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Common causes of toe cramps
Dehydration and overexertion are common causes of cramps during exercise. When you’re dehydrated, electrolyte levels in your body drop, which can lead to muscle cramps.
Stretch your foot forcefully to relieve the cramp by flexing your foot and pressing down on your big toe. Walking around and jiggling your leg may also help with both foot and leg cramps. Taking a warm bath or shower or using ice may ease any lingering pain. Deep tissue massage may help in the long term.
Toe cramps have various triggers, but overuse, dehydration, and mineral deficiencies (particularly, potassium, calcium, and magnesium) are some of the most common culprits, according to Kim. When you exercise, you sweat out the minerals your muscles need.
Massage, a bath with Epsom salts, or a heating pad can relax the muscle. To fight pain, use an ice pack or take an over-the-counter medication like ibuprofen or naproxen. In most cases, the charley horse will stop within a few minutes. But if you get them often and for no clear reason, tell your doctor.
Toes can curl gradually over time due to faulty mechanics, pressure from poorly-fitting shoes, diabetes, or injury. That’s when you’ve got a toe deformity that may need a doctor’s care.
Overuse of a muscle, dehydration, muscle strain or simply holding a position for a prolonged period can cause a muscle cramp. In many cases, however, the cause isn’t known. Although most muscle cramps are harmless, some may be related to an underlying medical condition, such as: Inadequate blood supply.
What can you do about your foot cramps?
Food cramps happen when a muscle in your foot suddenly squeezes and can’t relax. It may last only a few seconds, or it may go on for up to 15 minutes or more.
Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is essential for regulating your body’s functioning. It’s involved in more than 300 of your body’s biochemical processes, including muscle contraction and nerve transmission. Magnesium is a widely used remedy for leg cramps.
Preventing Foot Cramps
Symptoms. Vitamin D deficiency can cause muscle aches, weakness, and bone pain in people of all ages. Muscle spasms (tetany) may be the first sign of rickets in infants. They are caused by a low calcium level in the blood in people with severe vitamin D deficiency.
Typically, it’s a charley horse that strikes at night and only lasts a few minutes. A DVT blood clot can cause a calf cramp that feels a lot like a charley horse. Like leg pain, the cramping sensation with DVT will persist and even worsen with time.
These spasms are marked by uncomfortable muscle contractions. If the contracting muscles don’t relax for several seconds or more, the pain can be severe. Severe charley horses can result in muscle soreness that lasts anywhere from a few hours to a day. This is normal, so long as the pain isn’t prolonged or recurring.