Night Leg Cramps

Night time leg cramps

Night leg cramps, are typically muscle spasms in the calf muscle that can cause leg cramps while sleeping. Leg cramps at night can really disrupt your sleep.

Night time leg cramps, also known as nocturnal leg cramps, are common. Leg cramps at night usually last a few seconds or a few minutes and the pain is often strong. The muscle can stay sore for up to 24 hours after the leg cramp. Leg cramps are more common at night when the body is resting. They can disturb sleep and become a regular problem.

Most people get night leg cramps now and then, but they can occur more often in some people. People aged over 60 have a much higher chance of having leg cramps regularly.

Causes

Generally, the causes are not always clear. Low levels of either calcium or magnesium in the blood can predispose people to the cramps experienced by older adults and by pregnant women. Low levels of magnesium and calcium during pregnancy are common unless women take these minerals as supplements. Cramps are seen in any circumstance that decreases the availability of calcium or magnesium in body fluids, such as from diuretics, hyperventilation (overbreathing), excessive vomiting, inadequate calcium and/or magnesium in the diet and poor calcium absorption due to a lack of vitamin D.

Other secondary causes of night leg cramps include:

• Medication side-effects. Diuretics, cimetidine, clofibrate, lithium, nicotinic acid, nifedipine, penicillamine, phenothiazines, salbutamol, statins and terbutaline are known for sometimes causing leg cramps.
• Dehydration
• Kidney problems
• Underactive thyroid gland (untreated)
• Too much alcohol
• Nerve disorders
• Narrowing of leg arteries
• Later pregnancy
• High or low sodium or potassium in the blood
• Over-exercise or over-exertion

If you are generally well and have leg cramps while sleeping, you might like to have a check up.

Relieving night time leg cramps

You can usually get relief from a cramp by stretching and massaging the muscle. Painkillers do not act quickly enough and are not always helpful. Paracetamol, however, could be useful if you have residual soreness after a muscle spasm or cramp.

The best way to relieve the pain of nocturnal leg cramps quickly is to get out of bed and stretch your calf muscles by leaning toward a wall with your feet flat on the floor as depicted in the image.

Calcium and magnesium supplements may be help for prevention.

Some experts believe that lying in bed with knees slightly bent and feet pointing downward shortens the calf muscle and may make it more likely to spasm. Try using a pillow to prop up your feet in bed while sleeping on your back. If you sleep on your stomach, hang your feet of the end of the bed to keep them flatter. Another suggestion is to keep blankets at the end of the bed loose so that toes and feet aren't pressed into the pointing position.

Quinine caution

The malaria drug quinine was widely prescribed in the past for leg cramps at night, however, the US Food and Drug Administration issued an advice in 2006 that it is too risky to use for this purpose, as it can have major adverse effects.

Sources: Patient UK; FDA