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Published on: February 24, 2014
Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps
Scott R Garrison1, G Michael Allan, Ravneet K Sekhon
1Therapeutics Initiative, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. sgarrison@shaw.ca.
Magnesium supplements are unlikely to prevent cramps in older adults. More research is needed for pregnancy-related cramps, as current evidence is conflicting.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Nutritional Science
- Evidence-Based Medicine
Background:
- Skeletal muscle cramps are a prevalent condition often associated with pregnancy, aging, exercise, and neurological disorders.
- Magnesium supplements are commonly marketed for cramp prevention, but their efficacy lacks systematic evaluation.
- This review addresses the evidence gap regarding magnesium's effectiveness in managing skeletal muscle cramps.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically assess the effects of magnesium supplementation versus placebo, no treatment, or other therapies for skeletal muscle cramps.
- To evaluate the efficacy of magnesium in different patient populations experiencing cramps.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a comprehensive search of multiple electronic databases up to September/October 2011.
- Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing magnesium supplementation to control groups (no treatment or placebo).
- Extracted data and assessed risk of bias independently; obtained patient-level data for three trials.
Main Results:
- For idiopathic cramps in older adults, magnesium showed no statistically significant difference in cramp frequency, intensity, or duration compared to placebo.
- Evidence for pregnancy-associated leg cramps is conflicting, with one study showing no benefit and another suggesting potential benefits.
- Adverse events were similar between magnesium and placebo groups; no trials evaluated magnesium for exercise- or disease-associated cramps.
Conclusions:
- Magnesium supplementation is unlikely to offer clinically significant cramp prophylaxis for older adults with idiopathic cramps.
- Further research is necessary to clarify the role of magnesium in pregnancy-associated leg cramps due to conflicting evidence.
- There is a lack of RCTs evaluating magnesium for exercise-induced or disease-related muscle cramps.
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