If you only get leg cramps occasionally, it is not a cause for concern and a medical diagnosis is not required. A visit to your GP will only be necessary if you get leg cramps frequently, or if they are so painful they disrupt your sleep and you are unable to function normally the next day. There are two situations where leg cramps may be a sign of a more serious underlying health condition.
In these circumstances, contact your GP for advice immediately. If this isn't possible, contact your local out-of-hours service or call the NHS 24 '' service. The cause of leg cramps is sometimes unknown idiopathic.
In other cases, there may be an underlying condition or another identifiable cause. Although the cause of idiopathic leg cramps is unknown, there are a number of theories about what might cause idiopathic leg cramps. These include:. Also, tendons naturally shorten over time as a person gets older, which may explain why older people are particularly affected by leg cramps.
Tendons are tough bands of tissue that connect muscles to bone. If your tendons become too short, they may cause the muscles connected to them to cramp. Secondary leg cramps are caused by an underlying condition or another identifiable cause. Certain medications have been known to cause leg cramps in a small number of people.
Contact your GP if you think your medication may be causing your leg cramps as your dosage may need to be adjusted. Never stop taking a prescribed medication unless your GP or another qualified healthcare professional who is responsible for your care advises you to do so. For example, secondary leg cramps that are related to liver disease are caused by high levels of toxins in the blood which trigger muscles spasms.
Therefore, muscle relaxants can be used to help prevent your muscles from going into spasm. If the cause of your legs cramps is unknown primary idiopathic leg cramps , a combination of exercise and painkilling medication is usually recommended. Most cases of leg cramps can be treated with exercises. There are two types of exercise that you can do:.
To reduce your risk of getting leg cramps in the future, you should do exercises to stretch the affected muscles three times a day. For example, if your calf muscles are affected by cramps, the following exercise should be beneficial:.
For the best results, you should repeat this exercise three times a day, including one session just before you go to bed. If you have leg pain that persists after an episode of cramping, an over-the-counter painkiller, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen may help reduce the pain.
Quinine was originally designed as a medication to treat malaria. Subsequent research has found that it can also be moderately effective in reducing the frequency of leg cramps. Thrombocytopenia is a rarer but more serious complication of quinine.
It occurs when the number of platelets in your blood falls to a dangerously low level. Platelets help the blood to clot which means people with thrombocytopenia are at increased risk of excessive bleeding such as:.
There have been a number of reported cases of people dying from thrombocytopenia after taking quinine to prevent leg cramps. Never take more than your recommended dose of quinine. An overdose of quinine can result in permanent blindness and death. Due to these small but potential risks, your GP will only prescribe quinine if there is evidence that the potential benefit of treatment outweighs the risks.
In these circumstances, you may be prescribed a four-week course of quinine. After this time, if you have not gained any benefit, the treatment will be withdrawn. If you experience any of the side effects listed above, stop taking quinine immediately and contact your GP. Home Illnesses and conditions Muscle, bone and joints Conditions Leg cramps. Leg cramps See all parts of this guide Hide guide parts 1.
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Products and services. The cramps occur without you being able to control them. They may happen while you are still awake or after you are asleep. They normally begin very suddenly.
Sometimes, they may begin slowly with less painful warning signs. The muscle cramps can last for a few seconds or several minutes. They end as suddenly as they began. They may occur as rarely as once per year in some people. Other people can have many cramps every night. In many people, the cramps tend to come and go over many years. The cramps can be relieved by stretching the affected muscle. The muscle may still be tender and sore several hours after the cramp.
At times, leg cramps can also be eased by the following:. The muscle cramp not only causes pain, but it can also disturb your sleep. It can make it hard for you to fall asleep. It may also wake you up after you have been asleep. The soreness felt after the cramp can also make it hard for you to go back to sleep again. Leg cramps are sometimes confused with restless legs syndrome RLS.
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