In addition to morning sickness during pregnancy, there are also leg cramps that make people patient. This is serious, sometimes for several days, or several times a night, and the pain makes people unable to sleep.
So, in the face of leg cramps, is there a better way for pregnant mothers to deal with leg cramps besides grit their teeth and endure it?
1. Reasons for leg cramps during pregnancy
Pregnant leg cramps mostly occur at night or when you get up in the early morning, when the gastrocnemius muscle (commonly known as the calf) and foot muscles contract painfully.
Sometimes when a pregnant mother stretches, it will make the soles of the feet, calves or abdomen, waist muscles cramp, cramps are muscle spasms.
Faced with the symptoms of cramps, the first reaction of many people is whether they are calcium deficient. In fact, leg cramps are not completely caused by calcium, and calcium deficiency is only one of the reasons.
1. Leg cramps caused by calcium deficiency
As the months of pregnancy increase, the fetus has an increasing demand for nutrition, especially for calcium. At this time, pregnant mothers must ensure adequate calcium intake.
If the calcium intake of the pregnant mother is insufficient, it will increase the excitability of the body muscles, which will lead to muscle contraction and leg cramps; in addition, the blood calcium level at night is lower than that during the day, so the calf cramps Often occurs at night.
2. Improper diet causes cramps
Many pregnant mothers try their best to eat chicken, duck, fish, and constantly replenish various soups in order to allow their fetuses to absorb more nutrients.
However, once excessive intake of nutrients and unbalanced diet during pregnancy can easily lead to an imbalance of electrolytes such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, which can cause leg cramps.
This is because meat is rich in protein, and excessive protein intake will affect the metabolism of carbohydrates, among which excessive production of acidic metabolites will cause electrolyte disorders, and cramps are electrolyte disorders. main performance.
3. Legs can’t hold up
As the baby grows during pregnancy, the weight of the pregnant mother’s legs also increases, and the uterus compresses the blood vessels, which will also reduce the blood supply to the legs, which will cause the pregnant mother to walk for a long time. The leg muscles are often in a state of fatigue, which also increases the probability of leg cramps to a certain extent!
4. Wrong sleeping position
Lying on your back or sleeping on your right side for a long time can easily cause spasms of the calf muscles and cause calf cramps. Therefore, pregnant women can sleep more on their left side, and turn over from time to time. At the same time, they should also keep their lower limbs warm to ensure blood circulation in their legs.
Second, if you experience leg cramps, do this immediately
If a pregnant mother suddenly has leg cramps at a certain moment, learn the following emergency measures to relieve certain pain!
Break the big toe: The first step is to straighten the cramping leg as much as possible, and then try to bend the big toe toward the head. If in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the mothers can’t break it by themselves, then decisively send the father on the field. By the way, you can help pinching the cramped part, which can also relieve the pain of the cramp. In addition, getting up for a walk despite the pain, and putting your feet in a cool place for massage can also reduce the symptoms of cramps.
Although leg cramps are unbearable for a moment, they are only short-lived and will not cause other complications; even if the pain is severe at the time, it will usually improve within a few days. No need to worry too much.
However, if the pain is unbearable, or if the pain does not go away for a few days, and you still experience symptoms of redness, swelling, and difficulty walking, seek medical attention immediately.
Third, how to prevent leg cramps?
As the saying goes: “Prevention is better than cure”. To prevent leg cramps, we must pay attention to starting from normal.
1. Do more stretches
This method is currently considered the most effective way to prevent leg cramps during pregnancy. Pregnant women can reduce the severity of cramps by stretching their leg muscles to shorten the period of discomfort and discomfort after cramps.
Here is a trick that pregnant mothers can choose according to their own situation:
First choose a standing position, then face the wall, stand about 40 cm, put your feet flat on the ground, raise your hands for support, and lean forward with your legs extended Straight, push back and down hard, stretch the back of the leg muscles; keep this movement for about 10-20 seconds, repeat 3-5 times in a row, 4 times on the first day of the first week, and then do 1 each morning and evening. times.
2. Adjust sleeping position
During pregnancy, the uterus needs a lot of blood to support the fetus, which makes the blood circulation to the legs slower. If you lie on your side, you need to use pillows to raise your knees and ankles. Try to make it as high as your hips and bend your knees 90 degrees to avoid leg cramps caused by blood clots in your legs!
3. Avoid overwork
Exercising vigorously or walking too much distance in the leg muscles will increase muscle tension and produce too many acidic metabolites, which will stimulate the muscles and cause further cramps!
4. Pay attention to a balanced diet
At ordinary times, you should also pay attention to a balanced diet, drink more water and add more water, carry out appropriate outdoor activities, and pay more attention to details, in order to better welcome the birth of your baby!