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Home Remedies for Muscle Spasms and Cramps

Sujata Iyer
There are quite a few home remedies for muscle spasms and cramps which can help you get through the agony that cramps bring along with them. They're simple, effective and inexpensive too. Let's see what they are....
A muscle spasm or cramp can catch you totally off-guard and for the initial 5 seconds, it will render you completely unable to concentrate on anything but the shooting pain in your calf or your arm or any other part of your body.
While you can prevent the occurrence of muscle spasms, it can be done only to a certain extent. Hence, it's always a good idea to know some useful home remedies for muscle spasms and cramps that you can use in the case that you do experience them.

Effective Home Remedies for Muscle Spasms and Cramps

The causes of muscle spasms and cramps are myriad. It could be due to a lack of minerals in your blood stream or due to overexertion of the part of your body.
Whatever the reason may be, the pain and the discomfort caused by the muscle spasms can turn out to be pretty unbearable at times. In order to avoid such a situation, this section will provide you with some easy home remedies that you can use to relieve the strain on your muscles.

Massage

One of the best home remedies for muscle spasms and cramps is a nice long and luxurious massage of the area that is affected or simply the entire body. Try a herbal massage using herbal oils and the like.
Gently massaging the area will help relieve the tension that the muscles are experiencing, thus relieving the cramps and relaxing the spasms.

Hot Bath

Another tried and tested method to ease the discomfort caused by muscle spasms and cramps is to indulge in a hot water bath. A hot water bath could either be a hot water bath in the tub or a shower in which you have hot water spraying directly on the affected area.
The important point to be kept in mind is that the affected part of your body gets completely soaked by the hot water. This will help improve the blood circulation and your muscles will not feel very tense.

Cold Treatment

Instead of the hot water, you can also indulge in the exact opposite, that is, cold treatment for the muscle spasm or cramp that you're experiencing. Take an ice pack and place it on the affected area. You can also wrap ice cubes in a soft cloth and gently pat the area that is cramping. It will help numb the area and the pain will gradually subside.

Exercise

While it's true that resting an injured part of your body is extremely important, a spasm or cramp is simply the result of a tension between the expansion and contraction of the muscles. So, in order to relieve this tension, there are some simple exercises that you can do.
Try out some simple stretching exercises of the affected area. Continue these simple exercises for about half an hour. However, make sure that you do not exert yourself too much.

Appropriate Diet

Quite often, these muscle tensions take place due to the deficiency of certain nutrients in our body. Calcium and potassium are the main minerals, the deficiency of which can lead to cramps and spasms. Hence, consuming a diet that is rich in calcium and potassium will help to curb the level of discomfort caused due to the muscle spasms.
Calcium rich foods include dairy and dairy products etc., and foods rich in potassium are whole grains, potatoes, celery, tomatoes, etc. Also, during the spasm or cramp, you can consume chamomile tea, as it will help to soothe and relax the irritated muscles.
Having a reasonable exercise regime and taking care of the food that you consume can go a long way in reducing the instances of muscle spasms and cramps. Nevertheless, if you do experience them, you can try out any of the muscle spasms and cramps treatments given above to ease the pain.