Ortho Week – Muscle cramp fells Cristian de la Fuente
April 29, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Image: Newscom
Ouch. Anyone who has had a severe muscle cramp is likely able to identify with Cristian de la Fuente right now. The Chilean soap star and contestant on Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) sustained a severe muscle cramp in his arm, severe enough to warrant a visit to the hospital. You can read more about it at People.
So, what exactly is a muscle cramp?
As we move about, we unconsciously contract and relax our muscles. Every once in a while, the fibers in a muscle start to contract on their own and don’t relax – or they go into spasm. If it stays contracted, it can get very hard and painful.
What can you do about the cramp?
If it’s not too painful, you can try massaging the cramped muscle and stretching it *gently*. You don’t want to stretch the muscle forcefully because it can cause further damage. Moist warm compresses may help relax the muscle as well.
~~~~~~~~~~
Technorati Tags: Muscle cramps,Cristian de la Fuente,severe muscle cramp,muscle spasm,muscle contraction,relax the muscle,chilean soap star,dancing with the stars,DWTS
Muscle cramps reeeeally hurt sometimes. Got one in my calf a few weeks ago, and wow.
I’ve discovered that making sure the covers are loose around my feet when I sleep on my back seemed to prevent a recurrence. But nothing I did at the time seemed to help much until it decided to go away on it’s own.