Almost everyone will experience muscle cramp sometimes in their life!
Experiencing muscle cramps are definitely not enjoyable. I used to experience muscle cramps regularly playing soccer. Before getting into the potential causes of muscle cramps, something needs to be clear! There are many different types of cramps, which could be the result of a serious diseases (Don’t panic, these are not too common!), so please, don’t self diagnose yourself and don’t allow me to diagnose you online!
Let’s now talk about some common causes of muscle cramps, like the ones I used to get playing soccer! (By the way, soccer challenges are always welcome!)
- Hydration: Make sure you hydrate yourself before a physical activity. Physical activity could mean a soccer game for an athlete, or perhaps walking for individuals that are not active.
- Potassium and Magnesium: low levels of potassium and magnesium can produce muscle cramps. A banana, full of magnesium and potassium, will also give you a boost of energy prior to your activity due to its high levels of natural sugars, vitamin C, A1, B6, B12, and iron.
- Lack of stretching or muscle injuries: persistent muscle cramps can be a protective mechanism by your body due to injury/small tear (micro-tear) to that specific muscle. Lack of stretching before the exercise will definitely increase your risk of producing small tears in your muscle.
- Fatigue: If you feel tired, take a break! That’s all I need to say about this one!
- Medication: an example of these medications can be the medications used for the removal of body fluid (diuretic medications). These medications can produce muscle cramps as an adverse reaction. (Talk to your physician)
Now it’s time for some potential diseases causing cramps. In recent studies, there seems to be a direct correlation with Cirrhosis (Liver disease) and muscle cramps which really has to do with the decrease in effective circulation volume to and from liver.
Another example of a serious disease can be a bacterial infection causing Tetanus disease, which is a disease of nerves and your nervous system. I am not really trying to scare you, but you need to know that self diagnosis is really not the best path to take.
Dr. Ali Masoumi
www.facebook.com/drmasoumi
