Tips for Dealing with Leg Muscle Cramps

1. DON’T FORGET TO STRETCH.

Stretch your calf muscles by standing on the edge of a thick telephone book, making sure that only the front half of your feet rests on the book and the back of half is suspended over the edge. Rock your feet up and down 10 times, rest for 10 seconds, then repeat. Do 3 to 5 sets of this exercise.

2. USE YOUR FOOTBOARD.

If you have a footboard on your bed, keep both feet flat against the board while sleeping. In an article for The Manila Bulletin, Dr. Eduardo Gonzales shares that using a footboard while sleeping "simulates walking" and "prevents awkward positioning of the feet during sleep."

3. GET YOUR DAILY DOSE OF MINERALS.

Make sure you’re getting your daily requirement of minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Muscles will move only when ordered to by the brain, which sends electrical messages to the muscle telling it when and how to contract. Minerals, which are also electrolytes, help get the message through. If you are not getting enough of these minerals or losing a lot through vigorous exercise, you're setting yourself up for a painful muscle cramp.

4. CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR.

Leg cramps may also indicate some deeper problem, such as an inflammation or clotting of deep leg veins (especially if you’re taking oral contraceptives). If your leg cramps persist or even get worse, see your doctor as soon as possible.

source: femalenetwork

How Health Savvy Are You?

Getting all your info from the Internet is like playing poker. You could be falling for a bluff or lapping up bogus data because a glitzy website purports to hold the truth, just like the cocky player opposite you who raised the stakes. Sixty percent of people said their online research influenced how they dealt with their condition, according to a 2009 Social Life of Health Information report by the US non-profit think tank Pew Research Center. Googling health and fitness information is such a phenomenon that it has its own name: “cyberchondria,” in which the patients believe they’re sick from what they’ve read on the net. Sometimes it’s difficult to separate the truth from the lies.



source: femalenetwork