A potential cause of leg cramps is a vitamin deficiency, though research into this is ongoing. Vitamins B1, B12, and D may help relieve them, along with potassium and magnesium.
Vitamin B12deficiency symptoms may include: strange sensations, numbness, or tingling in the hands, legs, or feet.
Vitamin D helps your body use calcium. But when you're deficient in this vitamin, your legs may feel weak, sore and heavy. A vitamin E deficiency may be another reason your legs feel heavy after a run.
For muscles to contract properly, they need assistance from essential vitamins and minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium Chloride, and vitamins like Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin D and Vitamin K. Each of these nutrients plays a significant role in healthy muscle contraction.
A severe vitamin B12 deficiency may damage nerves, causing tingling or loss of sensation in the hands and feet, muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, difficulty walking, confusion, and dementia. The diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency is based on blood tests.
B12 is very important for keeping your nervous system in good working order. Severe lack of Vitamin B12 is rare, but shakiness and tremors can occur even in mild deficiency.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Vitamin B1 deficiency can cause heavy and tired legs after running, muscle cramps, fatigue, and odd sensations in your legs and feet. Some foods rich in vitamin B1 include whole grains, vegetables, legumes, milk products, and meat.
Changing positions more often can improve blood circulation and reduce fatigue. Limiting salt intake: Cutting down on salt may decrease swelling in the legs that is due to excess salt and fluid retention. Using compression socks: Compression socks or stockings can help increase blood flow in the lower body.
Leg weakness can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, some of which are serious. Possible causes include stroke, systemic diseases, inflammatory conditions, nerve damage, muscle disorders, and medication side effects.
Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body's blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. Vitamin B12 also helps prevent megaloblastic anemia, a blood condition that makes people tired and weak.
The most prevalent symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are neurologic, such as paresthesia in hands and feet, muscle cramps, dizziness, cognitive disturbances, ataxia, and erectile dysfunction, as well as fatigue, psychiatric symptoms like depression, and macrocytic anemia.
In many cases, supplementing with vitamin B-12 can reduce the pain associated with neuropathy. More rarely, it can help repair the myelin sheath, depending on the cause of the neuropathy. However, B-12's ability to speed up tissue regeneration and improve nerve function can be helpful for some.
Once you begin treating your vitamin B12 deficiency, it can take up to six to 12 months to fully recover. It is also common to not experience any improvement during the first few months of treatment. If you can, it's a good idea to address what's causing the deficiency.
Combining running and walking with strength training and other forms of aerobic exercise like swimming, elliptical training and cycling can add variety to your workout and can greatly improve your performance. Sports like soccer and basketball are great for improving leg power as well.
Weakness in the legs is a common symptom of many health conditions and injuries, including autoimmune diseases, spinal conditions and injuries, and stroke. Often, leg weakness will resolve over time, but in some cases, it can be a medical emergency, especially if the weakness comes on suddenly.
Sometimes your legs feel so weak that you are concerned that you might not be able to walk or stand. Your legs can also feel jelly-like, rubbery-feeling, and that you have to force yourself to walk. Your legs can also feel like they are numb and you have a hard time feeling them.
What vitamin is good for foot pain? Vitamin deficiencies have been linked to foot pain. As such, B, D, and C vitamins can help relieve this issue.
When vitamin D levels are low and the body isn't able to properly absorb calcium and phosphorus, there is an increased risk of bone pain, bone fractures, muscle pain and muscle weakness.
Sources of Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is naturally present in foods of animal origin, including fish, meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products [5]. In addition, fortified breakfast cereals and fortified nutritional yeasts are readily available sources of vitamin B12 that have high bioavailability [12,13].