Have you ever woken up at night with foot cramps? Well, if you woke up that must mean that the feet pain that came with cramps must have been pretty extreme, right? These cramps can also happen during the day, and when they do, it takes a few minutes for them to subside.
But I want to know, why do these foot cramps happen in the first place? Although the actual reasons behind foot cramps are still unknown to this day, studies show that feet usually cramp up after people get dehydrated or take part in athletic activities, especially if they are new to the activity.
Cramps occur more often in older people than in younger people and some of them may be caused by certain drugs with diuretic effects.
If your cramps are frequent and extraordinarily painful, check with your healthcare provider if one of your medications could be the cause of them.
Sometimes, people with under-active and untreated thyroid glands experience these cramps, and, during the later pregnancy stages, some younger women experience them, too.
To treat my foot cramps, I've listened to some old-school advice to:
So, if you consume a lot of caffeine on a regular basis and cramps are almost second nature to you, you might want to reduce your coffee intake and eliminate various other beverages that are filled with caffeine from your diet, as well.
Some healthcare professionals believe that people should consume around 16 to 31 oz.
of water for each cup of coffee consumed in order to counter-effect the diuretic properties of the caffeine.
If you work out a lot or in hot humid conditions, you could become dehydrated because of excessive sweating.
People who exercise a lot also tend to lose salt as they sweat and excessive loss of salt could bring about foot cramps, as well.
This is why you need to drink lots of water.
But I want to know, why do these foot cramps happen in the first place? Although the actual reasons behind foot cramps are still unknown to this day, studies show that feet usually cramp up after people get dehydrated or take part in athletic activities, especially if they are new to the activity.
Cramps occur more often in older people than in younger people and some of them may be caused by certain drugs with diuretic effects.
If your cramps are frequent and extraordinarily painful, check with your healthcare provider if one of your medications could be the cause of them.
Sometimes, people with under-active and untreated thyroid glands experience these cramps, and, during the later pregnancy stages, some younger women experience them, too.
To treat my foot cramps, I've listened to some old-school advice to:
- Stretch the affected foot towards the opposite direction from the cramp until the feet pain goes away.
- Then, take five minutes and massage the affected foot afterwards, to make sure it really feels better.
- You can then leave it or, if the foot pain was especially intense, you can take ibuprofen or aspirin to relieve any remaining muscle pain.
- elevate the foot,
- soak the foot in some warm water or
- wrap it up in elastic bandages.
- If the pain is chronic, go see a doctor who can help like a podiatrist.
So, if you consume a lot of caffeine on a regular basis and cramps are almost second nature to you, you might want to reduce your coffee intake and eliminate various other beverages that are filled with caffeine from your diet, as well.
Some healthcare professionals believe that people should consume around 16 to 31 oz.
of water for each cup of coffee consumed in order to counter-effect the diuretic properties of the caffeine.
If you work out a lot or in hot humid conditions, you could become dehydrated because of excessive sweating.
People who exercise a lot also tend to lose salt as they sweat and excessive loss of salt could bring about foot cramps, as well.
This is why you need to drink lots of water.