Nighttime leg cramps cause a great deal of misery. These painful involuntary muscle contractions can wake you from a sound sleep. The pain they cause can be excruciating, even making grown-ups cry.
Doctors have relatively little to offer to help prevent or treat such cramps. At one time they used to prescribe quinine. The FDA decided, however, that this botanical derivative is too dangerous to use for a common problem like leg cramps. As a result, doctors end up recommending home remedies like tonic water, bananas or magnesium supplements.
Does Extra Magnesium Prevent Leg Cramps?
A small study involving 88 elderly volunteers with nighttime leg cramps tested 520 mg of magnesium against placebo. The supplement was in the common form of magnesium oxide.
This randomized controlled trial ran for one month. The results were rather disappointing. People in both the magnesium and placebo group experienced fewer nocturnal leg cramps. The investigators found no significant differences between the two groups.
The authors conclude: “It appears unlikely that older adults with NLC will significantly benefit from magnesium supplementation.”
Maor et al, JAMA Internal Medicine, online, Feb. 20, 2017
What Can You Do for Nighttime Leg Cramps?
Many readers will be skeptical about the results of this trial, since they have found that magnesium supplements help them avoid leg cramps. Others will turn to one of the home remedies we have written about before. Some of these remedies appear implausible. Who would imagine swallowing yellow mustard could help? Yet, there is actually a likely explanation for mustard, ginger or other strong flavors stopping leg cramps quickly.
Even more improbable, many readers have put a bar of soap under the bottom sheet and found that it prevents leg cramps while they sleep. We still don’t know for sure how this works, but there a few hypotheses. You can read more about these and other remedies to help nighttime leg cramps in our Guide to Leg Pain.
5/4/17 redirected to: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/will-magnesium-prevent-your-painful-leg-cramps/
