Q&A

How do I prevent leg cramps?

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How do I prevent leg cramps?

These steps may help prevent cramps:

  1. Avoid dehydration. Drink plenty of liquids every day. The amount depends on what you eat, your sex, your level of activity, the weather, your health, your age and medications you take.
  2. Stretch your muscles. Stretch before and after you use any muscle for an extended period.

How do you stop leg cramps in elderly?

Treatment for Leg Cramps in Elderly Adults

  1. Gently massage the affected muscle.
  2. Stretch (Straighten your leg if it’s in your calf.
  3. Walk on your heels to activate the muscles opposite your calf.
  4. Apply heat to the affected muscle.
  5. Drink pickle juice, which is believed to help alleviate muscle cramps.

What can you take to prevent muscle cramps?

Eat to Beat Them One way to stop cramps is to stretch or massage your muscles and to eat enough of these key nutrients: potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium. They’re called electrolytes, and you can find them in the following foods.

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Can blood pressure medicine cause leg cramps?

Weakness, leg cramps, or fatigue. Diuretics may decrease the body’s levels of the mineral potassium, which can lead to these side effects. Certain potassium-sparing diuretics do not have this effect, however.

What’s the quickest way to get rid of leg cramps?

However, there are eight steps to take to possibly get rid of a leg cramp:

  1. Stretch. Straighten your leg and then flex it, pulling your toes towards your shin to stretch the muscles.
  2. Massage. Use your hands or a roller to massage the muscles.
  3. Stand. Get up.
  4. Walk.
  5. Apply heat.
  6. Apply cold.
  7. Pain killers.
  8. Elevate.

What is the best over the counter medicine for leg cramps?

Over-the-counter painkillers won’t make the cramping immediately go away, but ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and/or acetaminophen (Tylenol) can help ease the pain associated with the cramps.

What is the best over-the-counter medicine for leg cramps?

What is the safest blood pressure medication with the least side effects?

Thiazide diuretics generally have fewer side effects than the others. This is especially true when they’re prescribed in the low doses that are generally used in treating early high blood pressure. Examples of thiazide diuretics include: chlorthalidone (Hygroton)

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What is a good home remedy for leg cramps?

Lifestyle and home remedies

  • Stretch and massage. Stretch the cramped muscle and gently rub it to help it relax. For a calf cramp, put your weight on your cramped leg and bend your knee slightly.
  • Apply heat or cold. Use a warm towel or heating pad on tense or tight muscles.

Why does pickle juice stop cramps?

The science behind why it works While it hasn’t been proven yet, researchers posit that pickle juice may help cramps by triggering muscular reflexes when the liquid contacts the back of the throat. This reflex shuts down the misfiring of neurons in muscle all over the body, and “turns off” the cramping feeling.

What are the symptoms of taking too much blood pressure medication?

Symptoms

  • Irregular heartbeat.
  • Lightheadedness.
  • Low blood pressure.
  • Rapid or slow heartbeat.
  • Heart failure (shortness of breath and swelling of the legs)
  • Shock (extremely low blood pressure)

What causes muscle cramps in legs with high blood pressure?

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Mineral depletion. Too little potassium, calcium or magnesium in your diet can contribute to leg cramps. Diuretics — medications often prescribed for high blood pressure — also can deplete these minerals. Factors that might increase your risk of muscle cramps include:

What medications can cause leg cramps?

Medications That Cause Leg Cramps 1 Short-acting loop diuretics. Why they’re prescribed: Diuretics (also called water pills)… 2 Thiazide diuretics. Why they’re prescribed: Thiazide diuretics are most commonly used… 3 Beta-blockers. Why they’re prescribed: Beta-blockers are typically prescribed to treat high blood…

Can high potassium levels cause leg cramps?

All three of those drugs are known to cause increased levels of potassium. High levels of potassium can cause more than fibrilation and death, it can cause leg cramps just as low levels can. “Abnormal blood levels of electrolytes, such as calcium, magnesium, or even potassium, can develop muscle cramps.

What are the symptoms of cramps in the legs?

Symptoms of leg cramps. A leg cramp is an episode of sudden pain in the muscles of the leg caused by an involuntary contracting (shortening) of the leg muscle. Most leg cramps occur in the calf muscles and, less commonly, in the feet and thighs.