Pathological, often painful, involuntary muscle contraction
For other uses, see Cramp (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Seizure or Spasm.
Medical condition
Cramp
Symptoms
sudden muscle pain and a paralysis-like immobility
Treatment
quinine, stretching, massage, and drinking liquids
A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction[1][2] or overshortening associated with electrical activity;[3] while generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the affected muscle. A cramp usually goes away on its own over a period of several seconds or (sometimes) minutes.[4] Cramps are common and tend to occur at rest, usually at night (nocturnal leg cramps).[2][5] They are also often associated with pregnancy, physical exercise or overexertion, age (common in older adults), in such cases, cramps are called idiopathic, because there is no underlying pathology. In addition to those benign conditions cramps are also associated with many pathological conditions.[2][6]
Cramp definition is narrower than the definition of muscle spasm: spasms include any involuntary abnormal muscle contractions, while cramps are sustained and painful.[1][7] True cramps can be distinguished from other cramp-like conditions. Cramps are different from muscle contracture, which is also painful and involuntary, but which is electrically silent. The main distinguishing features of cramps from dystonia are suddenness with acute onset of pain, involvement of only one muscle and spontaneous resolution of cramps or their resolution after stretching the affected muscle.[2] Restless leg syndrome is not considered the same as muscle cramps and should not be confused with rest cramps.[6]
Skeletal muscle, with myofibrils labeled at upper right and sarcoplasmic reticulum at bottom
^ abMinetto, Marco Alessandro; Holobar, Aleš; Botter, Alberto; Farina, Dario (Jan 2013). "Origin and development of muscle cramps". Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. 41 (1): 3–10. doi:10.1097/JES.0b013e3182724817. ISSN 1538-3008. PMID 23038243. S2CID 15263712.
^ abcdMarotta, P. J.; Graziadei, I. W.; Ghent, C. N. (Nov 2000). "Muscle cramps: a 'complication' of cirrhosis". Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology. 14 Suppl D: 21D–25D. doi:10.1155/2000/214916. ISSN 0835-7900. PMID 11110608.
^Benzon, Honorio; Raja, Srinivasa N.; Fishman, Scott E.; Liu, Spencer S.; Cohen, Steven P. (2011-06-30). Essentials of Pain Medicine E-book. Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN 978-1-4377-3593-2.
^"Nocturnal leg cramps". UpToDate. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
^ abGarrison, Scott R.; Korownyk, Christina S.; Kolber, Michael R.; Allan, G. Michael; Musini, Vijaya M.; Sekhon, Ravneet K.; Dugré, Nicolas (September 2020). "Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2020 (9): CD009402. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009402.pub3. ISSN 1469-493X. PMC 8094171. PMID 32956536.
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