Stuff You Need to Know About Pregnancy Leg Cramps

One of the best-known symptoms of pregnancy is known to be the pregnancy leg cramps. Although they could turn out to be quite bothersome, they aren’t alarming or dangerous for the little one.

Why are you affected by leg cramps during pregnancy?

At the moment the specialists aren’t really certain about what causes such cramps. Some people say that the leg muscles could get tired while carrying all that extra weight. Another cause could be that the growing belly is putting more pressure on the nerves beneath the belly.

Pregnancy Leg CrampsThe leg cramps during pregnancy could be caused by the fact that it is more difficult for the blood coming from the legs to achieve the heart while the nerves could also have a word to say in this matter. In the majority of the cases these start during the second trimester and they get more serious as the pregnancy progresses because the belly is constantly growing.

You could experience the pregnancy leg cramps during the day, but in the majority of the cases women experience them during the night. Because of the cramps it gets more difficult for women to get a good night’s sleep, and this could make your pregnancy even more difficult.

How to prevent leg cramps during pregnancy?

In case you would like to make sure that you won’t have to struggle with problems of this kind, you shouldn’t be standing on your feet too long and when you sit down avoid crossing your legs. Anyway this becomes almost impossible during the third trimester.

Another thing you could try so that you won’t be affected by pregnancy leg cramps is to stretch the calf muscles during the day, and stretch them more times before you get in bed. While you are sitting, watching TV or eating it is a good idea to wiggle the toes and rotate the ankles.

Exercise to help leg cramping

Exercise could also help you with leg cramps during pregnancy. It is enough to go for a walk on a daily basis. Nonetheless you shouldn’t exercise in case your doctor advises you not to. It’s not good to get too tired. You should lie down from time to time to support your circulation.

Proper hydration

Staying hydrated is very important when you are pregnant and drinking water could also help you with pregnancy leg cramps. In order to relax the muscles you should have a hot bath at the night before you go to bed. This way it is will become less likely that you will be affected by cramps.

Magnesium supplements

Women are advised to take prenatal vitamins and some women say that in case they also take magnesium supplements the leg cramps during pregnancy get better. Nonetheless the official studies have found that there is no connection between the frequency and intensity of the cramps and the magnesium supplements.

Calcium Intake

It is also said regarding pregnancy leg cramps that in case you have a high calcium intake, the cramps will disappear. It is true that calcium is important, but still the specialists claim that it doesn’t prevent the appearance of cramps during pregnancy. Even more, some say that calcium has no effect on cramps.

How to relieve leg cramps during pregnancy?

In case you get affected by cramps, the best thing you could do is to stretch the muscles of the calf. Start with straightening the leg and then move your toes. At first this may be painful, but the muscle spasms will go away and the pain also will gradually decrease.

As you can see, there is a lot to know about pregnancy leg cramps and there is a lot you could do about them.

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