H E A LTH
conditions that these cramps can be
associated with, including
dehydration, taking diuretics or statins,
diabetes, neurological conditions such
as Motor Neurone Disease and
Parkinson’s disease, hypothyroidism,
and too much alcohol. They’re usually
infrequent enough to not be of any
real concern, however, it does sound
like they’re becoming frequent for
you, so I think you need to see your
GP to exclude underlying illnesses
that might be causing them. They will
usually do basic blood tests to check
the chemicals—“electrolytes”—in your
blood. Once any underlying cause has
been ruled out, your doctor may
recommend medication to help, or
Vitamin E or B complex and
Magnesium supplements.
Your doctor may also
prescribe an antihistamine or
calcium channel blockers, as
these have also been shown to
help nocturnal cramps. nGot a health question for
our resident doctor? Email it
confidentially to askdrmax@
readersdigest.co.ukThe Doctor Is In
Q: I suffer from terrible thigh cramp
if I eat salty food, which I sorted out
by cutting down and upping my
water intake. But recently they’ve
been awful despite drinking lots of
water and I’m starting to dread
bedtime. I’ve tried stretching,
massaging and cold compresses to
soothe the muscle. Do you have any
other tips? Michael, 63
A: Night cramps can be miserable—in
fact, I occasionally get them in my calf
so I know how unbearable they can
be. I often even experience soreness
in the muscle the following day.
Cramps like this, while unpleasant,
are very common and most common
in people over 50. There seem to
be a number of triggers, such as
sitting for long periods, over-
exertion or standing on hard
surfaces for a long time.
Learning what triggers you and
avoiding it tends to be adequate
in managing the condition for
a lot of people. Keeping
hydrated has also been
shown to help. However,
there are also some medical
52 • AUGUST 2019
ILLUSTRATION BY JAVIER MUÑOZDr Max Pemberton