Muscle cramps during Pregnancy

Previously I have looked at nutritional factors that contribute to muscle cramps, now I want to move on to lifestyle factors.

Pregnancy

Leg cramps may start to plague you during your second trimester and may get worse as your pregnancy progresses and your belly gets bigger. While these cramps can occur during the day, you’ll probably notice them most at night, when they can interfere with your ability to get a good night’s sleep.  You may want to see a nutritionalist to determine if you are short of calcium and magnesium as inadequate levels of both of these minerals have been associated with muscle cramps during pregnancy.  You may also want to

 

  • Avoid standing or sitting with your legs crossed for long periods of time.
  • Stretch your calf muscles regularly during the day and several times before you go to bed.
  • Rotate your ankles and wiggle your toes when you sit, eat dinner, or watch TV.
  • Lie down on your left side to improve circulation to and from your legs.

 

It is safe to have massage from the 12 week of pregnancy, and in our clinic we have sucessfully eased the pain of pregnancy related muscle cramps.

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    Forth eight participants from a medical school, suffering from neck arthritis pain, were randomly split into two groups, one that received massage treatments and a wait list control group. The first group received a course of four 30 minutes weekly moderate pressure massages and supplemented this with 15 minute daily self-massage.  The control group started the same course of treatments after four weeks without massages.

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