Night leg cramps in older patients

Night leg cramps in older patients are relieved by dark-green leafy vegetables rich in vitamin K. It has to do with coagulation in the blood vessels and calcium metabolism in the muscle fibres.

A night leg cramp is often known as a Charlie Horse; it can be extremely painful, most often in the calf but in fact in any muscles of the lower limb and sometimes in the hamstring too.

The usual technique to release the cramp is to straighten the leg to put the muscle under stretch; but in the foot it's very difficult to work out exactly how to do it.

Another technique is to contract the antagonistic muscle. For example, if the hamstring is in a cramp then cross the legs and try to contract the quadriceps muscles in the thigh. But in the foot it's very difficult as muscles contract in several ways; even knowing their function, I find it difficult.

Recommendations generally are to drink more water in the afternoon; that does help and should be done anyway. Yet despite our best efforts night leg cramps in older patients can be very trying, disturbing sleep and keeping us awake.

More than half of adults have this trying condition periodically; of whom one in five seek medical intervention. There is little scientific support for current recommendations and in fact some have severe adverse effects.

Researchers have previously found that vitamin K helps in patients on dialysis for kidney disease. Now they have turned their attention to otherwise healthy older patients suffering from night leg cramps.

199 older patients with at least two episodes of night cramps in 2 weeks were enrolled into one of two groups, receiving either 180 μg of synthetic vitamin K or a placebo in a randomised double-blinded trial.

After 8 weeks those receiving the vitamin K capsules had roughly one third of the night leg cramps; those on the placebo actually increased quite significantly.

The night leg cramps also were less severely painful and did not last as long.

The mechanism of blocking cramps

The vitamin K blocks calcium uptake in the muscle from the surrounding tissue inhibiting certain electrical impulses associated with the contraction causing a night leg cramp.

Dark-green leafy vegetables

Half a cup of both spinach and kale whether cooked or not contains about 500 μg of vitamin K; double that given in the trial.

Since there are many other benefits of dark-green leafy vegetables, we recommend that night leg cramps in older patients should be managed by letting our food be our medicine.

• How to grow spinach
  

Like most vegetables kale is best consumed on the day it is harvested; generally that found on the grocery store shelves does not look appetising.

Since kale is so easy to grow we recommending that even small gardens should have half a dozen plants. Just pluck off a couple leaves every day; it keeps growing for months, even years.

• Everlasting kale
  

Two forms of vitamin K

Vitamin K1 is the chief form; it is found primarily in dark-green leafy vegetables; also including beet tops, Swiss chard and parsley, for example.

Vitamin K2 is found primarily in fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi; which we also should be eating daily for their probiotics in any case.

It can also be converted from K1 in the body; it is thus not obligatory to eat fermented foods for the vitamin.

It is noteworthy though that vitamin K2 was the form used in the research above; we actually should perhaps have both daily for optimal health.

• Homemade sauerkraut recipe
  

Fat-soluble vitamin

Vitamin K is one of the fat-soluble vitamins; no significant amounts are lost in cooking. But do save the liquid for the magnesium and other minerals.

Other benefits

Both kale and spinach are known for their lutein content; it's a carotene that helps prevent adult onset macular degeneration. It is estimated that at least half a million Americans are blind simply because they did not know of the importance of dark-green leafy vegetables.

• Lutein macular degeneration

Dark-green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach are also rich sources of magnesium and many other minerals known to be implicated in night leg cramps in older patients.

Magnesium is required in over 300 biochemical reactions going on in the body; those eating typical grocery store food get less than half the required daily allowance.

• Magnesium from spinach
• Magnesium heart
  

Eggs Florentine

Eggs Florentine is an ancient Italian breakfast made from lightly boiled spinach; we enrich it to give extra flavour and more nutrients with onion, peppers and other vegetables.

• Eggs Hilton
  

Night leg cramps in older patients

Night leg cramps in older patients can be extremely painful; they may even tear muscles and tendons.

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