What Is Nocturnal Leg Cramps and Who Is More Likely to Get?
Have you ever experienced a feeling or condition where as you lie down, your leg seizes? The pain is intense enough to make you scream. It doesn’t let up and your muscles are hard to touch. You feel paralyzed when you try to move your leg. This condition is known as nocturnal leg cramps.
Nocturnal leg cramps, according to the American Family Physician, affects about 60 percent of adults. It is also referred to as muscle spasms or charley horses. They occur when one or more muscles in the leg tighten involuntarily.
Leg cramps are more likely to affect the gastrocnemius muscle (calf muscle) which spans the back of each leg from the ankle to the knee. Although, they can also affect the muscle in front of each thigh (quadriceps) and the back of each thigh (hamstrings).
Leg cramps can happen to you while awake or sleeping. Most of the time the muscle relaxes itself in less than 10 minutes. You might feel sore or tender in your leg for up to a day afterward. Frequent nocturnal leg cramps can disturb your sleep.
Leg cramps are more likely to occur as you become older. This is due to the fact that tendons naturally become shorter with age. Tendons are the tissues that link your muscles to your bones. They are also more likely to affect women and those who were assigned female at birth (AFAB). Leg cramps can occur at night for up to 60% of adults and up to 40% of kids and teenagers.