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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Cramp On Left Calf Muscle. Used Lidocaine Patch. Reason, What Treatment Should I Take?

I awoke one evening about a year ago and couldn t get out of bed fast enough to stand on my left leg to stop the cramping in my calf . It happened a couple more times. Now I always have this feeling of a possible cramp in my calf. I vacumed the floor yesterday and was pushing extra hard on my left leg and today my calf hurts. I slept with a lidocaine patch on my leg last night and slept ok. The pain in my muscle is still hurting. What can it be from?? How to heal it? Thank you, S Moyer
Mon, 21 Apr 2014
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Orthopaedic Surgeon, Joint Replacement 's  Response
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 and eat a balanced diet with adequate minerals, particularly potassium and magnesium. Taking a multivitamin can also help.
As far as emergency treatment is concerned, my advice would be- as you start to feel your calf locking up, 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 cramps. If you have further query I shall be glad to answer.
Take care
Regards
Dr.chugh


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Cramp On Left Calf Muscle. Used Lidocaine Patch. Reason, What Treatment Should I Take?

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 and eat a balanced diet with adequate minerals, particularly potassium and magnesium. Taking a multivitamin can also help. As far as emergency treatment is concerned, my advice would be- as you start to feel your calf locking up, 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 cramps. If you have further query I shall be glad to answer. Take care Regards Dr.chugh