 |
|
|
|
|
May 25th, 2011
08:11 AM ET
What causes leg cramps?Every weekday, a CNNHealth expert doctor answers a viewer question. On Wednesdays, it's Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society. Asked by Cleester of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan I am generally a very healthy woman. I frequently wake up at night with painful cramps in the thighs and the back of my legs below the knee. What causes cramps and how can I get rid of them? Dear Cleester, Cramping is painful contracture of muscles. It generally lasts for five to 10 minutes and then remits. It can awaken someone from a sound sleep. Cramping of the legs and feet is very common. Cramping in the hands and arms is seen but less common. This condition is seen in children or adults of any age. People who have cramping regularly should be seen by a health care provider, even though the cause is often never found after extensive evaluation. When the cause is found, cramping can be due to prolonged sitting or leg position during sedentary activity. Perhaps most commonly, cramps can be due to overuse of muscles that are not accustomed to exercise. The second most common cause is dehydration. Cramps can also be caused by electrolyte and metabolic disorders. Diuretic drugs can commonly cause cramping through dehydration, sodium or potassium depletion. Parathyroid disease causes high or low calcium levels and is associated with cramping, as is thyroid dysfunction. Parathyroid and thyroid diseases are perhaps a more common cause of cramping in the hands and arms compared with other causes of cramping. The evaluation of cramping will commonly involve a drug history and blood studies checking sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium levels as well as thyroid function tests. The physical examination is usually normal in a patient with routine cramping. The health care provider will also be trying to distinguish common cramping from muscle diseases that can mimic it and be an uncommon side effect of commonly prescribed drugs used to lower cholesterol (such as cholestyramine) or decrease stomach acid (cimetidine or ranitidine). Decreased oxygenation of leg muscles due to peripheral vascular disease and the pain of diabetic neuropathy can also be mistaken for cramps. Leg cramps are best prevented with nondrug treatments. Daily stretching and muscle strengthening can be very useful in preventing cramps. Stretching the muscle group during the cramp attack can be helpful in relieving it. Chloroquine or the similar compound quinine (an ingredient of tonic water) has been prescribed to prevent cramping. Chloroquine has recently fallen out of favor. Calcium channel blockers have become the preferred first medical treatment for cramping in patients who get them often for unknown reasons. A few people find that a daily dose of vitamin B complex prevents cramping. soundoff (1,026 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Next »Leave a Reply to rv inspection near me
Next entry »Smallpox virus gets stay of execution
« Previous entrySeeking Serenity: Stressed new grads, harness your idealism
|
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
 |
|
|
|
https://emailtrackerapi.leadforensics.com/api/URLOpen?EmailSentRecordID=17006&URL=http://andyv15z3.estate-blog.com/4048276/5-tips-about-rv-repair-shop-near-me-you-can-use-today
I really love your site.. Excellent colors & theme. Did you make this site yourself? Please reply back as Iím attempting to create my own website and would like to know where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Thanks!
https://sso.esolutionsgroup.ca/default.aspx?SSO_redirect=https://hector0u1n6.like-blogs.com/
This is a topic that is near to my heart... Thank you! Exactly where are your contact details though?
https://foaf-visualizer.gnu.org.ua/?url=https://backboneleaders.com
http://www.prognoz.obninsk.ru/info.php?a%5B%5D=<a+href=https://backboneleaders.com/
I love reading a post that will make men and women think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!
https://www.dmca.com/Protection/Status.aspx?ID=edc817fd-d796-4c84-abb8-d1cb5b2e3719&refurl=http://backboneleaders.com
http://www.vladinfo.ru/away.php?url=https://backboneleaders.com/
https://www.socialpsychology.org/client/redirect.php?from=search&id=40798&url=https://backboneleaders.com
Aw, this was an exceptionally good post. Taking the time and actual effort to produce a great articleÖ but what can I sayÖ I put things off a lot and never manage to get anything done.
http://www.landofvolunteers.com/go.php?http://www.backboneleaders.com
http://ronl.org/redirect?url=https://backboneleaders.com
https://www.attaka.or.jp/cgi-bin/click3/click3.cgi?cnt=05&url=https://www.backbonehunters.com/
I need to to thank you for this wonderful read!! I absolutely loved every little bit of it. I have got you bookmarked to check out new things you postÖ
http://www.uonuma-kome.com/link/rank.cgi?mode=link&id=370&url=http://www.backboneleaders.com/
http://www.tswzjs.com/go.asp?url=https://backboneleaders.com
I used to be able to find good information from your content.
http://instantfwding.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=backboneleaders.com
https://dsu.regione.marche.it/Logout.aspx?Returnurl=https://backboneleaders.com
https://www.demo.cloudhostedresources.com/?id=7cde069d28fee9161e9475b01c2cf8cf&fullscreen=1&task=get&url=https://backboneleaders.com
https://bpk-spb.com/bitrix/rk.php?goto=https://backboneleaders.com
http://researchtrianglepark.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=sprintervanrepairnearme.com
https://pram.elmercurio.com/Logout.aspx?ApplicationName=EMOL&l=yes&SSOTargetUrl=http://ocrv.info/
I am about to start a blog. Along with many other hopeful's, I hope to eventually make money off it. I noticed a lot of sites do not allow you to make money of google ad sense and things like that. What are some sites I can start my blog on that will allow this since it seems to be the most profitable way to make money off a blog?.
https://www.facebook.com/KateKowalskyWebMarketing
https://ams.ceu.edu/optimal/optimal.php?url=https://oc-rv.com&refresh=1
Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Many thanks for providing these details.
http://dogussk.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrv.store/
http://www.k-array.com/services/redirect/?url=www.ocrvcenter.com/
https://netfaqs.com/linux/Mail/Net4/New/index.asp?bisp=ocrvcenter.com
This is a topic that is close to my heart... Take care! Exactly where are your contact details though?
https://100kursov.com/away/?url=http://ocrvmotorsports.life
https://hslda.org/content/a/LinkTracker.aspx?id=4015475&appeal=385&package=36&uri=https://ocrv.club
You're so cool! I do not think I've read through a single thing like this before. So wonderful to find another person with genuine thoughts on this topic. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This website is one thing that is required on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
http://monitor.zone-game.info/?url=https://ocrvmotorcoaches.com/
chloroquine tab https://pharmaceptica.com/
I love it when folks come together and share ideas. Great blog, keep it up!
http://ts.videosz.com/out.php?cid=101&aid=102&nis=0&srid=392&url=https://ocrvshop.com/
You need to be a part of a contest for one of the most useful sites on the internet. I am going to recommend this web site!
https://www.schoolfinder.com/Tracking/WeblinkClicks.aspx?SchoolCode=uglio15&ProfileType=University&LinkType=SocialLink3&RedirectURL=https://orangecountyrvrepair.com/play/
Next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesn't disappoint me as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read, however I actually believed you would have something interesting to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of moaning about something you could fix if you weren't too busy searching for attention.
http://irp.005.neoreef.com/system/sysapps/general/linkclick.aspx?tabid=680&table=links&field=itemid&id=271&link=https://www.newportcatalina.com
An intriguing discussion is worth comment. I do believe that you need to publish more on this topic, it might not be a taboo matter but usually people don't talk about these topics. To the next! All the best!!
https://dtimes.jp/st-manager/click/track?id=423811&type=raw&url=https://ocrv.me
https://www.dahl.se/store/ClickInfo?evtype=CpgnClick&mpe_id=26203&intv_id=56512&storeId=11051&catalogId=10003&langId=46&URL=http://ocrv.today/
http://www.italianculture.net/redir.php?url=https://www.ocrvluxurycoaches.com/
I quite like reading an article that will make men and women think. Also, thank you for allowing for me to comment!
https://www.vmzinc.co.uk/literature.html?task=count&id=18&type=orig_doc&filetype=pdf&url=http://ocrv.club/
http://meteorite.lamost.org/modules/links/redirect.php?url=https://www.ocrvmotorsports.us
http://nudeyoung.info/cgi-bin/out.cgi?ses=017KZrs6Ai&id=319&url=https://www.ocrvart.com/
https://login.ermis.gov.gr/pls/orasso/orasso.wwctx_app_language.set_language?p_http_language=fr-fr&p_nls_language=f&p_nls_territory=france&p_requested_url=http://ocrvcenter.net/
Hmm is anyone else having problems with the pictures
on this blog loading? I'm trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if
it's the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
https://sc.sie.gov.hk/TuniS/www.ocrvfleetservices.com/
http://vizcayamuseum.org/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvart.com
http://www.victoirefrance.fr/expire.aspx?Returnurl=http://ocrvmotorsports.net
http://www.romhacking.ru/go?https://boxtruckrepairshop.com/
http://pzz.to/click?uid=8571&target_url=http://ocrvcenter.biz
Spot on with this write-up, I really think this website needs far more attention. Iíll probably be returning to read more, thanks for the info!
http://www.triwa.com.au/Redirect.aspx?destination=https://www.fleetservicerepairshop.com
This is a very interesting article. Please, share more like this!
https://goo.gl/maps/z5QxDM4xnvD2
thanks for sharing!
https://goo.gl/maps/WTPBHu1Md2N2
Commenting on a blog is an art. Good comments create relations. You're doing great work. Keep it up.
https://www.google.com/maps?cid=106407147833378062
Commenting on a blog is an art. Good comments create relations. You're doing great work. Keep it up.
https://www.google.com/maps?cid=12039124596540498887
Really very happy to say,your post is very interesting to read.I never stop myself to say something about it.You're doing a great job.Keep it up
https://www.jonigarcia.com/tips-for-getting-your-vehicles-auto-body-repaired/
What's up to all, because I am in fact keen of reading this weblog's
post to be updated regularly. It consists of pleasant stuff.