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Leg cramps

Posted , 4 users are following.

karen46349
karen46349

hello, I am 18 months out from my 4 th spine surgery, ALIF at L4&5-s1. The surgery has been a huge success, no back pain and only occasional mild aching in my legs with ibuprofen for pain control as needed.

My problem is the continuing cramping in my foot, calf, back of the thigh and buttock on the affected side. One or more of those areas cramp multiple times a day. I lay in bed at night and can feel the Calf muscle twitching, have to keep my foot flexed to prevent cramping. As soon as I doze off, my foot relaxes and the calf immediately cramps, meaning I have to get up and walk to stop the cramping. Anyone else have this issue? Any insight? Muscle relaxants have only minimal effect, and I hate the thought of taking them every night. The problem intensifies the more exercise I get, which is discouraging. Any ideas appreciated!

2 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey karen46349

    Posted

    Karen, I haven't had spinal surgery but do suffer from spondylolisthesis - a slippage of the lower part of the spine.   I get really bad cramp in all the areas you describe and periods of twitching.   It can be due to a deficiency of magnesium, so I had a blood test to check my levels and it came back normal so I haven't liked to try a magnesium supplement.  However, I have been told that even if the blood levels are normal, the muscles can still be starved of magnesium, and people I know who take a supplement say it helps.  Foods high in potassium can also help, ie bananas and apricots.  What intrigues me is that I can go for a few weeks without cramp only for it to return with a vengeance for another few weeks.  Now that yu say your problem intensifies the more exercise you do, I'm wondering if that is applying to me as I do seem to be more aware of it when I've had a period of walking on a regular basis. 
    • karen46349
      karen46349 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Interesting, I think I will try the magnesium. Yes mine is definitely much worse the more active I am, which makes it hard to stay motivated 😟

      thanks for your response!

  • colin63763
    colin63763 karen46349

    Posted

    Hi karen i have had back problems and leg problems buttck and calf since operation on lower back

    following many hospital treatments for pain the most succesful thing has been pregabalin medication and streching exercises before walking and also gradually increasing distance , making a mental note of how far i can walk without much pain increasing this a little each time, when things are bad , going back to manageable distance only, this is called pacing talk to a physio about this ģ

    lower back

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