Brief Answer: Warm up (stretching) and avoid dehydration Detailed Answer: Hi Thanks for your query. After going through your suffering, it seems you have developed muscle spasm (cramp).The cramps are caused by hyper excitability of the nerves that stimulate the muscles. May I know are you taking any medicine which causes excessive urination? Leading to low calcium, Magnesium, potassium level. Drugs given for asthma, angina and Parkinsonism also lead to cramp. A simple way to prevent cramp is- 1. Warm up and stretch your calf muscles before running stretch your calf muscle before going to field 3-4 times and each time holding for 10-15 seconds. 2. Talk to qualified trainer for proper running form and footwear. 3. You may run in a heel-toe pattern and avoid letting the balls of your feet hit the ground first. 4. Stay properly hydrated before, during and after you run and eat a balanced diet with adequate minerals, particularly potassium and magnesium. Taking a multivitamin can also help. As far as treatment on field is concerned, my advice would be- as you start to feel your calf locking up, stop running and grab the affected muscle. Squeeze the muscle to complete the contraction, and then massage it to relax it further. The cramp should go away after you massage your calf for several seconds. If the muscle is still tight, you might need to apply heat to get the cramp to disappear. Drinking water or a sports drink may help, as can eating a banana, which is high in the electrolyte potassium. Calf cramps that leave your muscles feeling sore or tender can be treated with cold. If the calf cramps occur consistently, consult a sports-medicine doctor for an evaluation. I hope this information will be helpful to prevent night cramps. If you have further query I shall be glad to answer. Take care Regards Dr.chugh

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