Suggest Treatment For Severe Cramps In The Foot And Ankles

Posted on Thu, 4 May 2017

Question: The intense cramps occur in my foot and ankle as well as in my calf muscles. They only occur during my sleep. The cramps wake me up. I get out of bed and walk around to stop them from occurring. Sometimes I take ibuprofen to subside them. Fortunately the cramps occur no more than two times per night. I have noticed they occur the evening after I exercise. I use Nautilis equipment. Two pieces of equipment exercise my calfs and shins. I will have a few glasses of red wine before I go to sleep. Any thoughts and thank you for your help. XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. salah saad shoman (57 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Dehydration , overuse or potassuim and calcium difficiency

Detailed Answer:
Dear sir, there are several causes for this situation :
1) over use of the muscles , this occur if you have increased your daily excersices suddenly. it is adviced to increase the duration of your daily excersice gradually.
2) potassuim and calcium difficiency
3) dehydration , this will occur if you don't drink enough water and fluids
here are some suggestions to prevent muscle cramps from recurring,
1) you should drink plenty of water and fluids daily especially after you excersice ( minimum of 8 cups daily) . the sign that you are adequately hydrated is that your urine will be light yellow in color or even clear as water
2) limit alcoholic drinks
3) increase your intake of foods rich in potassuim as bananas and foods rich in calcium as tuna and dairy products
4) gradually increase your daily excersices
5) take a multivitamin supplement daily, or you can take potassuim and calcium supplements separately
6) a warm shower before bed may help prevent the cramps
I hope I answered your question. if you don't have any other clarifications then please close the discussion.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana