Foot cramps usually come on suddenly, with severe muscle pain that lasts about three minutes. Feet and toes are particularly prone to cramps. Your feet bear the weight of your body all day long, and sometimes you have to walk, stand, or run quickly, and your shoes may not fit well. These factors can cause foot cramps. There are methods you can use to relieve pain quickly, but if you have frequent cramps, you may need to take some preventive steps. Read on!

Quick and Effective Relief

Stop the activity you are doing. If you are doing a sport or other activity that causes leg cramps, stop immediately.

• Stop doing activities that increase pressure on your feet and cause pain and cramping.

Stretch cramped muscles. Cramps occur when a muscle contracts suddenly and rapidly. You need to stretch the cramped muscles so that your feet or toes no longer hurt.

• Stretching a muscle prevents it from remaining contracted and tight.
• For this method to work, you need to hold the stretch for a minute or more, until the muscles relax and repeated contractions slow down or stop completely. When you feel like your muscles are cramping again, you need to stretch again.
• The arches and toes are the areas most prone to cramps.
• While sitting, grab your toes with your hands and pull upward until you feel a pull on your arch muscles. Hold for 30 seconds and then release. When you feel cramping coming on again, repeat.
• Take a tennis ball and roll it back and forth against the soles of your feet. You can also roll the tennis ball across your toe pads, arches, and heels while sitting or standing.

Put your body weight on the cramped foot. This allows the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that cause cramping in your arches or toes to stretch.

• When you feel that your foot or toe is beginning to cramp, change your position as quickly as possible and put your weight on the painful foot.

When the pain begins to subside, move around more.

• Continue to move around to prevent your muscles from cramping again. Muscle cramps will continue until they relax completely.
• You may need to stand and/or move around for at least 3 minutes or more until the cramped area relaxes and no longer hurts.
• If the pain returns after shifting the weight on your foot, you will need to continue walking.
• Once the pain improves, continue stretching the rectus muscle until it relaxes. Place a towel on the floor and try picking it up between your toes to stretch your arch and toes.
• If necessary, you can stretch your calf muscles and stretch the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that attach to your heel to further relieve pain. Even if the cramp is not in your calf, stretching your calf muscles can help after you get the initial pain under control.
• Place one foot flat on the floor, about 4 to 5 steps away from the wall. Place your hands against the wall, keep your feet flat on the ground, and slowly lean forward until you feel your calf muscles being pulled. Hold for 30 seconds. You can repeat the above process when your foot or toe cramps again. When stretching like this, it will be beneficial whether your knees are straight or bent. You might as well try both positions so that the muscles on the front and back of your calves can be fully stretched.

In addition to stretching your cramped foot or toe, you can also take off your shoes and socks and gently massage the painful area.

• During massage, keep your feet and toes in a stretched position.
• Massage your feet to find the muscles that are cramping. The cramped area will be stiff, so use your thumbs to massage it. You may need to press harder to relieve muscle stiffness. Keep massaging until the muscles begin to relax.
• Continue massaging the surrounding muscles before returning to the original tender point. Massage these areas using circular or stretching movements.
• If your toes curl downward or your arches are cramped, pull them upward while massaging your toes.
• If your toes stick up when you have cramps, pull them down during massage. Continue massaging for two to three minutes, or until tight muscles relax and no longer hurt.

If your muscles are cramping, applying heat to the tight muscles can also help.

• Relieve muscle tension with an electric heating pad or a crushable heat pack.
• If you still feel a little sore after the cramp subsides, you can use ice to soothe sore muscles or muscles that hurt when you put pressure on them.

Ice your foot frequently over the next few days to help it recover from overuse, injury, or ill-fitting shoes.

• Do not apply ice directly to the skin. A thin towel should be placed to prevent frostbite on the skin.
• Apply ice several times a day for 15 to 20 minutes each time. Continue for 2 to 5 days, or until the muscles are no longer sore or painful when pressed.
• Ice the soles of your feet and heels. Pour about 350 to 450 ml of water into a plastic bottle and freeze it in the refrigerator to allow the water to freeze into ice cubes. Stand and gently roll the plastic bottle back and forth with the soles of your feet. Pay attention to your body balance to avoid falling.

Let your feet rest. Foot pain and cramps can occur for many reasons, including injury or overuse.

• The foot is intricately composed of bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Overuse or injury to any one tissue can cause foot pain, spasms, and cramps.
• If your foot pain and cramps are the result of injury or overuse, they’ll get better with more rest.
• If a muscle cramp is caused by overuse, there’s no clear rule for how long you should rest, other than paying close attention to pain levels and following your doctor’s instructions. All I can say is to rest as much as possible.
• Don’t stand or walk all the time for a few days, don’t wear work shoes or boots that can cause cramping, and don’t engage in activities that require standing or walking for long periods.
• If a specific area is injured, rest for as long as your doctor tells you.

Prevent Foot Cramps from Happening Again

Exercise regularly. Do regular exercise to keep your muscles in good shape.

• Gradually increase the intensity of your aerobic exercise to strengthen your foot muscles, tendons, and ligaments and reduce the number of cramp episodes. Swimming is a great aerobic exercise for treating foot pain and cramps because your feet and joints don’t need to bear weight while swimming.
• Work on improving your health. Do some stretching and flexibility exercises before and after your workout.
• If you exercise regularly, you can review your daily exercise routine to see which exercises you do now tend to cause cramps.

Wear shoes with good support. Choose shoes that fit your feet well, come with shank inserts and strong heel guards, and provide good support.

• A shoe shank is a long, hard strip in the middle of the sole that supports the arch of the foot. We can’t see it, so it’s hard to tell whether the manufacturer put it in. If the shoe wears easily and the sole flexes easily, it most likely does not have a shank spacer.
• The heel guard is also invisible, but you can feel its presence by pressing your hand on the middle of the heel of the shoe. If it presses down easily, it doesn’t hold up well. The stronger the heel guard, the better the support, and the harder it is for the heel to press down toward the sole.
• Many shoe stores have professionals who can evaluate your gait and help you choose the best shoes.

Replace shoes with worn soles. Get rid of shoes with worn soles and heel areas to avoid heel pain and plantar fasciitis.

• After the soles and heels of the shoes wear out, the support of the heel guards will also weaken, causing unevenness. Throw away your old shoes and replace them with a new pair of supportive shoes.
• High heels can be one of the causes of constant cramping in your feet and toes.

Keep your feet and toes flexible. Practice flexibility regularly to prevent cramps in your feet and toes.

• Lift your toes to stretch your foot muscles, which can improve your toes’ flexibility and strength. Hold for 5 seconds, repeat 10 times, then repeat with the other foot.
• Holding onto a wall or other support, stand on your tiptoes like a ballet dancer. Hold for 5 seconds, repeat 10 times, then switch to the other leg and repeat.
• While seated, lift your toes up, but this time curl them inward. Hold for 5 seconds, repeat 10 times, then switch sides and repeat.
• Roll a golf ball under your feet for 2 minutes, then repeat on the other side.
• Place about 20 glass beads on the ground, pick them up one by one with your toes and put them into a bowl or other container. Repeat on the other side.

Walk barefoot on the sand. Some foot ailments prevent you from walking barefoot, but it can be beneficial for cramps in your feet and toes.

• Walking barefoot on the sand helps strengthen the muscles in your toes and exercises all the small intrinsic muscles in your feet and ankles, as well as gently massaging your feet.

Stay hydrated. Dehydration is a common cause of foot and toe cramps.

• Drink water before and after exercise. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to make sure you are getting enough fluids.
• You can drink water or a sports drink that contains electrolytes. Electrolyte imbalances also often cause foot cramps.
• You may have leg cramps when you go to bed at night, so you might as well put a glass of water next to your bed.

Make sure you eat a balanced diet. Give your body and muscles the nutrients they need so they can function properly and reduce problems like cramps.

• Muscles need potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Eat more bananas, dairy products, fresh vegetables, beans and nuts.

Seek Medical Advice

Seek medical attention immediately if necessary. If you have unbearable pain or edema, be sure to seek medical attention immediately.

• Also, see a doctor right away if you can’t walk or can’t bear your weight on your feet.
• If the skin in the cramped area is broken and pus leaks, or if there are any signs of infection, seek medical attention immediately.
• Also seek medical attention if you have signs of infection, including redness, warmth, pain when touching, or a high fever of 37.7 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher.
• If you have persistent pain or cramps in your feet and you have diabetes, seek medical attention immediately.

Watch for any relevant symptoms. Anytime you notice any changes in the cramping area, or if you experience pain or cramping in both feet, be sure to have your feet checked by a doctor.

• Pay attention to whether the area is red, swollen, burning, numb, tingling, or painful to touch. If any of the above symptoms occur, seek medical attention.

If your feet keep cramping, see your doctor. Regardless of whether you rest and apply ice, if cramping and pain persist for more than two weeks, get it checked by your doctor.

• Persistent cramping in one or both feet could be a sign of something wrong with your feet or a symptom of some medical condition.

Foot cramps may be caused by some diseases. If your feet are cramping all the time, see your doctor to see if they’re caused by a medical condition. The following conditions may cause foot pain and cramps:

• Electrolyte imbalance in the body.
• Dehydration requires increased water and/or electrolyte intake.
• Thyroid disease.
• Vitamin D deficiency.
• Kidney disease, including early-stage kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis.
• Type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
• Peripheral arterial disease.
• Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
• Gout does not directly cause cramps, but it can cause severe and severe pain.
• Cold stress, or trench foot, is caused by your feet being exposed to cold, wet conditions for extended periods. Even if the temperature is relatively mild, such as 15 degrees Celsius, trench foot may be caused as long as it is kept humid.
• Nerve damage, either to a single nerve or to a large bundle of nerve fibers.
• Brain diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, and dystonia.
• Pregnant. Foot cramps and pain can happen at any time during pregnancy, but they most commonly occur in the third trimester.

Follow your doctor’s advice. Some of the situations mentioned above are easy to resolve.

• For example, dehydration and electrolyte imbalances are easily managed by adjusting the amount of water you drink and the types of beverages you drink. If your doctor instructs you to take a vitamin D supplement, take it.
• Follow your doctor’s advice to correct the problem. He may recommend further testing, adjust your medications, or refer you to a specialist.

Check the medicines you take. If you’re taking prescription medications that are causing leg cramps, your doctor may be able to help you make some adjustments.

• Medications that can cause foot and toe cramps include furosemide, donepezil, neostigmine, raloxifene, tolcapone, albuterol, and lovastatin. These are just some examples. If you take another medication and think it may be causing your cramps, discuss it with your doctor.
• Do not make any adjustments to your medications. Only your doctor can help you adjust your dosage, correct the problem, or simply switch to another medication that won’t cause you cramps.