A muscle cramp is a painful spasm of your muscle. Normally it is caused by prolonged tightening of that muscle. It can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. A muscle cramp can be extremely painful and you cannot control it. Cramping occurs sometimes from using your muscles a lot. It is very common in athletes. Sometimes when watching a football game, you will see a football player on the ground after a play stretching his leg out and messaging it to ease the cramping pain. It is very common. Cramping can also occur when you lie in an awkward position. Night cramps normally wake you up and it is an awful pain that normally causes you to jump up rapidly. While you can not really prevent cramps, you can do something about relieving the pain. Stretching out your muscle where the cramp is or gentling massaging the muscle can help relieve the pain. When you get a cramp in your leg you want to pull back your toes to point up your toes. Drinking plenty of water before, during and after exercising or other activities helps to avoid cramping but does not guarantee it. Everyone suffers from muscle cramps, it is just one of those things unavoidable.