I keep getting leg and foot cramps in the middle of the night, why??

[PattysGirl]

Hey everyone--
Ok I've always gotten the occasional calf cramp and even foot cramps, but lately I've been getting them every night! I work in an office and noticed that when I'd wear heels, that night I'd get MASSIVE foot cramps in the middle of the night. So I stopped wearing them. But I keep getting them! It's happened the past 3 nights in a row, waking me from my sleep!

I looked online at the different foods that have lots of potassium, since I've been told my whole life that potassium is key for preventing muscle cramps. But when I looked, I found that I eat a lot of stuff that has plenty of potassium in it! I stay hydrated during the day, and have spinach in my salads at lunch, almonds and raisins as a snack, carrots and broccoli and such with dinner, not to mention chicken, milk, and fish!

So basically, I'm at a loss at what to do. These cramps are PAINFUL, and I mean I work out every day but that's not recent...it's only recently that I've been getting them every day!
I take a multivitamin and calcium every day.

Help please!

[tse]

I'm finding this too, although perhaps I'm too low on potassium. I cut my calories to cut as well so maybe thats it - have you changed your diet/ training recently?

I'm interested to see anyone else's take on this.

[ElderJefferson]

I'm interested to see anyone else's take on this.

I used to get cramps regularly throughout the night after my leg day workouts (calf cramps suck, by the way).

I started eating a banana and taking in a couple of glasses of water prior to going to bed. Been doing this for awhile now, and I haven't had a cramp since. I get up in the middle of the night regularly, but that beats having nightmares of a lion grabbing a hold of my leg only to find that my calf has once again cramped up on me.

[scoch]

i get incredibly horrible cramps in my legs/calves/feet as well every day. (subscribed lol)

[ElderJefferson]

Here's a pretty concise little article on leg cramps. Nothing new on here, just a reinforcement of what we already know.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nig...cramps/AN00499

[icery]

i used to get cramps everywhere in my lower body (including quads, ouch) when I would bodyboard for over an hour, and occasionally while I slept. the potassium and water never helped, but you might want to try taurine.

[ElderJefferson]

i used to get cramps everywhere in my lower body (including quads, ouch) when I would bodyboard for over an hour, and occasionally while I slept. the potassium and water never helped, but you might want to try taurine.

Another idea which is mentioned in the above link that helps to curb cramps is to stretch before going to bed. I'm not exactly sure why this helps, but it has worked for me in the past.

[PattysGirl]

Thanks for the input guys (and girls) I've been really baffled by this and it's actually really starting to annoy me! It hurts so bad! I wish I liked bananas...maybe I could try shoving one down...*sigh*

[consciouschef]

Your diet has nothing to do with it. You're just sleeping with your arm/leg/foot in a ****ed up position for a long time and then when you move...cramp.

[consciouschef]

Another idea which is mentioned in the above link that helps to curb cramps is to stretch before going to bed. I'm not exactly sure why this helps, but it has worked for me in the past.

My god.

Have you ever played sports? Did you ever stretch before practice/competition? What do you think the purpose of that was?

[ElderJefferson]

Your diet has nothing to do with it.

That's not true. Diet (especially dehydration) is the number one reason for muscle cramps.

[ElderJefferson]

Have you ever played sports? Did you ever stretch before practice/competition? What do you think the purpose of that was?

Uh, yeah, I do a little "sport". Stretch all the time, and still cramp up and pull muscles. Stretching won't do jack if you have some chemical/mineral/vitamin deficiency.

[Bioteknik]

How much salt do you use? People always point to potassium as preventing cramps, but salt is just as important.

[PattysGirl]

hmm, I'm sure I get plenty of salt, an average amount. I stretch too, maybe I just need to before I go to bed or more intensely after I work out.

The thing with me though is that this is all happening recently, all of a sudden and really intensely. I can't think of what I've changed, if anything, that's causing this.

I did just start (last week...) doing HIIT workouts, that could be it considering it's pretty strenuous...but why wouldn't it start cramping immediately after I started? *sigh*

And I definitely think it has something to do with both, not just one or the other. It's maybe not purely nutritionally to blame, but it's not totally the fact that I'm not stretching enough I don't think.

[BoockCake]

i notice its dehydration

[Ilke2gofst]

Your diet has nothing to do with it. You're just sleeping with your arm/leg/foot in a ****ed up position for a long time and then when you move...cramp.

Diet has everything to do with it. Even if you slept in an "effed" up position you still would not get a terrible cramp ESPECIALLY IN YOUR FOOT. how on earth are you going to sleep with your foot in a bad postition it can only go so many ways.

[RNRW]

Find someone who has a foot fetish, and have them give you massages every day.