Hypomagnesemia in a Tennis Player.

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Clinical Biochemistry
• Neurology

Background:

• Prolonged and intense physical activity can precipitate various physiological disturbances.
• Carpopedal spasm, characterized by involuntary contractions of hand and foot muscles, can be a symptom of electrolyte imbalances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a case of carpopedal spasm associated with severe exercise.
• To investigate the potential link between Hypomagnesemia and exercise-induced spasms.
• To highlight the efficacy of magnesium supplementation in managing these symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Case report detailing a patient with a history of severe, prolonged exercise.
• Clinical assessment including symptom evaluation and serum magnesium level measurement.
• Monitoring of symptoms following magnesium supplementation.

Main Results:

• The patient experienced recurrent carpopedal spasms after six hours of daily tennis.
• Serum magnesium levels were found to be low (Hypomagnesemia).
• Magnesium supplementation led to the resolution of carpopedal spasms and normalization of serum magnesium.

Conclusions:

• Hypomagnesemia can manifest as carpopedal spasm in individuals undertaking extreme endurance exercise.
• Magnesium repletion is an effective treatment for exercise-induced carpopedal spasm secondary to Hypomagnesemia.
• This case underscores the importance of assessing magnesium status in athletes with unexplained muscle cramps or spasms.