Muscle cramps

Guidelines

The following summarized guidelines for the management of muscle cramps are prepared by our editorial team based on guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN 2010).

1. Medical management

Quinine derivatives

avoid quinine derivatives in the management of muscle cramps because of the potential of toxicity; consider their use in select patients once potential side effects are taken into account.

First-line agents

consider vitamin B complex, CCBs such as diltiazem, or naftidrofuryl as first-line agents in the management of muscle cramps.

References

1.Hans D Katzberg, Ahmir H Khan, Yuen T So. Assessment: symptomatic treatment for muscle cramps (an evidence-based review): report of the therapeutics and technology assessment subcommittee of the American academy of neurology. Neurology. 2010 Feb 23;74(8):691-6.

2.Timothy M Miller, Robert B Layzer. Muscle cramps. Muscle Nerve. 2005 Oct;32(4):431-42. ⋅

3.Michael Behringer, Markus Moser, Molly McCourt et al. A promising approach to effectively reduce cramp susceptibility in human muscles: a randomized, controlled clinical trial. PLoS One. 2014 Apr 11;9(4):e94910.

4.Gavin Young. Leg cramps. BMJ Clin Evid. 2009 Mar 26;2009:1113.