Toe Cramps

You know, the kind where your toe kind of sticks out straight and you can't do anything because massaging it hurts, leaving it alone hurts, and walking hurts so you just kind of do a combo of the three until it goes away.

I'm waking up at the 3AM with them and would very much like that to stop.

I remember getting these a lot when I was in treatment, and I think the doc said it was a Magnesium deficiency and put me on a supplement. However, this was ten years ago and I was on a lot of medication at the time, so I could be mixing things up.

Any insight?

In the meantime... *scurries off to WebMD*

Ah I don't have any answers for you but that happens to me ALL THE TIME!  If you find anything out, please share =)

It's such a pain in the..well, foot =P I'll just be sittin here on the couch and I'll get one.  It's the strangest thing!

I get that too!  It's excruciating isn't it?  With a maddening 'can't do anything positive to help' element beyond waiting for it to go away and hopping up and down like an idiot.

I've been told 'eat more salt'.  (My diet is low in salt to keep my BP sensible - can't win can you?) I already plenty of magnesium because I eat quite a lot of green leafy vegetables, nuts, bread, fish, meat and dairy foods.

I've read up on it myself in the past and find it's one of those 'the reasons for it happening are unclear'... i.e. put up and shut up, medical problems.

i find that it goes away faster if you stretch the cramped area. it hurts like hell when you stretch it but i think it helps.

Omg i have had this alot recently too!

Please post back if you find out why :)

xXx

OOOH OOOH I WIN!

 

What causes toe cramps?
The usual culprit is ill-fitting shoes that are tighter than they should be in the toe area. High heels are especially problematic. Cramps are also attributed to a calcium deficiency so you may want to check that you're eating enough dairy foods, fish with tiny bones (such as salmon, anchovies and sardines) and drinking enough milk. Toe cramps tend to rear their ugly heads when feet have been confined to shoes for hours. Athletes also suffer from them and find that sports massage can be very beneficial. Yoga newbies are surprised when they find that the very exercise that should keep their bodies supple causes pain and discomfort.

more at:
http://www.crampshelp.com/toecramps.html

 

:D

Used to happen to me constantly..

Went to the foot doctor a couple months ago to get it checked out..

 He said that I needed new tennis shoes because of all the running I had been doing lately and that the way I was landing on my feet was injuring the muscles in my toes causing them to spread.

Still happens occasionally, but definitely definitely not as often as before!

I find that I have a few culprits that cause this- my foot & toes cramp up at night if one or more of the following has happened during the day:

1) not enough water-- some days I can go most of the day w/ o  drinking much of anything- maybe coffee at breakfast & something at dinner- I have a busy work schedule & unless I keep a large bottle of water on my desk, I can go most of the day w/ o drinking anything.  muscle cramps can come from low level dehydration.

2) doing "calf exercises"-- not sure why, but everytime I do them I get foot cramps.  I stopped doing them - my other exercise tones my calves enuf that I don't need to put myself in pain by doing an extra exercise.

3) magnesium & calcium- they both help with muscle function and relaxation.  I notice that taking both (and magnesium helps you absorb & utilize your calcium better for bone strength as well) reduces cramps.

so, try drinking more water/liquids during the day, try the magnesium or a cal/mag combo.

good luck

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

I just broke down and bought myself a bottle of multi-vitamins... I cannot believe I'm too poor to be able to afford vitamins for G-d's sake! Anyway, that'll hopefully help.

I'm also willing to bet that my dance shoes aren't helping... gah.

Yeah I have to admit my shoes are pretty cheap and crappy =\ haha

Magnesium, Potassium, and Calcium are all possible culprits.

OMG--this has happened to me a lot lately, like in the last year, but it more of a combination of numbness and cramping. Good to know, my doctor said I need to up my calcium in general so maybe that will help.

I don't know about the mag and calcium, but for me, it has always been the potassium.  If you are dehydrated, not drinking enough pure liquids (liquids primarily containing or made with pure water) or if you are taking any form of diuretic medication (or if you are sweating excessively and don't replace), this can all contribute to killer toe, foot, and leg cramps, because vital potassium is lost, and can be lost in significant amounts if you aren't replacing adequately.  In addition to the other advice suggested here, try increasing your water intake (if any of the above applies to you, or just for good measure even if you think it doesn't, LOL) and/or adding some potassium-rich foods to your diet for a few days, and see if this helps.  These things always help me, and I've had leg cramps so bad I had them in 3 diff. places in my leg/foot all at the same time, and you could literally look at my leg and see the muscles spasming underneath.  Try some of these remedies, and I hope something works for you.  Good luck.

My big toes give me grief- the joints can really hurt- then they stick up and push at my shoes- I went to a foot doc and he said it was something I was born with so I wear protective toe pads to keep my toenails from getting broken by my shoes.  I buy 150.00 shoes so the shoes aren't the problem.  If I want to fix the toe joint problem for sure, he said surgery!!!  And I said, No thanks, doc.  I exercise in a pool- jog up and down- and my feet and toes are starting to super gripe.  Got to exercise to lose more chunk so not sure what to do but keep on going no matter what.

back when i swam competitively, i used to get serious foot cramps all the time and my coach told me to eat at least three bananas every day. i don't know why, but it worked!