hey everybody it's doctor Jo, and today I'm going to show you five ways to
prevent leg cramps. so let's get started.
so often with leg cramps, they can happen
in three of the big muscles in the legs. they can happen in the calves, they can
have in the quads, and they can happen in the hamstrings in the back. so
we're really just going to stretch those out, and these can also be used to
relieve cramps. so if you're having an active cramp, you can do the stretches as
well. and I'm going to talk about some other treatments too, so the first one is
just going to be for the calves doing a calve right. so I like the runner
stretch, especially if you're standing, it's a really easy one to do. so if I
want to stretch out the calf on this side, I'm gonna put that foot back behind
me. the other one's just gonna be in the front. you can be against a wall, you can
be against a counter top, or a chair, just something sturdy to kind of hold on to
because you want to have your balance so you can focus on the stretch. the leg in
the back, you want your heel to be all the way down, and you want your toes
pointed forward. sometimes a lot of people will turn their foot out that way.
then you're not gonna stretch the calf muscles, so make sure your foot's pointed
forward and that your heel is down. keep that heel down the whole time, and then
with your front knee you're just gonna lean forward until you feel a stretch
all the way through that calf muscle back there. and then you're gonna hold
that stretch for 30 seconds. so after you do that 30 seconds, give it a little
break, shake it out, and then you're gonna do that a total of three times. so again
the heel down, toes pointed forward, bending the front knee to get that nice
stretch in there, and then holding that for 30 seconds. so then the next one is
going to go into a hamstring stretch. again there's a lot of different ways
you can stretch all these muscles, so if these don't work for you, you can do them
lying down on the floor, you can do them sitting in a chair, and you can check all
those out in my videos. but just prop it up if your standing. maybe you know if
there's a chair or a stool you can even just prop it on the floor, but to get a
little bit better stretch you're just gonna have it in front of you. try and
keep your knees straight, that's what's really going to stretch out those
hamstrings. if you want to get a little extra stretch you can pull your toes up
towards you in that I'll get the calf stretching as well. but the key to
this one is you want your hips to be forward. so you don't want to be turned
like this and stretching, you really want those hips to be pointing forward. and
you're just gonna bend at your hips. you're hinging forward. you're not rolling
your back down like this where I can touch my toes easily because then I'm
not stretching my hamstrings. so you want to bend at your hips and keep your back
straight. so I'm getting more of a stretch through my hamstrings here than
if I were to curl my back and try and touch my toes. so again just leaning
forward, keeping that back straight, keeping the knee straight.
I might even feel the stretch here because those hamstrings cross that knee all
the way up to the bottom area. so again you're holding it for 30 seconds. you're
doing that three times. if you're cramping in both legs, make sure and do
that on both sides. so another great treatment to help prevent or even
relieve leg cramps is using compression socks, and the folks at Dovava sport
sent me their Dovava dry stretch compression socks, and these are about 15
to 20 millimeters of mercury, which is how much compression you have. and so
they're nice athletic socks. so when you're using compression socks what that
does is that helps move the fluid back out of your leg. so if you're cramping, if
your muscles aren't really doing what they're supposed to, a lot of times
compression socks do a good job of increasing the circulation to the area,
so that's why those are really good. the next one is just going to be a quad
stretch for that quad muscle. so sometimes people have you know those
charley horses in their quad muscles, and again there's lots of different ways you
can stretch it. if you're standing especially if you're you know coming from
a run or getting ready to go on a run, and you want to try and prevent those
cramps, you can just hold on to something. again make sure you're holding on for
balance. so you're not having to focus on your balance while you're stretching. and
then you're just going to grab the back of your foot. and you can come up this
way and grab it first, but you really want the top of your leg to be straight
down. so if I'm looking down my knee is pointed towards the floor. if it's
forward like this, I'm not really getting that quad stretch. I want to make sure
that if you're looking at me sideways both thighs are about even with each
other. and then you're just going to pull your heel back as far as you can. you
might not be able to go as far as me, that's okay I stretch
every day. and if you want even a little bit more of a stretch you can bring it
back behind you some, and that'll get a little bit of your hip flexors as well.
but again, it's still that 30-second stretch doing that three times,
especially on both sides if both legs are cramping. and then the last one is
really just staying hydrated. being dehydrated is probably one of the most
common reasons of having cramps in your legs, but if you're staying hydrated and
you're doing your stretches and exercises and you're still getting your
cramps, you know especially at night when people get cramps at night. if none of
this is helping, make sure you go check with your doctor because a lot of times
leg cramps are an indication of things like low potassium, even low iron. it
might be a sign that you're anemic. it can be a sign the diabetes are coming on,
or even something like peripheral neuropathy. so if it's not a simple fix,
if these aren't working, it might actually be something that's you know a
symptom of something a little more serious. so make sure and go check with
your doctor. and if you're interested in purchasing the socks, make sure and click
on the link up here, and don't forget to subscribe by clicking down there. and
remember be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.