritis is a crunching feeling or the sound of bone rubbing on bone. Following are included in the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

  • Knee pain
  • Joint stiffness
  • Swelling
  • Loss of Movement
  • A crunching feeling in the knee

Causes of Osteoarthritis- the Risk Factors

There is no straight forward answer to the question regarding causes of osteoarthritis in spite of extensive researches carried on the subject. The risk factors for osteoarthritis may include the following.

  • Age- People above the age of 45 have the risk for developing osteoarthritis. It is, however, most commonly found in people over age of 65.
  • Gender- This disease of osteoarthritis is more common in women, particularly after the age of 55.
  • Obesity- This can be one of the causes for osteoarthritis as every kilogram puts three extra kilogram of pressure on knees.
  • Heredity- Genes that are responsible for creating and maintaining cartilages might have a link with osteoarthritis.
  • Injury/ overuse of joints
  • Weakness of muscles- Weak thigh muscles lead to osteoarthritis knee joint pain.

Treatment for Osteoarthritis

Although there is no cure for osteoarthritis other than joint replacement surgery in advanced stage, there are various treatments for knee joint pain relief that help in reducing pain. Some of such types of treatment for osteoarthritis include the following.

  • Pain relieving medicines like acetaminophen, non steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and topical pain relieving creams.
  • Steroid injections for temporary knee joint pain relief and for reducing inflammation and swelling.
  • Viscosupplementation injections. These are intra-articular injections that replace diseased synovial (joint fluid) with healthy joint fluid in knees with osteoarthritis. This grants knee joint pain relief  and improves its functionality. Know more about Viscosupplementation- Osteoarthritis Knee Pain Treatment
  • Knee Replacement Surgery. When other osteoarthritis treatments do not provide relief from knee joint pain, knee replacement surgery remains the last option for the patient of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis Knee Pain Management- Do's and Don'ts!

Here is a compilation of things that one must do and some other things that one must avoid in order to get relief from pain due to osteoarthritis. Read and internalize these steps to manage knee pain efficiently.

Osteoarthritis Knee Pain Management- Do's

Below are the steps one should follow for relieving knee joint pain.

Osteoarthritis Knee Brace
  • Try to sit while working to relieve stress to the knees.
  • Use knee cap support or posterior guard support in order to correct deforming positions.
  • Give hot water fomentation to relieve knee pain.
  • Wear comfortable and well fitting shoes to reduce stress on joints.
  • Use western style commode and raised toilet seats.
  • Get a non-slippery flooring at home.
  • Use chair extenders. These extenders on chair legs can lift the seat at the kitchen or dining room table so the person with osteoarthritis can sit easily without putting stress on knees. Stools, carts or trash cans with wheels are also helpful while doing household chores.
  • Rearrange cupboards and drawers in a way that reduces painful stretches.
  • Raise the level of electrical appliances like microwave ovens, food processors, bread toasters etc. to a comfortable height in order to relieve undue pressure on hips and knees.

Below are the steps one should follow for restoring joint function.

  • Do regular knee exercises. This helps in correcting muscle imbalance and also improves the strength of muscles located around the joint.
  • Do regular knee movement in order to avoid stiffness of the knee joint.

Below are the steps one should follow for reducing weight as obesity is also one of the causes of osteoarthritis.

  • Have proper diet with reduced sugar consumption and increased intake of salads, fruits and sprouted vegetables.
  • Walk regularly to keep yourself active and to reduce weight.

Osteoarthritis Knee Pain Management- Don'ts

Avoid the following in order to get relief from knee pain.

  • Don't sit with crossed legs.
  • Don't lift heavy weights.
  • Avoid doing prolonged activities that put strain on joints like gardening, standing for longer durations, kneeling, squatting etc.
  • Avoid jerky movements.
  • Don't smoke. Researches have shown that smoking leads to joint pain along with other ailments.

Osteoarthritis Knee Pain Management- While Traveling

These are some tips for traveling with knee pain.

  • Do realistic planning for any trip and the activities you are safely able to do. For example, avoid trekking, mountaineering or other such adventure travel trip.
  • Do research for the amenities, transportation and lodging options. Select those that are most comfortable for you.
  • If you need wheelchair assistance, request right at the time of booking your air ticket.
  • Always travel with a brief medical history along with list of your prescriptions, physician's name and phone number.
  • Always use luggage with wheels as this will put minimum stress on your knee joints. Take only those items with you that you will need in-flight.
  • People suffering with osteoarthritis knee pain should always wear comfortable walking shoes.

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How to Get Rid of Lower Back Pain – Management & Treatment Options

Diposting oleh Unknown Rabu, 04 Januari 2012 0 komentar

This is perhaps the most common question today asked by the working population- How to get rid of lower back pain? Among all the causes for lower back pain, long hours of sitting/standing and that too with wrong posture takes the lead! Here we give you some sure shot pain management remedies to lower your back pain.

How to get rid of lower back pain
Lower back pain is a common health problem today. The causes for lower back pain include injuries, diseases, infections, and even inheritance but majority of people suffer from lower back pain due to the weight of the upper body which puts loads on the lower back. Thus, the first rule of back pain management is to learn habits that reduce the load of upper body on lower back! There are many ways for doing this which you will learn in this write up. You will also come to know that you can not only get rid of lower back pain through various pain management methods but also through various lower back treatment options that might include back pain drugs as well as alternative treatments for back pain like chiropractic treatment, acupuncture as well as various exercises for lower back pain.


Get Rid of Lower Back Pain through Pain Management Techniques

Lower back pain management techniques are simple and easy to follow but tough to remember! So, if you really want to get rid of your lower back pain, you should teach yourself hard to follow all these pain management methods.

Sit and stand properly to get rid of lower back pain. Properly doesn't always mean sitting too straight. Slouching while sitting is one of the main causes of lower back pain. However, sitting too straight for longer can also put pressure on your lower back. If you have to keep sitting for most of the day, you should do this for a couple of times- lean back on chair with the help of your feet and a little curve in your back. You must also stand up quite often – every one hour if not more frequently than that! See this video to know how to sit and stand properly to cure lower back pain as well as to avoid it.


Lower Back Pain Management- Sitting & Standing Postures

You might also like to know how to Prevent Back Pain While Working at Computer?

Practice caution whenever lifting heavy objects to prevent pressure on lower back. Whenever lifting heavy objects, squat close to the object keeping the back straight and the head up. Stand while putting pressure on the legs to lift the load. In short, lift with the knees and not with the back. Never twist or bend your body when lifting.

Do exercises to get relief from lower back pain. And do them regularly. These exercises are one of the most effective ways of lower back pain management as well as treatment. However, consult your doctor before doing any exercise for lower back because there might be some spine or disc related issues that may need caution while exercising. Your physician will be able to tell you the gentler exercises to begin with. Once you are able to subside your acute pain, you might start doing other advanced exercises to get rid of lower back pain. Here is a video showing some effective lower back pain exercises.


Lower Back Pain Exercises Video

Get Rid of Lower Back Pain through Various Treatment Options

You can always get rid of lower back pain through the ways suggested in the above section but when it comes to chronic lower back pain, you have to seek professional help and adopt one from many back pain treatment options available these days. What should be the treatment for your back pain can be decided only by your doctor after careful diagnosis. Some of the options available for lower back pain treatment include the following:

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