Muscle Cramps: Description, Causes and Treatment

What are Muscle Cramps?

Cramps are defined as involuntary, forced, and prolonged contraction of a part of a muscle, a whole muscle, or group of muscles. Compared to spasm, cramps are more forceful and sustained. The usual mechanism of muscles is to alternately contract and relax to facilitate movement. Those muscles that are involved in gross or fine motor movements are mostly voluntary muscles, which means that they move at will. There are instances, however, when these voluntary muscles move involuntarily and instead of contracting and relaxing at short durations, the contraction is prolonged without intervening relaxation states. This is what happens when cramps are experienced. When muscles forcibly contract at a prolonged period, it can be painful and exhausting to any person experiencing it. Moreover, muscle cramps can recur frequently and, therefore, is more difficult to handle or deal with.

This situation is especially more troubling among people who are highly preoccupied with their work but are hindered by painful and constant contraction of their muscles. Among those professionals who are prone to experiencing difficulties caused by muscle problems are...