Healthy Solutions to Cramps and Spasms
I was surprised recently to read recently that in 2006 the FDA released a statement advising that quinine should be avoided for general use in the treatment of cramps. Quinine, once the major choice in combatting malaria, is the ingredient in tonic water that provides the bitter taste. It also has a long history of use as a common remedy for cramps. To obtain what is considered a therapeutic dose of quinine would require an intake of several litres of tonic water per day, anecdotally, drinking quantities as low as 250ml or 500ml in the evening has been sufficient to reduce the severity and incidence of night time spasms and cramps.
Now cramps may seem of somewhat minor significance, but, not only are they an incredibly common event, one study suggesting that 95% of the population experience spasms and cramps, they also serve important functions in the body both as a warning and for protection.
So what exactly are spasms and cramps?
Cramps and spasms can range from the post exercise cramping of an over abused calf to the more serious cramping and spasming of the paraspinals, or other muscles of the lower back. The latter lead most people to the massage table.
Spasms and cramps are an involuntary contraction of voluntary, skeletal muscles. Typically the major muscles that are affected include the calves, hamstrings, quads, lower back and neck. The duration can range anywhere from a couple of seconds or minutes, through to indefinitely (ie. until fixed) for spasms of lower back and paraspinal muscles.
There are a number of causes of spasms and cramps. Some of the main ones include:
- Nutrition, or rather lack of nutrition. Nutritional deficiencies, particularly of magnesium and calcium are very common in sufferers of cramps and spasms. Symptoms like restless legs or very small muscle twitches prior to sleeping are generally indicative of magnesium deficiency. A well balanced diet, high in leafy green vegetables and whole grains can far exceed our daily requirement of calcium and magnesium. Supplementation may be beneficial to help with reversing established deficiencies or in situations of high physical or emotional stress. At these times calcium and magnesium requirements increase.For a number of reasons cow’s milk and associated products are not the best source of dietary calcium. Consider increasing intake of foods such as kale, collard greens, dried beans legumes. These whole foods contain similar amounts of calcium but without the dangers of excessive processing present in milk and milk products.
- Deprivation of oxygen or ischema. These are the causes of the cramps or spasms that will most often see people consult one of our remedial massage therapists. While not exclusively confined to the back muscles, we commonly see these affecting the para spinal muscles. These muscles run parallel along either side of the spine and are some of the postural muscles that hold the back straight and upright.The paraspinal muscles are commonly overworked and are very rarely stretched out properly or regularly. This leads to shortening and contraction of the muscle fibres which in turn impairs the delivery of oxygen and nutrients via the capillaries. The deprivation of oxygen and nutrients leads to further shortening of the muscle and a build up of metabolic wastes. As these wastes cannot be disposed of they irritate nerve and muscle fibres causing further protective shortening. This cycle continually repeats leading to ever increasing tension in the muscle, reduced range of motion through the spine and eventually pain.
The slow onset of pain with ischemic spasms means the usual warning signs to take action are missing. This makes the process of correction more difficult as both the initial source of the problem needs to be fixed and other muscles that have been stressed due to additional, and incorrect, workload need to be treated.
- Splinting. This type of cramp or spasm is an involuntary reflexive action against injury. The best example is a whiplash injury. In these situations the ligaments between the vertebrae have been severely overstretched causing instability in the spine. As a result the body automatically contracts postural muscles to provide the extra stability.In cramps and spasms due to a splinting reaction the response of the muscles is highly beneficial.
What treatment options are available?
The choice of treatment options are dictated by the cause of the cramps and spams.
Where the cause is through nutritional deficiencies the answer is obviously to rectify those deficiencies. Incorporate quantities of leafy green vegetables in the diet and include a multimineral with a good level of calcium and magnesium. These take time however, and if you’re suffering from restless legs when you go to bed something more immediate might be beneficial. We have found transdermal magnesium supplements, like MagSorb, or oral supplements like Ultra Muscleze to be particularly effective.
The active ingredient in quinine that seems to supply the antispasmodic activity is caffeic-acid. Fortunately caffeic-acid is quite readily available in other foods including some that are available from supermarket shelves. As usual many of the culinary herbs such as basil and thyme have quite high concentrations, while for those with a sweet tooth, pears, depending on how they are grown, are quite a good source.
For those longer term cramps and spasms based on the deprivation of oxygen and the resulting ischema, pain, spasm cycle; best results are obtained when a number of factors are combined. As blood supply into the area is constricted the muscle tissues will also be deficient in magnesium so applications of a transdermal magnesium can have good results. This should be combined with remedial massage to rectify postural problems resulting from the excessive contraction, prevent re-occurrence and to remove the metabolic waste products that have built up in the muscle.
Passion4Health is a wellness clinic located in Browns Plains, Brisbane. At Passion4Health we focus on management and maintenance of optimum health through an integrated lifestyle approach.
Passion4Health provide diet and nutritional advice, massage, lymphatic drainage, iridology and live blood analysis.
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