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Cramps

Description

Cramps are sudden, involuntary, and painful contractions of one or more muscles. The pain caused by a cramp last for a few seconds to a few minutes and can be moderate to severe in nature. A cramp can temporarily hamper one’s life and it may take a while before the affected muscle starts functioning properly. Muscles that are most commonly affected by cramps are back of the thigh, front and back of lower leg.

Causes

Known causes of cramps are:

  • Overuse of muscles,
  • Dehydration,
  • Muscle injury,
  • Low level of calcium, potassium, magnesium, and sodium,
  • Spinal nerve compression,
  • Pregnancy,
  • Alcoholism,
  • Kidney failure,
  • Hypothyroidism,
  • Impaired blood supply to legs and feet.
Risk factors

Prominent risk factors of cramps are:

  • Tight, inflexible muscles,
  • Poor physical condition,
  • Poor muscle tone,
  • Inadequate diet,
  • Physical overexertion,
  • Muscle injury,
  • Muscle fatigue,
  • Dehydration.
Symptoms

Common symptoms of cramps are:

  • Sudden and sharp pain,
  • Presence of a hard lump of muscle tissue beneath skin,
  • Firmness of affected muscle,
  • Tenderness,
  • Restricted movement of affected muscle.
Diagnosis

To reach a diagnosis, your doctor will take your medical history, will recommend you to get a few laboratory investigations done, will examine the affected muscle, and ask about the nature, severity, duration, frequency, aggravating and relieving factors of your condition.

When to consult a doctor?

You should consult a doctor if cramps cause severe discomfort, are associated with swelling, redness, skin changes, and muscle weakness, happen frequently, do not improve with self-care, and are not associated with an apparent cause such as over exertion of muscles.

Available Medicine for Cramps

Librax 5mg/2.5mg

Rs.33.9

Martin Dow

Librax 5mg/2.5mg

Rs.48.6

Martin Dow