In the article, we will consider why the legs twitch.
From childhood, people are accustomed to independently control their own body, its movements, head turns, the functions of its legs and arms, and the movement of the fingers. However, there are situations when the body begins to make independent movements, in which there is an involuntary muscle contraction, in appearance resembling spasms. These cases are not pleasant, and if you find such problems, you need to clearly understand why this is happening.
The main reasons why a leg twitches, as a rule, are several. The most common ones are described below.
Stress
Involuntary contractions of muscle fibers of the lower extremities can occur due to increased stress load. This symptomatology is mainly characteristic of the elderly, but often people of all ages and activities are exposed to it. The mechanism of this pathological phenomenon is the transmission of an impulse by the nerve endings to excessively strained areas of the muscles, and such signals are already transmitted with some violations.
This is due to intense stress, emotional distress, and excitement. It is not necessary to immediately seek medical help from a neurologist in such cases, it is enough to conduct an initial observation of your body. If you find a specific relationship between your own pathological condition and a recent nervous breakdown or stressful situation, you should use prescriptions for soothing herbs, such as, for example, valerian or motherwort, and try to reduce the level of stress as much as possible or eliminate it. Because of what the leg twitches on its own, many people are interested.
Potassium deficiency
Muscle contraction of the lower extremities can occur due to a lack of potassium in the body, and in this case, this phenomenon can also be observed on other parts of the body, for example, on the hands, face, etc. At the same time, the leg can not only twitch, but also hurt. The patient himself is unlikely to be able to make up for the lack of such a trace element in the body, therefore it is recommended to visit a specialist for special laboratory tests to determine potassium in the blood and get the necessary medical appointments. To eliminate the root cause that caused this pathological condition, the doctor will be prescribed to take certain medications.
Nervous tick
Often a leg twitches due to the development of a nervous tic, which does not respond to any therapy at all, so the patient should not even try to eliminate it on his own. In such cases, if twitching is detected that repeats at certain intervals, you need to contact a neurologist who will determine the exact cause of spontaneous contractions and develop a treatment regimen for this condition.
Physical exercise
Another reason that the leg twitches and pain occurs, may be increased physical activity. Lifting weights, excessive fatigue, bumps and bruises of the legs can trigger the occurrence of spasmodic contraction of muscle tissue. In this case, it is necessary to observe your own condition for a certain period of time, and if no improvement occurs, it is recommended to seek help from a traumatologist or neurologist who will prescribe the necessary diagnostic procedures and course of treatment. If the leg twitches and hurts - this is a clear sign of injury.
Leg twitches in a dream
The contraction of muscle fibers at night, during sleep, can be due to several main reasons:
- The reaction of the brain to the patient's breathing. As many people know, a person’s sleep is divided into several specific phases. The first phase is characterized by balanced, slow breathing. The brain can perceive this state of affairs as a borderline state of a person between life and death. When a protective reaction is activated, the brain directs an impulse to the reduction of muscle tissue of the limbs as a way to return to the life of a dying organism. In other words, a situation where a leg twitches at night is a form of dying convulsions.
- Otherwise, this phenomenon can be explained so that sleep is a rather complex psychophysiological phenomenon. In this process, the brain is in a state of the same activity as when awake. But during sleep, the body is immobilized, and the brain completely ignores the passing sensory signals. Not everyone knows that when a person is sleeping, the brain builds a specific model of his body, which has some differences from reality. According to scientists, a person can feel a fall due to the adoption by the brain of a body model that is losing balance. The consequence of this phenomenon can be a sudden sudden inclusion of the muscles of the real body to maintain balance. The functionality of the muscles ceases at the time of awakening and the person realizes that he had a dream of falling.
- There is another opinion as to why the leg often twitches in a dream. In a certain phase, brain reactions to surrounding stimuli cease. However, all reactions to irritating factors of an internal nature are retained. With a change in the concentration of calcium, potassium and magnesium in the blood of a person, involuntary contractions of the leg muscles develop during sleep.
- When legs twitch in a dream, this may be a reaction to the discharge of physical stress accumulated during the day.
When falling asleep
A person falls asleep, as a rule, gradually, and even if during the day he has accumulated severe fatigue, he needs about an hour and a half to dive into the first phase of sleep. After that, with the same time interval, the entry into subsequent phases occurs. It is during transitions from one phase to another that a phenomenon is observed in which muscles contract (most often on the legs).
The main reason that legs twitch when falling asleep is increased physical activity during the day. It can also be the effect of stress, excessive mental overwork, fatigue. Muscle fibers can contract when falling asleep also due to a lack of certain vitamins or nutrients that, for example, with a vegetarian diet, do not enter the body. At the same time, the muscles can not cope with the load and when they relax during falling asleep, they begin to contract.
Lifestyle
Of great importance is also the way of life. People leading a measured life, as a rule, do not suffer from such a pathological phenomenon. The overall degree of sensitivity of the body determines the level of duration of seizures of the limbs during falling asleep. When immersed in the stage of REM sleep, any external stimulus can provoke a response, manifested in the form of twitching of the legs. Thus, a kind of biological protection of the body from the influence of external influences is carried out.
In any case, when determining the causes of involuntary contraction of the muscle tissues of the legs during falling asleep, it is necessary to analyze all the reactions of the body that precede this pathological phenomenon. Most likely, you need to reduce the level of stress and eliminate the source of stressful situations. If this condition is not observed often, then there is no cause for concern. You should contact a specialist in cases where such relaxation measures as taking a warm bath with herbs, taking soothing medicines, etc. have not brought the desired effect.
Toe twitches
Any independent contraction of the muscles of the body is quite common and often manifests itself in the form of cramps of the toes. There can be many reasons for this phenomenon, but the main ones are associated with disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system.
The toe twitches in some cases due to pinching of the leg muscles or their stretching, as well as due to physical overstrain of the foot or due to injury. When establishing the causes of pathology, it is necessary to recall the presence of situations in which the toe could be injured.
In addition, the toe twitches due to a lack of nutrients in the body, such as calcium, which can be checked by taking a blood test. For the same reasons, the muscle on the leg above the knee can twitch.
What to do if a leg twitches?
Ways to eliminate the pathological condition
There are many different recommendations for the treatment of spontaneous contractions of the muscles of the legs. Some experts recommend keeping them in cold water, and then rubbing them for ten minutes. In addition, excessive food intake at bedtime is not recommended, which complicates the relaxation process not only of the digestive system, but also of the brain, which reacts to this internal stimulus with muscle contractions.
Special diet
If your legs twitch in a dream due to a lack of trace elements, such as magnesium, special dietary rules must be followed. This element is plentiful in foods such as pumpkin seeds, wheat bran, soy-based foods, and dairy products. The concentration of magnesium in such foods depends on the qualitative composition of groundwater and soil.
In addition, while maintaining a diet, balanced vitamin complexes with trace elements should be taken. For these purposes, dietary supplements and medicines containing high concentrations of magnesium are best suited. When restoring and replenishing the magnesium balance, it is possible to completely get rid of leg pain, prevent the development of cholelithiasis, increase stone formation in the urinary tract, osteoporosis and many other problems. Eating magnesium-containing foods can significantly reduce the likelihood of developing atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Recommendations
The main recommendation for preventing leg twitching is to follow an evening diet. Do not overeat at night. It is also necessary to avoid stressful situations that cause a variety of negative consequences. You can get acquainted with some exercises to restore health, relax more, walk, conduct complexes of breathing exercises to stabilize the mental state.
If the legs hurt and twitch in the child, what does this mean? Let's consider further.
Contraction of the leg muscles in a child
This phenomenon is often found in childhood, especially in newborns, and should not panic. In the bulk of cases, no disturbance in the work of the nervous system in the child, as a rule, is observed. The twitching of the baby's legs is due to the fact that his body simply adapts to living conditions in the natural environment. In the first months of life, sleep disturbance and leg twitching are common.
Some children are more susceptible to them, others to a lesser extent. In infants, there are significant differences in the phases of sleep, when compared with adults. Deep sleep in a child is often replaced by phases of superficial sleep, which lasts for a rather long time. At the same time, the baby can wake up, cry, twitch legs. But for full development, the phases of superficial sleep are extremely important, since it is at this time that the formation and maturation of brain structures occurs. Gradually, as the child develops and grows, the jerking of the child’s legs stops on their own. Around the age of six months, their significant reduction will occur, despite the fact that restless sleep can last in some children up to the age of six years or more.
Often in pregnant women, the muscle on the leg above the knee twitches. The reasons for this are discussed below.
The limb twitches during pregnancy
During pregnancy, leg muscle contraction is a very common pathological condition. This is due to several factors, among which:
- An increase in the uterus, which puts pressure on the pelvic area, at which compression of the nerve endings and blood vessels occurs. Pinched vena cava and impaired blood flow in the legs may be observed. The consequence of such a pathology is twitching of legs, nervous tics and varicose veins.
- Metabolic disorders, lack of trace elements. A pregnant woman needs an increased amount of nutrition and vitamins, in the absence of which muscle structures can suffer, which leads to twitching of the limbs.
We examined why the legs twitch.