Hi,
Muscle cramp is a sudden, involuntary or uncontrollable and painful contraction or spasm of a muscle like muscle of thigh. The exact cause of muscle cramp is unknown but some triggering factors like ageing, overuse of a muscle,
dehydration, electrolytes imbalance,
muscle strain, certain medications like statins or diuretics, holding a position for a prolonged period may cause a muscle cramp. Muscle cramp may persist from a few seconds to 10 minutes. It may happen at any time, but usually occur at night or when resting. It may affect calf muscle, muscle in the feet or the thigh. Regular stretching and messaging the muscle may help to reduce cramp but can't prevent cramp from happening again. So, stretching exercises are the treatment of choice here and taking
Quinine pills if exercise hasn't helped. Keeping yourself rehydrated, taking foods containing electrolytes like sodium, potassium,
magnesium etc, consuming
paracetamol to ease soreness after a muscle cramp can be helpful to combat with muscle cramp too.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Zubayer Alam, General And Family Physician,