4 Common Stomach Cramps That You Can Treat at Home!

Worked out your abs recently or had a lavish late lunch last evening on an empty stomach?  Most rigorous ab days at the gym or those acidic untimely meals on the go lead to nagging twitches or spasmodic cramps in the stomach, making our work days truly uncomfortable. Whether caused due to muscular strains or an upset digestive system, sitting through these sharp to dull stomach cramps is hard. While most stomach cramps occur commonly and are harmless, they could also signal an underlying condition. Read on to know more about some common causes of  stomach spasms and remedies to relieve the same.

Cramps Stemming from Exercise 

Overworking the abdominal muscles often leads to spasms. If you do strenuous exercises like high intensity sit ups or high-rep crunches, you may often complain of stomach spasms or cramps that get worse with movement. The sensations of such cramps oscillate between soreness and tenderness in the abs to sharp pain in the stomach. Muscular cramps that stem from exercise are extremely painful but mostly harmless. These get relieved on their own  with proper rest or some easy DIY remedies. Heat fomentation is a great solution to soothe the stomach muscles and alleviate the excessive strain. For this, you can either fill moderately warm water in a hot water bottle and soak in the heat for quick relief or use a heating pad to do the job. Ensure the heat is bearable yet effective enough for melting the pain away.  Additionally, if your stomach cramps are induced by exertion, consider resting your stomach muscles so that they stop spasming.

Gas Induced Cramps

Trapped gas in the stomach often induces spasms in your intestinal muscles. These cramps occur in an attempt for the built up gas to find release. Stomach cramps that are caused due to gas often lead to a great deal of discomfort and a range of accompanying symptoms like a feeling of fullness, the urge to pass gas, a sharp sensation of pain in the stomach and a lot of bloating. If your stomach cramps are a result of trapped gas solely, consider having sips of hot water or camomile tea. This concoction of wellness promoting herbs easily calms down excess gas causing painful spasms. Apart from gas build up, often inflammation in the cases of gastritis or gastroenteritis may cause intense episodes of stomach cramps. Additionally, symptoms stemming from Norwalk virus or rotavirus too may cause stomach spasms and painful aches. 

Lack of Hydration

Excessive sweating, diarrhea or vomiting makes one lose electrolytes and get dehydrated. Since our bodies, especially our muscles need electrolytes like magnesium, calcium and potassium to work well, the loss of these  causes muscle spasms in the body accompanied by stomach cramps. In cases of cramps that are induced by dehydration, you may experience symptoms including dizziness, headache and extreme thirst. A good way to find instant relief to this is amping up your fluid supply and replenishing your electrolytes.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Some inflammatory bowel diseases too may have an adverse effect on the gastrointestinal tract leading to acute stomach discomfort like abdominal cramps, constipation, diarrhea, night sweats  and the feeling of frequently using the washroom. Unless caused by an underlying chronic condition, most commonly occurring stomach cramps can be managed at home. While some home remedies may relieve the cause of cramps like in the case of muscle cramps, others may bring quick relief by soothing the symptoms and managing spasms. However, if your stomach spasms are painful and unbearable, give over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers a try. If  stomach cramp bothers you often and your doctor recommends OTCs to manage the same, you can explore a wide range of Over-the-Counter gas or pain relievers on 1Tab and opt for hassle-free home delivery of medicines. The online pharmacy offers a whole range of digestive care medicines and other health essentials across Homeopathy, Allopathy and Ayurveda for overall wellness.

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