{"id":342982,"date":"2025-12-30T15:04:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T15:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/342982\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T15:04:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T15:04:07","slug":"texas-based-vascular-surgeon-warns-against-leg-cramps-at-night-shares-2-underlying-causes-that-can-act-as-triggers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/342982\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas-based vascular surgeon warns against leg cramps at night, shares 2 underlying causes that can act as triggers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Leg cramps are a fairly common experience among us all. Also known as a \u201ccharley horse,\u201d it is a sudden, involuntary, intense muscle spasm that is usually felt in the calf, foot<\/a> or thigh.<\/p>\n

\"Leg Leg cramps at night are not always caused by dehydration or low potassium, shares Dr Malik.(Pexel) <\/p>\n

The tendency to experience leg cramps<\/a> increases with age. According to the Cleveland Clinic, up to 60% of adults get leg cramps at night, compared to 40% children and teenagers.<\/p>\n

Also Read | Ahmedabad-based dermatologist shares 9 things to avoid indoors for healthy skin and hair<\/a><\/p>\n

The commonness of the phenomenon has brought the tendency to \u201cwalk it off\u201d into the collective consciousness. However, Texas-based vascular surgeon Dr Rema Malik believes that the persistent nighttime cramps are not just signs of dehydration or low potassium<\/a>, but rather classic distress signals from the vascular system.<\/p>\n

Taking to Instagram on November 4, Dr Malik shared the two main vascular causes that she looks out for when it comes to leg cramps at night.<\/p>\n

1. Venous Insufficiency (The “Pressure” Problem)<\/p>\n

According to Dr Malik, this is the predominant vascular cause for leg cramps at night.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a long day of sitting or standing, blood pools in your lower legs. At night, that stagnant, waste-filled blood and fluid can irritate your nerves and muscles, triggering intense cramps and that awful \u2018restless legs\u2019 feeling,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

2. Peripheral Artery Disease (The “Flow” Problem)<\/p>\n

Also known as \u201crest pain,\u201d the peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an advanced case of clogged arteries, where the leg muscles are deprived of oxygen even while the body is at rest. The condition can threaten the limb itself.<\/p>\n

Such leg cramps cannot be clubbed with the normal effects of ageing, cautioned Dr Malik. The risk significantly increases after the age of 40 for venous insufficiency, and after the age of 50 for PAD, she added.<\/p>\n

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.<\/p>\n

This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leg cramps are a fairly common experience among us all. Also known as a \u201ccharley horse,\u201d it is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[133004,59,102,133001,116201,133002,56,54,55,133003],"class_list":["post-342982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-charley-horse","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-leg-cramps","tag-peripheral-artery-disease","tag-restless-legs","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-venous-insufficiency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}