If you've ever woken up in the middle of the night with pain and tension in your leg muscle, you know what it means to experience a leg cramp. Leg cramps are contractions that occur involuntarily in the muscles of the calf, thigh or feet.

A good muscle cramp can bring even the toughest hombre to his knees. When you get a muscle cramp, what happens is that the muscle suddenly and involuntarily contracts. Generally muscle cramps happen when you are dehydrated or have overexerted the muscle.

If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, your physician might have prescribed a statin drug to lower your cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, one of the common side effects of statins is leg and muscle cramps. While these should be mild, some patients can experience severe of painful cramps.

Caffeine is a drug found naturally in tea and coffee that stimulates the nervous system and can lead to feeling anxious and irritable. In 2000, experts linked caffeine to joint diseases, and people who consume more than 400 mg a day are at risk of painful withdrawal symptoms.

Whether called a cramp, charley horse or a growing pain, a sudden uncontrolled muscle contraction by any name translates into a painful surprise.

Although both high and low calcium levels in the blood can cause muscle symptoms, low levels are typically the culprit behind muscle cramping. Low serum calcium levels, medically termed hypocalcemia, or high calcium levels, called hypercalcemia, most often are related to causes other than dietary intake.

Neck and shoulder muscles can carry a lot of tension. This tension is a chronic problem for many people, causing discomfort and limited movement in the affected areas. Certain actions can reduce neck and shoulder tension and potentially eliminate the underlying cause.

Zinc is a trace mineral required for proper body function. The term “trace” refers to the fact that only minute amounts of this nutrient are necessary versus the larger quantities required, for example, with calcium or magnesium. Zinc plays several roles related to muscular activity.

According to MedlinePlus, muscle cramps are involuntary contractions or spasms in one or more muscles. Muscle cramps can occur suddenly and unexpectedly. Further, they can occur both during physical activity and while resting.

A leg cramp, or charley horse, occurs when a leg muscle suddenly tightens, causing pain that at times can be severe. Lack of either calcium or potassium can be the cause of cramps in the legs. The minerals calcium and potassium are electrolytes, meaning they carry electrical impulses that control the muscles.

Common complaints among athletes include mid-exercise and post-exercise cramping. Muscle cramping is most often brought on by a combination of tight muscles, extreme weather, improper hydration and/or electrolyte depletion.

Cramps in the legs and feet can cause moderately painful reactions that may last a few minutes or longer. Muscle cramps occur when a muscle involuntarily contracts and cannot relax. Cramping may include a part of a muscle, the entire muscle or muscle groups.