How 79 year-old Sue* finally had a good night’s sleep

Night cramps can be so inconvenient. You go to bed hoping for a good sleep and not long after, you wake up in agony with a cramp in your legs. Cramps can take seconds or minutes to subside, and by the time you relax enough to go back to sleep, you are wide-awake and your plans for a good rest has been ruined.

In the general population, night cramps occur in about 40 percent of people over the age of 50, will increase with age, occur equally in men and women, and are associated with sleep interruption and overall poor health.

I want calf cramps to be eliminated from your life and I have designed a three-step plan to get your sleep back on track!

How Sue gave up nightly cramps for good

Sue is a lovely 79 year-old lady who has dedicated her life to the service of others. In fact, she still works every day and although she is hoping to “slow down” at some point, she enjoys what she does and doesn’t want to retire just yet.

The most inconvenient thing in her life is her nightly cramps that make her feel tired and lethargic during the day. This has been getting her down as she is active and wants to get the most out of life.

 Sue had tried the usual things – speaking to her GP and trying magnesium supplements to help her cramps. In frustration, she discussed the cramps with me during a routine consultation. I was surprised to hear that she had been suffering with the cramping for several years and had just accepted the inconvenience of her cramps up until then.

 I examined Sue and found that she had a number of problems that I could help her with.

  • Shoes  - Her shoes, while supportive were quite old and worn and did not provide optimal support
  • Foot Type – Her foot type lead to her foot rolling in, placing too much pressure on her arch
  • Calf tightness – Her calves were so tight I only had to lightly touch them for Sue to jump in pain

 The Three-Step Cramp Elimination Plan

  1.  Firstly, we discussed her footwear and I recommended she purchase a new cushioned, lace up shoe to give her the support that she needed. The shoes don’t need to be expensive, and Sue found a good quality shoe that ticked all the boxes conveniently at Macquarie Centre.
  2.  Secondly, we addressed her foot function. I conducted a Biomechanical Assessment to determine the exact mechanism for Sue’s rolling feet. I found that the way her foot functioned was also causing her calves to become tight. After the assessment, we were clear that Sue would benefit from orthotics to help her feet.
  3.  We needed to address her very tight calf muscles. I booked her for a course of three dry needling sessions to really get to the heart of her calf tightness. I have found dry needling excellent for cramps as the needles can be inserted directly into the very tight muscles and will reduce tightness almost immediately. To accompany this muscle work, I recommended that Sue also start strengthening her calves with some simple exercises that she can do at home. 

So after 6 weeks of treatment, Sue is much better and her cramps have stopped occurring nightly, to only occurring once a week. It is early days, but I am sure with continued treatment and strengthening she will be able to devote her time to others for a lot longer yet.

If Sue’s story sounds familiar to you, why don’t you give us a call or book online for our for a CRAMP ELIMINATION consultation 

* not her real name

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