- Title
- Correlates of night-time and exercise-associated lower limb cramps in healthy adults
- Creator
- Hawke, Fiona; McKay, Marnee J.; Baldwin, Jennifer N.; Chiu, Simon; Sadler, Sean; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Chuter, Vivienne; Burns, Joshua
- Relation
- Muscle and Nerve Vol. 64, Issue 3, p. 301-308
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mus.27359
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Introduction/Aims: We explored correlates of night-time and exercise-associated lower limb cramps in participants of the 1000 Norms Project. Methods: A volunteer community sample of healthy people aged ≥18 y underwent assessment of motor function and physical performance, and were questioned about muscle cramps in the previous 3 mo. Results: Of 491 (221 female) participants age 18–101 y (mean: 59.12; SD: 18.03), about 1 in 3 experienced night-time lower limb cramps, and about 1 in 4 experienced exercise-associated lower limb cramps. For night-cramps, a one unit increase in Beighton score (greater whole-body flexibility) was associated with a 31% reduced odds of cramps (odds ratio [OR] = 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI]:0.45, 0.99) and passing all three lesser-toe strength tests was associated with 50% reduced odds of cramps (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.78). For exercise-associated cramps, participants in the fourth (lowest arch) quartile of Foot Posture Index were 2.1 times (95% CI: 1.11, 3.95) more likely to experience cramps than participants in the first (highest arch) quartile. Odds of experiencing both types of cramps versus no cramps were lower with passing all three lesser-toe strength tests (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.85) and better performance in the six-minute walk test (OR = 0.997, 95% CI: 0.996, 0.998). Discussion: People who experienced both exercise-associated and night-time cramps were less functional. The association between night-time cramps with less whole-body flexibility and reduced lesser-toe flexor strength should be explored to determine causation. Planovalgus (low-arched) foot type was independently associated with exercise-associated cramps. The effectiveness of foot orthoses for secondary prevention of exercise-associated cramps in people with low-arched feet should be explored.
- Subject
- cause; correlates; cramps; prevalence; treatment
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1472555
- Identifier
- uon:48866
- Identifier
- ISSN:0148-639X
- Language
- eng
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