Leg cramps

[martino]

As I start to write I realised I should have searched for relevant previous comments rather than waste other people’s time. Anyway I have started. 4.30 this morning I woke with awful leg cramps. I have had odd spasms like this before but this was grim! Any idea why this might have happened and how might I try to avoid this again. 6.30 now and the muscle still feels as though it is going to become taut. ( I will search now)

[beady3]

I have started to get terrible leg cramps its always when I get up, they are so bad I can’t walk In fact I have bought a walking stick , I do the exercises for cramp put hot and cold on legs , take cramp tabs put salts in Bath but nothing helps it all just takes it’s time which is about 2hrs

[martino in reply to beady3]

Thanks very much. I don’t want another night like last night!

[beady3 in reply to martino]

I bet you don’t , but we go to bed and wait , hope tonight will be ok for you

[martino in reply to beady3]

Thanks! No cramps which is great. Oddly leg movement woke me at 2.00 which has been less usual. Always something!

[LotteM]

Hi Martino, I think I remeber I had (relatively weak) cramps several weeks/months ago. That was after I had stopped taking magnesium (I take the bisglycinate form). It stopped again quickly when I resumed taking te mg. In the morning, as I don’t want it to interfere with my meds, which I take in the evening.

So, did or do you take magnesium? Maybe worth a try. Maybe worth having a wide-spectrum blood analysis before you start, to make sure your not overloading yourself. Always wise when you start self-supplementing.

I assume there was no obvious reason for you to get cramps at night, e.g. having sat on a bad chair for hours, doing gardening or other chores in unusual stances, etc.?

I hope the cramps take leave soon, preferably already tonight.

[Graham3196]

My wife had really severe leg cramps, probably every three nights. We found that a very strong sports drink with ice in it helped and the cramps stopped very quickly. - two or three minutes.

She now tales two magnesium diglycinate tablets one morning , one night and in the last year has had less than 5 cramps for the year.

One difference is that the sports drink is reactive when you have a cramp but it has too much sugar etc to take every night.

The Mg tablets are more of a preventative measure. If she has a cramp it can take a half hour to go away and it might have gone away all by itself. As you would know a half hour is a long time with a cramp in a foot or a leg.

Cheers

Graham

[Mum007]

I have been having leg cramps recently where I never used to. My husband decided my diet was too clean. We don’t have any fast food or not much processed food so I decided to add a bit of sea salt to my porridge and bingo! They say don’t overdo the salt but we don’t add it to anything and it’s full of minerals so probably don’t have enough. Only sea salt or rock salt though. Table salt is totally different and bad for you.

[ironbrain]

I have had, or been liable to, night-time calf cramps for about 20 years (now nearly 67). In my late forties, I correlated the cramps with a lot of exercise (half-marathon-length walks) and a (very) low protein intake. Walking 10 miles on two bowls of muesli, I would wake up to literally roll out of bed onto the floor in agony, finally standing on the leg with the sensation of the muscle almost tearing and it remaining tender all day.

From experience and having read a good deal on the subject, what one needs to look at is:

Electrolytes: check you are getting enough magnesium, calcium, potassium and, of course, sodium.

Muscle repair nutrients: protein, complete protein from fish, meat and maybe eggs and whey powder; oil – omega-3 from oily fish, soaked linseed/flaxseed or oil from them, walnuts or oil from them; omega-6 from safflower seed, sunflower seed, grapeseed, peanuts etc, the oil from them or the seeds; vitamins to digest them, primarily the B vitamins and vitamin C. I also find it best not to cut carbohydrate (oats tend to be my greatest source) out too much – I believe a little is needed to get the larger amino acids of the proteins through the stomach wall, and I've a sneaky suspicion the body will deaminate protein to use as energy rather than go to your fat reserves. No one should attempt to live on less than about 40 grams of protein a day and something around 1 gram per kilo bodyweight is probably about right for someone of normal weight taking normal exercise.

Heat: keep the bedroom warm. As with swimming, the higher the temperature gradient across the muscle, the more likely a cramp.

A trick that may prevent many a cramp is to very gently tip your toes up (towards your shin) when you wake up rather than stretch out extending your foot.

I'm currently experimenting to see if I've not found a test for whether a cramp is likely. In the evening, I lie on my back and bring my thigh hard back in towards my chest. I then grab my shin with both hands and pull my lower leg in so that the calf muscle is hard up against the back of my thigh. I then flex the calf muscle as hard as I can in all the modes I can find with my foot both extended and tipped towards my shin. If there is any sensation of sharpness or the muscle tends to cramp, I'm in the kitchen getting myself a mix of oats, whey powder, oil and water.

A problem with the myelin sheathing of one's nerves may also be a cause of cramping. I read that omega-9 fatty acids, such as in dairy fats and olive oil are good for this and tend to agree (toe cramps, the sural nerve, in my case). However, the body should be able to make omega-9 fatty acid from a sufficient intake of omega-3 and omega-6. Cold-pressed oils will always be recommended over those extracted otherwise, of course.

I believe quinine is not looked upon as being too healthy nowadays and taking baclofen not seen as a totally good alternative. Baclofen works on the GABA receptor and impaired GABA function is something also being looked at in relation to cramps. I don't take baclofen but I do take another drug that acts (on a different point) on the GABA receptor for insomnia, so I'm wondering ....

[Whippetmama]

Try 400 mgs. of good old Vitamin E. Lots of data behind it if you Google it. Works like a charm for me. I also take magnesium (I do have a deficiency) and potassium. But it's the Vit.E that has made the biggest difference. Good luck!

[DicCarlson]

There is a link between RLS and Leg Cramps, but they are not associated with each other. The same thing that causes the leg cramps also is a factor in RLS. Electrolytes for sure. 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in water can be all you need for cramps. Also Magnesium and/or Potassium. (Adrenal Cocktail is 1/4 tsp sea salt and 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar for Potassium). I just gave Mg supplements a try AGAIN - after a couple of days, excitable reaction with no sleep - a totally paradoxical reaction, not relaxing at all. Severe RLS "cured" with iron, but protracted insomnia remains. Electrolytes from Hammer Nutrition (sports nutrition) also work great for leg cramps.

[Joolsg]

Hi Martino,

I would place the blame squarely on the Neupro patch. I presume you’re still taking it??

I used to wake up in agony with severe foot and calf cramps when I was on Ropinirole.

I haven’t had a single episode of cramps since I got off dopamine agonists 2 years ago.

You may be having a similar side effect to dopamine agonists.

Try the magnesium as others above have advised; it may help.

Jools

[Goldy700]

If you have tried upping your magnesium and with no resolution - it may well be you need more potassium. Potassium deficiency is associated the leg cramps. I like to take potassium citrate as I find it helps.

[martino]

Thanks for your suggestion. I will weigh up the suggestions made. I am grateful for the various comments made as the only people who can comment are those who have suffered

[Top34]

I swear by magnesium. Leg cramps became unbearable for me over the last few years and always my leg muscles felt bruised. Now I use Magnesium Oil. Spray it into the palm of your hand (otherwise it sprays everywhere) and massage it into your legs or anywhere over your body. I aim for 10 sprays twice a day. It is brilliant. It doesn't stop them completely but pretty amazing. It does tend to dry the skin though, so I use plenty of moisturiser in-between. I may be wrong but I think RLS and leg cramps go together and both are evil.

[Hidden in reply to Top34]

My magnesium oil and I have a very special relationship! I love the stuff!

[Leelee49 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Jess, I use magnesium oil aswell, have little spray bottles I use. Question for you, do you find it brings you out in spots at all? Only my right leg mainly, has some horrible, sometimes sore spots on after using the oil. I have to make sure I rinse it off every day and put cream on my legs.

[Hidden in reply to Leelee49]

Hey there!

No spots for me, but am sorry to hear that you have this.

Question back at you: how many squirts do you do? I had this one unusual time where I must have overdone it because I felt a horrible burning on my legs right after applying (and actually developed red spots). I’m wondering: could you be overdoing it like I did that one time?

[Leelee49 in reply to Hidden]

I do tend to put a lot on otherwise it doesn’t help, but I don’t get any burning, just the spots.

[Hidden in reply to Leelee49]

Hmmm....

It could be an allergic reaction.

[Leelee49 in reply to Hidden]

Possibly, I’m not gonna stop using it though cos it’s a godsend at times, I wear trousers all the time anyway, so spotty legs it has to be 😊.

[Hidden in reply to Leelee49]

Yep, totally understand that.🙂

Take care,

[martino in reply to Top34]

Thanks. I have used it in the past but it made my legs very itchy. I will have another try

[Hidden]

Hi martino,

Do you take any herbs like Turmeric? That (and one other one I can’t remember the name of) gave me pains so bad that I would cry.

[martino in reply to Hidden]

No I don’t but by coincidence we have some as my wife has been using it to reduce ankle swelling after a break