Wearing leggings (a lightweight stretchy cotton fabric) keeps my own legs from having too many leg cramps. Both the warmth and very light pressure on the calf help imop. I get larger than necessary so the waist won't hurt.
Leg cramps can be caused by a buildup of lactic acid, often from over-exertion. But I am just guessing here, and agree with others-especially lack of vit. D and magnesium. Babalou, yes, point your toes up and toward your nose. Jump up and walk the cramp out. All good answers.
All good info above. My Mom was having horrible cramps everywhere. She's diabetic with very limited mobility. I finally got her to improve her diet adding some fresh fruit and veggies, drinking more water and taking calcium D supplements. She still has some cramping but has improved dramatically.
Often people who take cholesterol medication or lasix for CHF suffer from leg cramps - something to do with low potassium. If taking lasix often something called K-Tab is also prescribed for potassium. With the cholesterol meds, some brands are better than others in not causing leg cramps. My hubby gets horrible leg cramps at night - his PCP recommend taking two Tums when the cramp hits. Hubby says it helps and keeps a Costco size drum of Tums on his bedside table.
Could be that his electrolytes are out of balance, even with his healthy eating. His potassium might be intermittently low. But he should definitely keep up on the walking, good for him!
Often these things happen because the muscle gets too cool. This is very common in seniors and can often be fixed by putting an extra folded blanket over the legs at night. I suffer from this problem, so put the folded blanket on the lower half of the bed each night now that it is cooler.
But I am just guessing here, and agree with others-especially lack of vit. D and magnesium.
Babalou, yes, point your toes up and toward your nose. Jump up and walk the cramp out. All good answers.
You point your toes and toward your nose.