What causes muscle cramps?

What causes muscle cramps?

Picture this: you're enjoying a leisurely jog through your favourite local park. You stop to grab a quick gulp of water and tie your shoelace... then, out of nowhere, you're suddenly doubled over doing a strange hopping dance as your calf muscle spasms and twitches out of control.

Welcome to the strange world of muscle cramps (also known as muscle spasms). You've likely experienced them at some point, or have friends or family that has, so you know how painful they can be. But do you know how to treat and prevent them?

We've put together this handy playbook to help demystify muscle cramps, including common causes, risk factors, how to stop them in action, and what to do to prevent them from happening.

What are muscle cramps?

Aside from being completely normal, but also feeling very strange, a muscle cramp is an involuntary contraction of a muscle that can't relax. They can happen in any muscle, at any time, and experts don't know why some people tend to get them more than others. 

Ranging from mild to severe, most muscle cramps aren't that serious. But don't panic: keep an eye on any chronic cramping which could mean there's something more serious going on. If you're concerned, go and see your GP.

The symptoms of muscle cramps

From a little twitch to a more painful spasm, you might experience a range of different symptoms depending on where the cramp is in your body. The most common symptom is a sharp, severe jolt of pain, followed by spasming. 

You might also experience:

  • Tightness or constriction

  • Muscle bulging

  • Swelling, and

  • Lingering soreness

What are 5 common causes of muscle cramps?

While they can be painful, most muscle cramps won't last that long. It might feel like an eternity to you, but most only last for a few seconds or a couple of minutes. But there might be a hidden culprit behind your cramps so let's put on our lab coat to investigate.

1. Dehydration

Dehydration can bring on muscle cramps, and muscle cramps can also be a symptom of dehydration. As one of the most common causes, dehydration impacts and lowers the body's electrolyte levels, mainly sodium, magnesium and potassium. These essential minerals support muscle relaxation and contraction, so where they're unbalanced, the brain sends mixed signals to your muscles, causing cramps.

2. Tired muscles

When you hit the gym or do a particularly strenuous activity, you might get muscle fatigue. Muscle cramps often happen when there's less blood flow and arteries constrict. This could be from starting a new workout routine because of muscle weakness, or from overtraining, increasing your training load or not stretching enough.

3. Staying in one position too long

On the flip side, sitting or standing in one positioning for too long can also trigger spasms, particularly leg cramps. When you sit in an awkward way, or compress part of your body, blood flow can be constricted. You might find this happens when you sit cross legged or kneel on the ground, which you may find out the hard way when you go to stand up!

4. Stress

A little stress isn't a bad thing, especially when you're going after a big goal, like running a marathon or competing at Hyrox. But prolonged stress, especially from anxiety or overexertion, can be the domino for other issues, like dehydration and injury.

When you're stressed, your muscles get tense, ready to launch into 'fight or flight' mode. If they aren't given the chance to relax, this is when your body is primed for muscle spasms.

5. Electrolyte imbalances

When your body's electrolytes are lower, you'll probably feel sluggish, lose momentum and yes, you guessed it, start getting muscle cramps. Keeping your electrolyte levels in check supports overall health, but more so it can keep your muscles from twitching and spasming. But what lack of minerals causes muscle cramps?

  • Sodium: Typically lost via sweat, sodium helps your muscles absorb and retain fluids, which is key to muscle health.

  • Potassium: Like calcium, it's also lost through sweat. Potassium is a key mineral for nerve communication, so if it's low, it might look like less coordination (think of a runner's leg cramps as they try to walk up stairs after a marathon).

  • Magnesium: Without enough magnesium, your muscles will struggle to contract and relax at the right times (that's the surprising 'involuntary' part of a cramp!). Taking magnesium for muscle cramps will only get you part of the way, but together with the other minerals it's a powerhouse!

  • Calcium: This important mineral has a big role in how your muscles function. When it's low in the body, it leaves your muscles vulnerable to injury and malfunctioning.

Dehydration can make electrolyte imbalances worse, and the best electrolytes for muscle cramps contain essential minerals, like our Everyday Hydration Salts. At Sodii, we're obsessed with hydration. It's why we use Australia's highest quality salt, Lake Deborah Salt, to support the body's fluid absorption and retention, which is crucial to avoid dehydration.

What causes muscle cramps in legs at night?

We bet you've launched out of bed after midnight at least once from surprise nocturnal leg cramps. Whether that's a sharp spasm in a calf muscle, an overly twitchy quad or full blown chaos in your hamstring.

What causes leg cramps at night is similar to what we've shared above. Dehydration, low electrolytes, lifestyle changes and certain medications all play a role in whether or not your muscles decide to throw a dance party (and not invite you).

However, there can also be other conditions at play. If your leg cramps go from playful to painful, it could be a signal that there's an underlying issue to explore.

Who's most at risk of getting muscle cramps?

While muscle cramps can happen to anyone, there are a few at-risk groups, like:

There are also movement disorders and health conditions that can cause muscle spasms. Nerve disorders, peripheral artery disease and other neurological disorders can make people prone to getting more muscle spasms and cramps than normal. 

If you do find yourself hopping about clutching your twitching muscles, we’ve researched proven ways to slow down a muscle cramp in its tracks.

How to stop muscle cramps, stat!

There's no silver bullet or magic pill you can take to stop them immediately, but there are some surprisingly easy muscle cramps treatments and self-care measures you can try. Here's a round up of quick treatments to get a little relief.

Move your body: Start by standing up and going for a walk to wake up your leg muscles. If you've been sitting in one position for a while, this will increase blood flow and decompress the muscle that's giving you a hard time.

Stretching: A gentle stretch of any cramping muscle can often be enough to help it to relax. Particularly for cramps in the legs, if you can sit on the floor, stretch out the leg that's spasming and take a few deep breaths.

Massage: If the cramp is happening in a muscle group you can reach, start by massaging the area to relieve the tension. You can also see a qualified massage therapist for cramps in the ribcage or back that you can't reach yourself.

Hot and cold: For more intense cramps, you can alternate between applying heat and ice. This can prompt your muscle to chill out and relax when it's stuck in contraction. 

Can you prevent muscle cramps?

They do say prevention is better than a cure, but with how unpredictable muscle cramps are, it's a challenge! While you can't escape your age and other genetic factors, here's a few ways you can stack the odds in your favour if your muscle is be-twitched:

1. Take steps to improve your fitness

You don't need to live in fear of getting muscle cramps, even though they can be alarming when they strike. Improving your fitness level doesn't mean you need to become a gym junkie, but it does mean choosing activities you enjoy that get your body moving.

Run, walk, lift, hike and stretch your way to better fitness and watch what happens to your overall sense of well-being.

2. Regular stretching (likely more than you think!)

Building a regular stretching routine can benefit anyone, whether you're a 9-5er or a tradie. Stretching promotes blood flow, lowers your risk of injury and can improve flexibility, which can boost performance across the board. 

If you get leg cramps at night, stretching before bed can ease muscle tension. And relaxed muscles mean less chance of an unwanted midnight boogie from a cramp!

3. Wear properly fitting shoes when you exercise

This one is a biggie. Wearing the right footwear that matches the activity you're doing is not only good for your feet, but also your posture and muscles. As the most common muscle group for cramps are the calves, quads and hamstrings, building a solid foundation from the shoe up is a good way to prevent muscle cramps.

4. Stay hydrated

At Sodii, we believe that hydration is more than just water. Our formulation is a powerful combo of minerals, containing the three essentials to support your body's hydration:

  • 1000 mg sodium

  • 210 mg potassium, and

  • 70 mg magnesium.

If you're looking to boost your hydration, give our sample pack a go, with 8 sachets of flavourful, salty goodness. We might be a little biased, but it's one of the best drinks to prevent muscle cramps.

Don't let cramps, err, cramp your style!

Whether you're out on a run or just trying to get a good night's sleep, muscle cramps can pop up at the most unfortunate times. As you now know, what causes muscle cramps isn't straightforward. But that doesn't mean they need to hold you back from getting out there and living a full life.

That's where Sodii comes in!

Our purposefully salty hydration formula can help you tackle muscle cramps head on and support your body to do what it does best: stay in balance. How? Let the science of minerals handle that one.