What are different home remedies for leg pain and cramps? – Part 2
- Leg cramps are an involuntary contraction of a single muscle or a group of muscles in the leg.
- These are usually painful and extremely discomforting.
- Leg cramps often occur in elderly patients though age is no criteria.
- Leg cramps generally occur in the calf muscle, the hamstring and the quadriceps.
- The duration of a leg cramp ranges from less than a minute to several minutes at times.
1. Healing Herbs tea
- This is an anti-pain
- It is also a relaxing tea that will help in preventing leg cramps and provide relief:
- 1 part St. Johnswort
- 1 part Passionflower
- 1 part Skullcap
- 1 part Chamomile
- 1 part White Willow Bark
2. Anti-Stress/Pain Potion
- GAIA Herbs
- 1 part Gaia Herbs Serenity Elixir
- 1 part Herb Pharm White Willow Bark
- A red flannel can also be wrapped around the area with pain.
- Use of coconut helps in curing the leg and knee pains.
- 1-2 teaspoonful of fenugreek powder in the morning water is also effective leg pain remedy.
- A gentle massage with Arthcare Oil is recommended to leg pain cure and to strengthen the bone tissues.
3. Massage oil
- Take 10 grams of camphor and 200 grams of mustard oil.
- Mix in a glass bottle and keep the bottle in the sun till the camphor dissolves.
- Massage the affected area daily.
- This is very good home remedy for leg pain.
4. Saffron solution
- Boil 1-teaspoon saffron in 1/2 cup water and divide this solution into three portions and take with equal quantities of water, thrice daily for a week.
- This is one of the effective home remedies for leg pain.
5. Various yogasanas
- Janusandhi,
- Uttanpadasana
- Gomukhasana
Other Home remedies
- Make sure that you use appropriate footwear when walking that provide your feet with adequate support.
- Stretch your muscles gently with light exercise like riding a stationary bicycle for a few minutes before going to bed.
- This can help loosen up and strengthen the muscles.
- This would greatly limit the occurrence or severity of night leg cramps.
Make sure that your diet is not restrictive
- A well balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables should be taken regularly.
- This should provide you with all the essential nutrients you need. – Mineral deficiencies can aggravate the problem of night leg cramps.
- The best way to get it to pass is by consciously relaxing your mind and body.
- Deep breathing is the most effective method of relaxation at such times.
- Lightly massage the cramped muscle with your hands using a soothing balm.
- A hot shower or soak in a warm bath should also offer considerable relief.
- Multi-vitamin and mineral supplements may help.
- Calcium, potassium, and magnesium deficiencies are often the cause for night leg cramps.
- Try and consume fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Whole meal varieties of grains should be taken.
- Fruits like dates and bananas are rich sources of magnesium and potassium.
- It would be best to get the required dosage of calcium from supplements that do not contain phosphorus.
Some good dietary sources of essential minerals like potassium are:
- Bananas, dates, grapes, apricots, and raisins.
- Pulses, cabbage and broccoli.
- Oranges, tomatoes and grapefruit, including their juice.
- Pork, lamb, and fish like tuna.
- Potatoes and corn.
Additional Tips to Cope
- Avoid using tight bed covers or restrictive sheets.
- Stretch the calf muscles with some light exercise for at least five minutes before going to bed each night.
- Take up a non intensive fitness regime like yoga or pilates to strengthen the muscles and also to loosen them up.
- Yoga is particularly useful as the breathing exercises and meditative practices.
- Yoga also helps improve circulation.
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Categories: Banana, benefits, Body, Diet, Disorder, Exercise, Food, health, Healthy, Home Remedy, home treatment, Instability, Leg cramps, Legs, Mineral, Minerals, Natural, natural home remedy, pain, Yoga Tags: Contraction, Cramps, cure, Discomfort, Hamstring, Home remedies, home treatment, Instability, Leg cramps, Legs, Muscles, Natural, pain, Quadriceps, Remedy, Symptoms, Treat, Uses
What are different home remedies for leg pain and cramps? – Part 1
- Leg cramps are an involuntary contraction of a single muscle or a group of muscles in the leg.
- These are usually painful and extremely discomforting.
- Leg cramps often occur in elderly patients though age is no criteria.
- Leg cramps generally occur in the calf muscle, the hamstring and the quadriceps.
- The duration of a leg cramp ranges from less than a minute to several minutes at times.
- Night leg cramps or nocturnal leg cramps are problematic.
- They can be excruciating when they strike.
- Restless leg syndrome is not same as night leg cramps.
- Leg cramps during pregnancy are known to be problematic.
- These are mostly caused simply by the additional stress and strain on the muscles.
- This symptom will accordingly pass on with delivery.
Leg Cramps Symptoms
- Severe leg pain.
- Muscle tenderness.
- Inability to move the leg for the duration the cramp lasts.
Some of the factors leading to the same are as follows
- Muscle fatigue due to overexertion.
- Rigorous exercises.
- Dehydration.
- Excess weight.
- Electrolyte, hormonal or fluid imbalances.
- Side effects of certain medicines such as diuretics.
- An unusual or a different exercise than what is done normally.
- Diminished blood supply.
- Nerve abnormalities.
- Nerve and muscle diseases.
General Home Remedies for Leg Cramps and Pain
- Mix one tbsp of calcium lactate, one tsp of apple cider vinegar and one tsp of honey in half a glass of lukewarm water.
- Have this once a day.
- Using hot water bottle on the affected area is also beneficial in treating and curing cramps.
- Massaging the affected area with essential oils, like lavender oil and rosemary oil and eucalyptus oil.
- After massaging, wrap the affected area with a towel dipped in hot water.
- Consume 2-3 bananas per day.
- It increases the potassium intake in the body, thereby relieving a person from cramps.
- Having 2 tsp of honey per day is helpful in preventing leg cramps.
- Increase the intake of foods rich in calcium, potassium and magnesium daily.
- All the three basic food groups is recommended.
- A red flannel can also be wrapped around the area with pain.
- Coconut is also very helpful.
- Eating 3-4 walnuts with an empty stomach in the morning provided relief from leg pain in a short duration.
- Intake of cod liver oil also helps in curing all types of leg pains and general weakness of the body.
- Drink plenty of fluids and oral re-hydration solutions.
- This is for the electrolyte loss and dehydration that are the most common causes of muscle cramps.
- Drinking liquids like caffeinated drinks or alcoholic drinks does not constitute towards your fluid intake.
- These are diuretics that will actually have the opposite effect on your system.
Leg Cramps Treatment
- Massage the cramped muscle gently in the natural direction of the muscle.
- This helps to relax the contraction and eases the pain.
- A hot shower or warm bath is a good way to relax the muscle.
- Use cold packs on the affected muscle.
- This relaxes the tensed muscles.
- For a cramped calf muscle, stretch and massage the leg by straightening it and pointing the toes upward, towards the head.
- Use a warm towel or heating pad to alleviate pain or tenderness following a cramp.
Categories: Home Remedy, home treatment, Instability, Leg cramps, Legs, Natural, natural home remedy, Relief, Remedies, stress, Symptoms, Toes, Walk Tags: Contraction, Cramps, cure, Discomfort, Hamstring, Home remedies, home treatment, Instability, Leg cramps, Legs, Muscles, Natural, pain, Quadriceps, Remedy, Symptoms, Treat, Uses
What are benefits of Vitamin C during cold or viral?
What is vitamin C?
Vitamin C is an important vitamin and antioxidant that the body uses to keep you strong and healthy. Vitamin C is used in
- the maintenance of bones,
- muscle,
- blood vessels.
- the formation of collagen
- helps the body absorb iron
Vitamin C is found naturally in:
- vegetables
- oranges
- other citrus fruits.
This key vitamin is also available as a natural dietary supplement in the form of vitamin C pills and vitamin C chew able tablets.
Vitamin C and Common Cold
- The common cold is caused by several strains of viruses which includes the rhinovirus and the coronavirus.
- However, vitamin C does not prevent the common cold or decrease the severity of symptoms.
- In the 1970s, Linus Pauling argued that vitamin C could significantly decrease the incidence of the common cold.
- Vitamin C for the common cold is such a widely accepted treatment.
- We seek it in fortified juices, cough drops, and tea.
- Vitamin C was first touted for the common cold in the 1970s.
Other facts found are
- The average adult who suffers with a cold for 12 days a year would still suffer for 11 days a year if that person took a high dose of vitamin C every day during that year.
- For the average child who suffers about 28 days of cold illness a year, taking daily high-dose vitamin C would still mean 24 days of cold illness.
- When vitamin C was tested for treatment of colds in 7 separate studies, vitamin C was no more effective than placebo at shortening the duration of cold symptoms.
A prospective, controlled study focuses on:
- 715 students in a technical training facility found that vitamin C in mega doses administered before or after the appearance of cold and flu symptoms relieved and prevented the symptoms in the test population compared with the control group.
- More than 30 clinical trials with over 10,000 participants have examined the effects of taking daily vitamin C in doses up to 2 g/day.
- A review of Cochrane, PubMed, Natural Standard, and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine databases found that regular vitamin C intake may reduce the duration of cold symptoms in both adults and children.
- It does not decrease the severity of cold symptoms.
- However, in a subgroup of marathon runners, skiers, and soldiers training in the Arctic doses ranging from 250 mg/day to 1 g/day decreased the incidence of colds by 50%.
- Researchers concluded that vitamin C does not prevent or treat the common cold.
- It is better to consume natural foods such as red peppers, oranges, strawberries and grapefruit.
- It is acceptable to consume vitamin C from a supplement and still maintain adequate intake levels.
Daily Dosage
- The recommended daily allowance for vitamin C in the United States is 75 mg per day for women and 90 mg per day for men
- Taking doses above the RDA may have healthful benefits.
- Typically 70-90% of vitamin C is absorbed in the body but when taken in doses higher than 1 g, absorption decreases to 75%
- Further, it decreases to merely 16% after a 12 g dose.
- Popular vitamin C supplementation products, such as Airborne or Emergen-C, contain much higher doses of vitamins than necessary.
Overdose of vitamin C
- Taking vitamin C supplements in the recommended amounts is safe.
- The RDA or recommended daily allowance is 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women.
- High doses of vitamin C (greater than 2000 milligrams per day for adults) may cause kidney stones, nausea and diarrhea.
Categories: Anti-oxidant, benefits, Body, Common cold, Complications, Viral, Vitamin C, Vitamins Tags: Antioxidant, benefits, Blood vessels, Body, Bones, Common Cold, Diet, Dietary, Dosage, Foods, Healthy, Iron, Muscles, Overdose, Strong, Viral, Vitamin C, Vitamins
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