4 Ways to Relieve Muscle Cramps

A muscle cramp usually occurs when your muscle contracts or gets tight on its own and you can’t relax it back. Cramps can affect the muscles of your legs, back, hands, feet, or even toes and, in most cases, they go away within a period of a few seconds to 15 minutes. 5-Minute Crafts would like to show you how to relieve the pain from these spasms faster.

❗ If your muscle cramps are frequent or if they interfere with your daily life, see your doctor.

1. Stretch the muscle.

For calf cramps:

✅ Stand about 2-2.5 feet from a wall, lean forward into the wall, and place your forearms against it. Keeping your knees and back straight and your feet on the floor, gently stretch your calf muscles.

✅ If the pain isn’t unbearable, you can try walking around on your heels.

✅ Lunge forward with your leg that isn’t cramped. Keeping the cramped leg straight, gently stretch your calf.

✅ While lying and keeping your cramped leg as straight as possible, pull your toes up toward your knee.

Tip: You can also use a strap or belt looped around your foot to pull your toes toward you.

For cramps in the front of your lower leg:

✅ Stand up at the side of your bed, put your weight on your toes, and lift your heels.

For cramps in the back of your thighs:

✅ Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Slide your hands down your legs until you feel a burning sensation in the cramped muscle. Hold for 30 seconds, then slowly return to a sitting position.

For thigh cramps:

✅ Stand and hold on to a chair for balance. Bend your cramped leg at the knee, grab your ankle, and pull your foot up behind you toward your buttock.

For hand cramps:

✅ Press your hand on a wall with your fingers facing down and gently stretch the muscles that flex your fingers.

For back cramps:

✅ Perform child’s pose — get on your hands and knees, lower your hips to your buttocks, then extend your arms in front of you and lower your forehead to the floor. Relax in this position for a few seconds.

For neck cramps:

✅ While sitting or standing, roll your shoulders forward 10 times and then do 10 circles back.

2. Apply heat or cold.

✅ Put a heating pad or warm wet washcloth on the cramped muscle for 15-20 minutes to promote blood flow and soothe the muscle.

✅ When the pain has faded away after heat application, grab an ice pack or a bag of ice wrapped in a towel, and put it on the cramped muscle for 15-20 minutes. This will calm down the inflammation.

3. Massage the muscle.

✅ Gently massage the affected muscle to help it relax. You can use a roller or just your hands.

✅ For a back cramp, pinch the area around it hard and hold the pinch for a few minutes.

4. Elevate the muscle.

✅ If you have a muscle cramp in an area that you can elevate (leg, foot, or hand), prop it up and hold it in this position until the cramp goes away.