Then how does modern medicine explain this muscle spasm? You can view Donguibogam's 'liver blood deficiency' as being translated into very specific scientific terms today: dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. The muscles in our body move through a sophisticated system of contracting and relaxing in response to nerve signals. During this process, electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium play a critical role.
Picture this: on the sarcolemma, there are tiny gates called ion channels. When an electrical signal arrives from a nerve, these gates open and close, allowing electrolyte ions to pass through and trigger muscle contraction. But what happens during vigorous exercise or heavy sweating? As body water decreases, you enter a state of dehydration, and electrolytes are lost through sweat, disrupting electrolyte concentrations. In particular, potassium plays a core role in muscle contraction and neurotransmission, while magnesium is essential for muscle relaxation and energy production; when both become deficient, muscles fail to relax properly, become overly excitable, and contract involuntarily. This is precisely the muscle spasm we commonly call a cramp.
Dehydration goes beyond mere thirst. When blood volume decreases, the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles becomes sluggish, and metabolic waste cannot be properly cleared. When this waste accumulates in muscles, fatigue increases, and the muscle cells themselves experience stress, reacting with hypersensitivity. Combined with an electrolyte imbalance, faulty signals are sent to the muscles, or signal transmission at the neuromuscular junction falters, causing uncontrollable contractions. The reason cramps happen especially often at night may be that, after daytime activity leaves the body dehydrated and depleted of electrolytes, night-time blood circulation slows down relatively, allowing fatigue substances built up in the muscles to accumulate further. In addition, taking certain medications or having an underlying disease, such as diabetes or thyroid disease, can also induce electrolyte imbalance, so it is wise to pay close attention. Please remember that muscles screaming like this is an SOS signal sent by our body.
