Fibromyalgia and Leg Cramps

It’s the middle of the night and you’ve finally fallen asleep. Even if it’s just a doze. Then, out of nowhere, you scream out in agony because your leg and foot have cramped up severely. So severely, in fact, that your toes contract and contort into strange positions. The pain is so intense that you can’t even put your feet on the floor or against a wall to stretch your toes back out to normal. The muscle cramps in your leg are so powerful that it feels strangely reminiscent of labor pains. In fact, sometimes it even seems to ebb and flow in that same manner, just like contractions. Eventually the pain subsides, but then it happens a few more times during the night.

The Journal of Integrative Medicine reported on a magnesium study and its effects on fibromyalgia conducted at the Mayo Clinic. The first study of its kind, researched examined how effective topically applied magnesium is for alleviating six different symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, including muscle cramps. The study found that after two weeks of applying a solution called “Fibro Flex” to their skin, fibromyalgia patients saw improvement after just two weeks of consistent use. The improvement was maintained for the duration of the study that lasted four weeks.

“This study confirmed existing medical research, which says that maintaining therapeutic serum magnesium levels has been linked to a lowering of fibromyalgia symptoms including depression, tender point score, and fatigue,” says the National Fibromyalgia Association. Other than some irritation on the skin where the spray was applied, test-subjects did not experience any other negative side effects. Given that most everyone in the West suffers a magnesium deficiency, this could be helpful for more than just fibromyalgia muscle cramps.TENS Machines & EMS Devices

If you’re like me, a TENS machine didn’t sound remotely familiar. I first came across it on a fibromyalgia forum, where I thought someone misspelled it. But then I discovered that I have used something similar many times in my life, particularly at the chiropractor’s office. Do you know what I’m talking about? I mean when you go to the chiropractor and they hook you up to these little electrodes. It almost feels like they make your muscles flex and relax with electricity. I always have to keep mine at a really low setting because I am so sensitive. But they are really helpful. And now you can get them for private use at home. Those are called EMS devices which help to increase blood flow to the muscles, increase range of motion, and more. It can be a life saver for fibro patients!

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) sends stimulating pulses over the skin and nerve strands to prevent pain signals from reaching the brain. Take that in for just a minute. Now, think on this: it also is used to stimulate the body to produce more endorphins or natural pain killers. A key difference between a TENS machine and EMS devices is that you wear the TENS machine on your body. No worries, it’s small. But many fibromyalgia patients find if very helpful and effective as an alternative to pharmaceutical pain relievers. In other words, it’s safe, non-invasive, and drug-free pain management.Are There Any Other Methods?

There are absolutely other methods of relieving the often debilitating and agonizing pain from muscle cramps/spasms that accompany fibromyalgia. Vitamin E is reported to be very helpful for muscle cramping, especially for those who live a rather sedentary life. Many have had great success with the prescription drug Lyrica, which is one of the more common pharmaceuticals used to treat fibromyalgia anyway.

There are other options such as acupressure. Some fibro patients have learned how to do this to themselves. But you’ll need to begin by visiting a quality acupuncturist or acupressurist first in order to get some direction. Yoga is exceptionally beneficial for keeping the muscles stretched and mobile. This leads to greater blood flow and minimizes cramping. For some fibro patients, it works completely. The keys are to not overdo it and to listen to your body. One more option is called the Bowen technique, also known as Bowen therapy. Similar to acupressure, this technique uses gentle rolling movements to promote healing and pain relief. It’s so effective that it’s even used for horses!

Do you have any experience with these methods of dealing with fibromyalgia and leg cramps? Which ones helped and which ones failed you? Have you found a different method or technique that works for you? Please share your thoughts with us. Maybe you stumbled upon something that just might help fellow fibromyalgia patient deal with their fibromyalgia and leg cramps.

Posts created 59

5 thoughts on “Fibromyalgia and Leg Cramps

  1. Hi. I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia for at least 10 years. Lyrics is amazing and is very helpful. Those leg cramps and toe description is true and literally the worst. I started taking magnesium and it helps alot. I take 4 tablets each 250 mg other than that I pretty much suffer!! For my back pain which is horrific I have lidocaine 5% pain patches. I’m sure I take way too many cocktails of mixtures of aspirin, Tylenol and Ibuprofen, but that’s life out of desperation to feel better that’s what I have to do!!
    Abbs Young

  2. i get a percentes of symtoms back pain legs toes sharp pains in my head jaw pain weak arms in a word pain all over so do u think i have got fibromyalgia i do have diebities type2 and osteoarthritis

  3. I have a nerve stim unit installed in my lower back and this can stimulate nerves and although you can’t see it or feel it, it has very high currents it keeps the spasms at bay. I had it surgically installed two years ago and it is real life saver . Now I need one for the top half of my body. Definitely worth a trial for anyone with constant pain.

  4. Once diagnosed with fibromyalgia I couldn’t sleep for six months because of the leg and feet pain at night. And the absolute worst of it began when I lay down to sleep. Talk about cruel irony…. It was like charley horses all over my legs and feet. One night I finally smoked a joint a friend with cancer gave me and fell into a delicious sleep.

    Now I take the CDB oil before bed and it sure helps. My doc has also now prescribed duloxetene which also helps.

    One doc told me that some folks find a rolling pin is helpful. Tried it and lo and behold, it is. I keep one handy now and when you get the horrific cramps that won’t let up, you can put great pressure on it with the rolling pin and it doesn’t really get rid of the pain, but for me at least it stopped it from getting worse.

  5. I also get terrible cramps in my lower leg and ankle—usually the right. I also gets cramps on the bottoms of my feet. The best thing I have found is a heating pad. It takes a few minutes to hear up but when it finally heats the source of my cramps the pain eases dramatically. I also use CB D cream……It takes care of so many of my aches and pains.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Posts

Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel.

Back To Top