Preventing leg cramps

3 comments

2:00PM Wednesday August 12, 2009

You are sleeping peacefully when a painful sensation suddenly pierces your leg, jolting you awake. For many this is an all too familiar scenario.

You have plenty of company - about 70 per cent of adults over 50 experience night time these cramps.

They are a sudden involuntary contraction of the calf muscles that can happen at night or at rest. This contraction can last from a few seconds to 10 minutes.

It can sometimes affect the soles of the feet as well. It seems to occur in many older people, as well as pregnant women.

No one really knows what causes leg cramps exactly, however, we do know that dehydration can contribute to this, as well as a poor diet that is low in potassium and magnesium.

We also know that diuretic drugs which deplete potassium, sodium and magnesium, increase the risk of leg cramps, as do statin drugs, Ventolin and nifedipine.

Other people who are more at risk of leg cramps are diabetics, those with Parkinson's disease, hypoglycaemia, anaemia, thyroid problems and hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).

Quinine used to be used and prescribed for this by doctors. It has been effective and used since the 1940s for cramp.

However, doctors have been advised not to prescribe quinine anymore because it is thought the risks of using it far outweigh its benefits.

Local and international reports of nasty side effects of quinine use include: thrombocytopaenia (very low platelets - platelets help to clog up tears in tissues), fatal cardiac arrythmias, interactions with drugs, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), permanent hearing and visual disturbances and kidney failure. It is okay to stop using quinine suddenly.

Things you can do to help prevent leg cramps:

* Drink plenty of water - this prevents dehydration.

* Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables to get magnesium and potassium.

* Magnesium supplements work and are safe in all situations including pregnancy. The best magnesium to use is magnesium citrate or lactate twice a day, because these forms of magnesium are the most easily absorbed.

* Calcium - there is conflicting evidence about whether it works.

* Multivitamins - they can help but are not advised during pregnancy.

* Vitamin E 300IU will help.

* B12 and B complex have been found to be helpful.

* Regularly stretching your calves does not work.

* Wearing support stockings doesn't work.

It is important to be careful if you get pain in one leg for the first time - this needs to be checked with your family doctor in case it could be a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot).

This is especially the case if you have been laid-up for a while in bed with an illness, or on a long air trip.

It is very important that this is checked.

- Dr Frances Pitsilis
drfrances.co.nz

Photo / Dean Purcell

Comments

Bodo

Orewa

8:31AM Monday
17 August 2009

Hi Girls,
tablets only help the pharmaceutical industry. They makes billion of dollars per day with this rubbish! Eat healthy, do sport and you haven't the problems. NZ/AU-fruits more healthy als the same in europe! You have the best water on the planet here in NZ.

Auckland Kitty

Auckland

10:36AM Thursday
13 August 2009

Why aren't multivitamins recommended during pregnancy? I thought that seeing as you need to make sure yuo are getting enough of all vitamins and minerals, especially folate and the omegas, during pregnancy, that a multivitamin would be the most efficient way of getting these.

Lucee

Lebanon

8:22AM Thursday
13 August 2009

My grandmother suffered from leg cramps and used a camphor block in her bed. I too, minus the camphor, suffered night leg cramps for the last 25 years usually one leg would cramp followed very quickly by the other leg. Recently, my acupuncturist suggested I take two Mag + B6 combo tablets before bed. Since that time, now about 2 months, have not had one episode of leg cramps. I am a very happy person!