Night Leg Cramps

About half of all premenopausal women develop cramps at some point during their menstrual cycle. For most women the cramping causes mild to moderate abdominal pain for up to a few days each month. However it is estimated that up to 10% of the women who have cramps experience severe cramps. Sometimes these appear as  nighttime leg cramps and cramping in the lower back also.

Pain medication may be immediately helpful but it isn’t the only answer.

Menstrual Cramps – Use Vitamins, Herbs and Exercise

Menstrual cramps are the result of uterine spasms which occur as it is expels the lining. The resulting uterine tension impedes the blood flow to the uterus, which causes more cramping. There is a relationship between the level of toxicity in your body and the severity of menstrual cramping. Smoking makes the problem worse. Chemicals in cigarette smoke constrict blood vessels including those that go to the uterus. These chemicals also add to the body’s toxic load.

Many women use pharmaceutical analgesics to relieve menstrual cramp pain. Analgesic medications can help and may be needed if the cramping is severe. However, these drugs are not free of side effects and in the long run they can make the situation worse as they add to the toxic load of your body. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to relieve the problem of menstrual cramping. Some of the things that you can do include: making changes to your diet, taking vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements and doing exercises.

What you can do for menstrual cramps and  leg cramps at night

Dietary changes

• The following dietary changes will help. Avoid or drastically reduce your consumption of: sugar, alcohol, salt, coffee, tea and chocolate. Removing these from your diet will help to balance your blood sugar, water and hormonal levels. These foods also contribute to the body’s toxic levels and removing them will reduce your toxicity..
• Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans and pulses and unrefined cold presses vegetable or seed oils. These foods will provide you with a range of nutrients that will assist in calming your muscles and nervous system so that the cramping is reduced. They will also assist the body to remove toxins.
• Treat any constipation (which will aggravate cramping) by adding plenty of fibre to your diet, drinking plenty of water and getting plenty of exercise.
• Avoid fatty meats, processed fats and fried foods. These foods add to your body’s toxicity.
• Avoid additives and preservatives as far as possible, as these are also major contributors to the body’s toxic load.

Do not smoke If you smoke join a quit smoking program such as at Growerz.com. They will help you to give up smoking for good and this will greatly improve your health and will help to alleviate menstrual cramps.

Relaxation and exercise

Menstrual cramps can cause tension and anxiety which in turn make the pain worse. Exercise and relaxation are able to break this cycle. Exercise will also increase the blood flow to all areas of the body including the uterus. Choose the relaxation and exercise which appeals to you. You might like walking, gardening, meditating, deep breathing, massage or yoga.  Hypnosis for relaxation and sleep is good too.

The following exercises will be useful as they direct the blood flow to the pelvic region. Use them, particularly, when you are in pain.

• Lie flat on your back, bring your knees up to your chest and clasp them with your arms. Maintain this position for a few minutes. You can leave one leg on the floor and bring the other leg up if that is more comfortable.

• Kneel down and stretch your head and arms out along the floor in front of you with your head between your arms and your elbows and forehead on the floor. Stay there for a few minutes.

• Lie on your back with your legs in the air and rest for a few minutes. You can rest your legs against a wall if this is more comfortable.

Vitamin, mineral and other nutrient supplements

The following nutritional supplements will assist with increasing blood flow and decreasing the actual cramping. They are: calcium, magnesium, essential fatty acids (in evening primrose oil), edible linseed oil, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, Vitamin E and zinc. These can be obtained in a good multivitamin and mineral supplement.

Herbal muscle relaxants

Black cohosh, black haw, chasteberry, dong quai, evening primrose, kava and raspberry are herbs that are used to treat menstrual cramps. Other herbs that are also traditionally used are passionflower, yarrow and yucca. These herbs have plenty antispasmodic compounds that relieve muscle spasms and therefore also can serve to relieve cramping. Many of these work whether used internally or externally. So you can use them as a herbal tea, add them to a baths or both. You can also use the essential oils from some of these herbs and rub these into your abdomen.

• Wild yam, blue cohosh, cramp bark, black haw, and motherwort help to relax tension in the uterus and cervix.
• Garlic, cayenne pepper, ginger, rosemary and ginkgo biloba can be used as a circulatory tonic to ensure that you are getting sufficient blood flow to all areas including the pelvis.
• Skullcap, lemon balm, chamomile, lavender, or vervain can be used where there is general tension and stress. You can add hormonal balancing herbs such as chaste tree or false unicorn root.

Herbal mixtures

Two herbal mixtures that will help calm menstrual cramping are as follows:

1. This liniment is applied to sooth muscle tension and relieve menstrual cramps. All of the herbal ingredients have anti-spasmodic agents.

• 2 parts lemongrass
• 2 parts lemon balm
• 2 parts eucalyptus
• 2 parts lemon thyme
• 1 part oregano
• 1 part rosemary
• 1 part thyme
• Olive oil or unscented massage oil.

In an appropriately sized bowl combine the herbs and sufficient oil to cover them. Allow this to stand over night. The next day strain out the herbs.

Massage the oil onto your abdomen and any other areas of muscle tension. You can use the oil at room temperature or slightly warmed if you wish.

2. You can get relief by drinking by taking a tea that is rich in a compound called borneol. Borneol is a muscle relaxing spasmolytic compound. Cardamon is one of the best sources and this is followed by sage, rosemary and mountain mint.

Use any combination of the following herbs:

• cardamon
• coriander
• mountain mint
• rosemary
• sage
• savory
• thyme
• lemongrass
• 1 cup of water

Combine the herbs of your choice and add the lemon grass for a lemony flavour.

Place 1 teaspoonful of your combined herbs into a cup of freshly boiled water. Allow this to stand for 10 minutes and then strain out the herbs.

Allow this to cool slightly and drink. You can use this up to three times per day.

Menstrual cramping is problem for many women but there are many things that you can do to overcome the problem and so that you will not have to use potentially harmful pharmaceutical medications. You can make changes to your diet, reduce and remove the toxic load that your body is under, increase your intake of vitamins and minerals, use relaxation and exercise and take herbal remedies. These changes will not only improve your menstrual cramping problems but the will enhance your total health and well-being.

Author: Dr Jenny Tylee

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