A recent Liver International study investigates the effects of stretching and meditation on nocturnal muscle cramps in patients with cirrhosis. Study: The RELAX randomized controlled trial: Stretching versus meditation for nocturnal muscle cramps. Image Credit: 220 Selfmade studio / Shutterstock.
com Do muscle cramps affect sleep quality? Muscle cramps cause pain that may affect sleep and mobility, thereby negatively influencing affected individuals’ overall quality of life. Irrespective of the disease severity, two out of three patients with cirrhosis experience muscle cramps. Individuals above 60 years of age, particularly those receiving dialysis, are also at an increased risk of developing muscle cramps; therefore, these patients would likely benefit from cramp reduction interventions.
Current cramp treatments, such as quinidine treatment and albumin infusion, are effective; however, they are associated with negative side effects. For example, quinidine has the potential to induce cardiotoxic effects, whereas albumin infusions increase the risk of volume overload. Taurin is another treatment that can effectively alleviate muscle cramps; however, it is often expensive and unregulated.
Although many clinicians prescribe magnesium, it has been found to be ineffective for muscle cramps. One previous study also reported the efficacy of a stretching-based intervention in reducing cramp severity by 1.3 points on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS) and cramp frequency by 1.
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