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Nocturnal leg cramps in children: incidence and clinical characteristics
Insights
Nocturnal leg cramps affect over 7% of children, primarily those aged 8 and older. These cramps are typically unilateral, occur during sleep, and last under two minutes, with some children experiencing residual tenderness.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neurology
- Sports Medicine
Background:
- Nocturnal leg cramps are a common complaint in pediatric populations.
- Understanding the incidence, characteristics, and associated factors is crucial for diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence and prevalence of nocturnal leg cramps in healthy children.
- To characterize the frequency, duration, laterality, and associated symptoms of these cramps.
- To investigate the occurrence of residual tenderness following leg cramps.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of medical records from 2527 healthy children.
- Evaluation of documented nocturnal leg cramps within the preceding 12 months.
- Data collection on cramp characteristics: frequency, duration, affected leg(s), foot involvement, awake/asleep occurrence, and residual tenderness.
Main Results:
- Overall incidence of nocturnal leg cramps was 7.3% (185/2527 children).
- Cramps were observed in children aged 8 years and older, increasing with age and peaking between 16-18 years.
- Cramps were predominantly unilateral (98.9%), occurred during sleep (73%), and lasted a mean of 1.7 minutes. Residual tenderness was reported in 30.8% of cases, lasting a mean of 33.2 minutes.
Conclusions:
- Nocturnal leg cramps are common in children over 12 years old.
- The majority of affected children experience cramps infrequently (1-4 times/year).
- Cramps are typically unilateral, occur during sleep, are short-lived (<2 minutes), and may be associated with transient residual tenderness.
Abstract:
The records of 2527 healthy children seen in an ambulatory care clinic were evaluated for nocturnal leg cramps in the preceding 12 months, frequency and duration of the cramps, whether the cramps affected one leg or both legs at a time, whether there was associated muscle cramps in feet, whether the cramps occurred when the child was awake or asleep, and whether there was residual tenderness in the affected muscles. Nocturnal leg cramps were present in 185 children for an overall incidence of 7.3%. Leg cramps were noted only in children aged > or = 8 years. The incidence increased at 12 years and peaked at 16 to 18 years of age. A majority (81.6%) of the affected children had nocturnal leg cramps 1 to 4 times per year. The mean duration of episodes was 1.7 minutes. Leg cramps were unilateral in 98.9% of cases and the ipsilateral foot also was involved in 18.9% of cases. One hundred thirty-five (73%) children had leg cramps while asleep, and the remaining 23 (12.4%) children had leg cramps in either state. Fifty-seven (30.8%) children had residual tenderness in the affected muscles. The mean duration of residual tenderness was 33.2 minutes (range: 2 minutes-1 day). We conclude that nocturnal leg cramps are common in children aged > 12 years. A majority of the affected children have leg cramps 1 to 4 times per year. The cramps are usually unilateral and occur when the children are asleep. Normal duration of the leg cramp is < 2 minutes. Residual tenderness is present in approximately 30% of the affected children. Residual tenderness, if present, usually lasts for half an hour.