A significant body of research has found that increasing your magnesium intake can help with the frequency of night time leg cramps, especially for pregnant women. Health experts recommend getting at least 300 milligrams of magnesium each day.
Potassium gluconate has a high absorption rate of approximately 94 percent, making it useful for “quick” needs like leg cramps or blood pressure management. Potassium chloride is commonly prescribed by a doctor for hypokalemia, or low potassium levels.
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.
Potassium. Potassium helps maintain normal cell function in the body, particularly in the nerves and muscles. It is relatively common for people to have a potassium deficiency. However, if a person has a severe deficiency , they may experience symptoms such as leg cramps.
Since magnesium plays a role in neuromuscular transmission and muscle contraction, it has been hypothesised that magnesium deficiency may predispose to muscle cramps. Thus magnesium supplements are often recommended to prevent cramps.
Apply heat or cold.
Use a warm towel or heating pad on tense or tight muscles. Taking a warm bath or directing the stream of a hot shower onto the cramped muscle also can help. Alternatively, massaging the cramped muscle with ice may relieve pain.
Vitamin B complex.
There is some evidence that taking a daily capsule containing eight B vitamins—B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6, B7 (biotin), B9 (folate), and B12—may prevent cramps.
Taking a warm bath or shower may also help. Drink pickle juice. Some evidence suggests that drinking a small amount of pickle juice may help relieve muscle cramps. Take an over-the-counter painkiller if your leg is sore after.
Magnesium is often recommended as a natural treatment for leg cramps, and there are many different magnesium supplements available.
Common signs and symptoms of potassium deficiency include weakness and fatigue, muscle cramps, muscle aches and stiffness, tingles and numbness, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, digestive symptoms, and changes in blood pressure. If you think you're deficient, contact a healthcare professional.
Although further research is needed on magnesium and muscle cramps, taking 300 mg of magnesium daily may help decrease symptoms.
Magnesium administration, concomitant with potassium, assists tissue replenishment of potassium.
Abnormal blood levels of electrolytes, such as calcium, magnesium, or even potassium, can develop muscle cramps. Although low potassium blood levels occasionally cause true muscle cramps, high potassium blood levels also cause muscle cramps.
Some research shows that replacing certain nutrients, including potassium, sodium, and magnesium, may help counteract muscle cramps.
Most of the time, no apparent cause for night leg cramps can be identified. In general, night leg cramps are likely to be related to muscle fatigue and nerve problems. The risk of having night leg cramps increases with age. Pregnant women also have a higher likelihood of having night leg cramps.
Can a leg cramp be a sign of heart problems and/or a stroke? The answer is yes. Poor circulation in the legs' arteries can be a sign of poor circulation in heart arteries.
Preventing leg cramps
If you often get leg cramps, regularly stretching the muscles in your lower legs may help prevent the cramps or reduce their frequency. You might find it useful to stretch your calves before you go to bed each night (see stretching advice above or try this post-exercise calf stretch).
There is a variety of factors that can lead to leg cramps. The most common causes of cramps include dehydration, muscle overuse and muscle strain or trauma. A common alternate cause is venous insufficiency.
Magnesium citrate may be the most effective type if you want to try a supplement. If you're magnesium deficient, there may be other benefits from increasing your intake of this nutrient. And other remedies are available for leg cramping that may help.
If you're trying to combat leg cramps or even just relax before bed, one of my favorite forms is magnesium glycinate. It's highly absorbed and well tolerated without producing a laxative effect.
Recommend purpose: Magnesium Citrate is a more well-rounded form of magnesium for general wellbeing. It is helpful for calming the nervous system and muscle cramps.
Adults should consume about 3,500mg of potassium per day, according to the UK's National Health Service. The average banana, weighing 125g, contains 450mg of potassium, meaning a healthy person can consume at least seven-and-half bananas before reaching the recommended level.