A muscle cramp is a strong, painful contraction or tightening of a muscle that comes on suddenly and lasts from a few seconds to several minutes. It often occurs in the legs. A muscle cramp is also called a charley horse. Nighttime leg cramps are usually sudden spasms, or tightening, of muscles in the calf. The muscle cramps can sometimes happen in the thigh or the foot.
When the adrenal glands begin to act âdysfunctionalâ due to prolonged stress, they first go into a hyper (overactive, stressed) state. As they are pushed further and not given the opportunity to recover they go into an âextremeâ stressed/overactive state and eventually reach the hypo (under active, exhausted) mode.
Causes of Adrenal Androgen Excess. Early-onset adrenal activation, known as premature adrenarche, increases the risk of developing PCOS in women by 50%.7 In a young woman, an early onset of pubic/axillary hair and apocrine sweat gland development can mark this condition.