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.
Adrenal Insufficiency. Every one of the above-listed symptoms of depression can also be caused by a condition known as adrenal insufficiency or adrenal fatigue. Very severe adrenal gland failure can be caused by Addisonâs Disease. Most of the time that is caused by an autoimmune reaction that severely injures or destroys the adrenal glands.