cramp

[silly moo]

I suffer from cramp in my hands and feet.
My hands / fingers go into the most weird claw shapes, very painful., and I have to use my other hand to physically straighten out my fingers.
Any ideas / sugestions of what might cause this and possible remedies?

[pjm007]

It could be a condition called 'Trigger finger'. It affects the tendons and can be 'sorted' by having a steroid injection. Try not to physically bend your fingers back as this can permanently damage your tendons. My advice would be to go and see a doctor. By the way, do you suffer with arthritis at all ?

[trodgers5]

I have heard of this before from a friend and it turned out to be an iron   deficiency - apparently iron deficiencys affect people in different ways.  Are you a woman of child bearing age because apparently it affects us more due to womens things etc

[silly moo]

Thanks for your answers folks.
I have mild cervical spondilosis (arthritis of neck) ; and I'm menopausal.
I'm fairly sure it's not trigger finger - it's def cramp ( have some medical knowledge).
Need to see doc with several minor bits soon so will add this to list.
Most things seem to be age related - isn't it depressing!!!!

[lindapinda]

Do you eat a lot of tomatoes in italian or indian sauces?I have had to give these up,as they seem to worsen my leg cramps.I've also seen that some arthritis sufferers have benefited from cutting tomatoes from their diet.

[secretspirit]

Salt Police alert - you won't like me! If you don't get enough sodium (salt) in your diet it can cause cramps to get worse. Lack of potassium I think can contribute to it as well and bananas are a good source. Making sure you don't get dehydrated is another good idea.