Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesHome RemediesTreatmentsPain ReliefPreventionSeeking Medical Care
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Home Remedies
Treatments
Pain Relief
Prevention
Seeking Medical Care
Leg cramps—often referred to as acharley horse—are painful, involuntary contractions of the muscles in your thigh or calf. They commonly occur from dehydration or muscle overexertion. However, in some cases, they can be a symptom of an underlying health condition, such astype 2 diabetesorkidney failure. Leg cramps can also be a side effect of certain medications.
This article discusses how leg cramps feel, their causes, and prevention and treatment options.
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What Leg Cramps Feel Like
Leg cramps typically cause a sudden severe pain in the affected muscle. You might also feel a hard “knot” or twitching of the muscle under the skin. The calf muscles are the most common site for leg cramps.
What Causes Leg Cramps?
The underlyingcause of leg crampsisn’t always known. However, lifestyle factors and medical conditions can play a role.
Lifestyle Factors
Certain lifestyle factors and other physical characteristics can increase your risk of leg cramps. The most common cause is muscle overuse.
Other causes can include:
Medical Reasons
Leg cramps are also associated with certain medical conditions and treatments for illness. Examples include:
Hand Cramps
Home Remedies for Leg Cramps
Leg cramps often go away on their own after a few minutes. However, other home remedies can also help.
Try these tips:
How Leg Cramps Are Treated
Dehydration or low electrolytes can cause leg cramps; in these cases, drinking water or electrolyte-infused beverages can help. If your cramps are related to overexercising, consider reducing the intensity of your activity or exercising in a cooler environment.
While magnesium supplements are often marketed to relieve muscle cramps, they are not proven to relieve leg cramps.
Exercises and Stretches to Ease the Pain
When stretching your leg to ease a cramp, it’s important to know which muscle to target. If your cramp does not resolve after the first attempt to stretch, try it again.
Hamstring Muscle Stretch
Ahamstringcramp will cause pain in the back of your thigh.
Here’s how to stretch your hamstrings:
Calf Muscle Stretch
Thecalf muscleon the back of the leg is the most common spot for leg cramps.
Here’s how to stretch the calf muscle:
Quadriceps Muscle Stretch
If your leg cramps affect thequadriceps muscles, you’ll feel pain in the front of your thigh.
Here’s how to stretch the quad muscles:
How to Prevent Leg Cramps
You can’t always prevent leg cramps. However, if they are related to dehydration or other lifestyle factors, you might be able to prevent them from occurring or at least decrease the frequency.
When to Contact a Healthcare Provider
Leg cramps can sometimes signify something more serious than a charley horse. See a healthcare provider if you have any of the following symptoms:
Summary
Leg cramps are also called charley horses. These cramps come on suddenly and cause severe pain. They often resolve on their own within a few minutes. However, other remedies, such as stretching, walking, and massaging the muscles, can help.
There is no medication for treating leg cramps, but they can occur from things that can be prevented, including dehydration, overexercising, or working out in hot temperatures. Other times, they are part of an underlying health condition. Talk to a healthcare provider about your leg cramps to learn what interventions would help you the most.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harvard Health Publishing.How to get rid of muscle cramps in your legs. April 8, 2024.National Library of Medicine.Muscle cramps. June 9, 2020.Maughan RJ, Shirreffs SM.Muscle cramping during exercise: causes, solutions, and questions remaining.Sports Med. 2019 Dec;49(Suppl 2):115-124. doi:10.1007/s40279-019-01162-1Garrison SR, Korownyk CS, Kolber MR, Allan GM, Musini VM, Sekhon RK, Dugré N.Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 21;9(9):CD009402. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009402.pub3.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Knee conditioning program.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harvard Health Publishing.How to get rid of muscle cramps in your legs. April 8, 2024.National Library of Medicine.Muscle cramps. June 9, 2020.Maughan RJ, Shirreffs SM.Muscle cramping during exercise: causes, solutions, and questions remaining.Sports Med. 2019 Dec;49(Suppl 2):115-124. doi:10.1007/s40279-019-01162-1Garrison SR, Korownyk CS, Kolber MR, Allan GM, Musini VM, Sekhon RK, Dugré N.Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 21;9(9):CD009402. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009402.pub3.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Knee conditioning program.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Harvard Health Publishing.How to get rid of muscle cramps in your legs. April 8, 2024.National Library of Medicine.Muscle cramps. June 9, 2020.Maughan RJ, Shirreffs SM.Muscle cramping during exercise: causes, solutions, and questions remaining.Sports Med. 2019 Dec;49(Suppl 2):115-124. doi:10.1007/s40279-019-01162-1Garrison SR, Korownyk CS, Kolber MR, Allan GM, Musini VM, Sekhon RK, Dugré N.Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 21;9(9):CD009402. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009402.pub3.American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Knee conditioning program.
Harvard Health Publishing.How to get rid of muscle cramps in your legs. April 8, 2024.
National Library of Medicine.Muscle cramps. June 9, 2020.
Maughan RJ, Shirreffs SM.Muscle cramping during exercise: causes, solutions, and questions remaining.Sports Med. 2019 Dec;49(Suppl 2):115-124. doi:10.1007/s40279-019-01162-1
Garrison SR, Korownyk CS, Kolber MR, Allan GM, Musini VM, Sekhon RK, Dugré N.Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 21;9(9):CD009402. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009402.pub3.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Knee conditioning program.
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