Muscle spasms or cramps in the lower limbs (from the thighs, calves to the legs), are sensations that many people experience during sleep at night. This is felt like muscle tension or a feeling of muscle "pulling" or frequent muscle wrinkles, where the muscles harden suddenly. Calf muscle spasms are the type of muscle cramps that most people feel. Strong wrinkles of these muscles range from mild to painful spasms.

This symptom usually occurs after the person begins to fall asleep at night (can wake people from sleep), or experienced shortly before opening their eyes in the morning. However, the pain can be very intense, can last up to several minutes to an hour.

When pain has subsided,the muscles remain tense and sensitive to sudden touch or movement. So if there is a sudden movement of the muscle after the previous cramping attacks subside, then the muscle cramps will repeat again.

Another condition called Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a disorder in the part of the nervous system that causes discomfort or pain in the lower limbs, which causes a strong urge to move the lower limbs. This syndrome must be distinguished from the muscle cramps that are being discussed. Because it usually interferes with sleep, RLS is also considered a sleep disorder, which is similar to muscle cramps.

People with this syndrome experience discomfort in their lower limbs (sometimes in the arms or other body parts) and an irresistible urge to move their legs, to reduce the discomfort. The sensation that occurs is a feeling of heat, pain like being pierced, honed "itching", or like a worm crawling on the leg.

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This sensation is usually heavy when resting, especially when lying or sitting, and decreases when the lower limbs are moved. The severity of RLS symptoms ranges from mild to severe. Symptoms of RLS can disappear and occur overnight (there is an episode of attack).

However, leg cramps and RLS, are not the same. People with leg cramps will experience increased pain if they move their legs, when a muscle wrinkle attacks occur, whereas in cases of restless leg syndrome, pain will decrease and the sufferer feels more comfortable when moving his legs.

The cause of leg cramps is often less well known, but some scientists believe that certain conditions and activities can cause this disorder.

Some possible causes of muscle cramps:

• Pregnancy
• Dehydration
• Lack of electrolytes and minerals such as: potassium, calcium or magnesium
• Some time after muscle injury, for example injury during exercise or after a traffic accident, or after lower leg surgery.
• Chronic kidney disease
• Physical activity or excessive exercise, especially without warming up before exercise, and cooling down after exercise.
• Lactic acid buildup in the lower limbs after long running and after walking long distances or going uphill / downhill.

Conclusion
Although it seems "trivial", but from experience in practice, many muscle cramps are found. This greatly disrupts the patient's night's sleep and may hinder his activities, reduce work productivity, and even facilitate the occurrence of various other diseases.