Dr. Syed Mehmood

Leg cramps is a very common condition which is characterized by tight and painful leg muscles. The calf muscles are the most commonly affected; it can spread further down to your thighs and feet. Once the cramping gets better, you might experience a tender leg coupled with a numbing feeling for a few minutes.

The causes of leg cramps are varied. If it is caused due to an underlying condition, it is known as secondary leg cramps. The causes of secondary leg cramps include vigorous exercises, pregnancy and usage of certain medications. The cramps cause the muscles of the leg to shorten and contract, thus making you lose control of the affected muscle.

How can homeopathy help?

Homeopathy is a system of medicine which is very holistic in nature. The goal of homeopathy is to focus on the causes of a disorder rather than just curing the symptoms. Homeopathic remedies do not yield any side effect unlike the conventional treatments. Apart from treating the symptoms, homeopathic remedies also help improve your overall wellbeing.

There are many homeopathic remedies that can be used to treat leg cramps. The remedies are focused on treating any underlying condition that may be causing these leg cramps, apart from relieving the symptoms. The first step of the treatment is to diagnose the condition, which is done by a trained practitioner. You will be asked questions pertaining to the cramps and your diet. Once the diagnosis is complete, the medications are prescribed based on the diagnosis.

There may be certain dietary restrictions that you may have to follow for the medicines to work at their optimum best. This system of medicine might also require you to not carry out any form of heavy work that involves the legs as rest is required to boost the process of recovery.

The various Homeopathic offerings are:

1. Causticum

2. Calcarea carbonica

3. Arsenicum album

4. Colocynthis

5. Pulsatilla Nigricans

6. Arnica montana

   If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a homeopath.

Sleeping is a natural process, which should happen effortlessly when you are tired. However, owing to a lot of factors, your sleep might be disrupted and the lack of sleep might make you feel tired and less productive the next day.

Here are a few tips which you could follow to sleep better:

1. Remove the faintest traces of light: A dark room helps you sleep better as even a faint light can trick your brain into believing that it is daytime and disrupt your sleep. Switch off all your lights and if that doesn’t help, use an eye mask to keep the light out.

2. Keep your beverages under check: Consuming any form of caffeinated beverages within six hours of your sleep time can hamper your sleep. The caffeine content in your beverages can reduce your regular sleep time by more than two hours as it is loaded with oxidants which fight drowsiness.

3. Choose your dinner carefully: Eating a heavy dinner can cause discomfort while sleeping and can disrupt it as you feel over-stuffed. Refrain from consuming alcohol with your dinner as it can force you to make frequent trips to the washroom and act as a disruption to your sleep.

4. Do not exercise before going to bed: Exercise is absolutely important for a healthy lifestyle, but exercising before going to bed can result in problems in sleeping. Exercising can give you an adrenaline rush which keeps you awake and pumped up at night.

5. Find the perfect mattress and pillow: Feeling comfortable is the key to good sleep. Your bed and pillow might be too hard or soft for you and can be the reason behind you not getting proper sleep. Doctors recommend feather pillows for a good night’s sleep. Also, if you are using a synthetic pillow, make sure to replace it every six months.

6. Indulge in snooze foods: You can avail and indulge in certain foods which have been labelled as snooze foods as they help you get better sleep at night. Warm milk is loaded with an amino acid known as ‘tryptophan’ which helps you get better sleep at night. Eating one spoon of honey before going to bed is a great idea as it releases ‘Orexin’, a neuropeptide which is responsible for lowering alertness levels.

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