Foot arch cramps at night1/18/2024 ![]() ![]() Cramping secondary to exercise or excessive fluid intake that does not respond to home care should also be evaluated by your podiatrist or family doctor. Ischemic cramping should be evaluated by your doctor to determine the level and severity of peripheral arterial disease.Ĭramping due to diuretic use may be life-threatening and should always be evaluated by your family doctor. Cramping due to excessive perspiration and exercise can also be treated with sports drinks or supplemental sodium and potassium intake. Cramping due to excessive fluid intake can be corrected with sports drinks such as Gatorade that will replenish sodium and potassium. Metabolic cramping due to diuretic use should be evaluated by your doctor. Treatment of foot cramps depends upon whether the cramps are metabolic or ischemic. The differential diagnosis for cramping includes: Contributing factors to ischemic cramping include age, history of smoking or smokeless tobacco use, and high levels of cholesterol. Testing for PAD is very simple and can be performed in a vascular testing lab (office-based) in a matter of minutes.Ĭontributing factors to metabolic cramping include excessive perspiration, excessive fluid intake, and use of diuretics. In older, less active patients, cramping can be a common symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). In athletes and growing children, cramping is simply a symptom that enables the muscle to get the electrolytes and oxygen that it needs. Muscle continues to have oxygen and metabolic needs for a number of hours following activity. In athletes and younger patients leg cramps are common following a long day of activity. Biomechanical cramping can be managed with a regular stretching program, supportive shoes, and arch supports. As with ischemic cramping, we will be forced to walk off a biomechanical muscle cramp. If an imbalance is found between two opposing muscle groups resulting in one group being forced work beyond its capacity, muscle cramping may occur. The act of walking is a finely-tuned symphony of brain impulses and muscle contraction. The biomechanics of walking and running is quite complex. Lack of either or both of these two electrolytes will result in muscle dysfunction and muscle cramping.īiomechanics is the science of how the body moves. A balance between potassium and sodium is imperative for normal muscle function. Low potassium (hypokalemia) and low sodium (hyponatremia) can result from over exercise, use of diuretics (water pills) and renal disease. Sodium and potassium are the two primary electrolytes that regulate muscle function and subsequently may contribute to muscle cramping. The most common metabolic deficiency that causes foot and leg cramping is an imbalance in a group of chemicals called electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride.). Doctors will often ask patients with poor circulation to describe how far they can walk before the cramp and will use this as a measure of their peripheral vascular disease. Muscle cramping due to ischemia can also occur with exercise and is called intermittent claudication. Ischemic cramping typically occurs at night and is called nocturnal claudication. The pain that accompanies the cramp prompts us to walk out or rub the cramp which, in turn, results in increased circulation. When blood flow to a muscle is inadequate and the muscle becomes ishemic, the muscle will cramp. Ischemia is the term used to describe insufficient circulation of blood to tissue. ![]()
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